Gratuity management startup Kickfin closes $6m Series A to fuel growth across the hospitality industry

Kickfin, the gratuity management software for hospitality, announced it has secured its Series A funding to further accelerate the company's rapid growth. Silverton Partners led the round, with participation from Acronym Venture Capital, following a seed round led by Loomis U.S., which brings Kickfin's total funding to $11 million.

Brian Hassan, Co-founder, Kickfin: "The explosive growth we've achieved is a testament to hospitality's need and desire to remove cash from the tipping process. In partnership with our investors, Kickfin will continue on its path to becoming the new status quo for tip distribution." 

Roger Chen, General Partner, Silverton Partners: "Kickfin is the ultimate win-win solution: It removes costly inefficiencies for employers, while ensuring frontline hospitality workers get paid the way they want to get paid. We're thrilled to partner with Kickfin and provide a platform for growth as they continue to revolutionize employee payments in this space."

Launched in 2017, Kickfin eliminates the operational burdens of cash tipping for every type of hospitality outlet, while fostering the financial security of employees. Brands like Marco's Pizza, Twin Peaks, Melting Pot, Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux, and Sport Clips use Kickfin to send real-time, cashless tip payouts directly to their employees' bank of choice, 24/7, 365.

In the past year, Kickfin has experienced exponential growth across the full-service, fast casual and quick-service hospitality segments. According to data provided by Visa, Kickfin ranked number one in transaction count and volume for tip disbursements in 2021. Kickfin's customers span every type of outlet, including fine dining, cafes and coffee shops, pizza and delivery, hotels, stadiums, event venues, airport concessions and country clubs.

By digitizing tip payouts and distributing them in real time, employers can eliminate bank runs, reduce theft and human error, and streamline reporting, all while increasing employee satisfaction. Kickfin's technology also ensures organizations remain compliant with complicated, ever-changing tip pooling regulations, and it integrates with existing POS and payroll systems.

Joshua B. Siegel, General Partner, Acronym Venture Capital: "Cashless transactions have created new challenges for hospitality businesses. With Kickin, we saw a solution that greatly reduces expenses, eliminates a critical pain point for management, and gives workers real-time access to daily tip earnings, a significant portion of their earnings, while eliminating hidden and predatory fees. We are excited to back Brian and Justin as they continue to build Kickfin to increase frontline worker's take-home pay."

www.kickfin.com/demo