Solving cash-flow stress was key to company’s growth
Mariam Ekram loved athleticism, sports and fitness, so she couldn’t understand why she was still having chronic health issues. When she turned to a nutritionist, she found her answer. “She said the way I was eating was terrible,” laughs Ekram. “So I decided to change my whole lifestyle and started eating really, really clean.”
As a chocolate and snack lover, however, finding clean, healthy snacks free of preservatives and filler proved to be difficult for Ekram. “I couldn’t find anything that satisfied my sweet tooth and my need to eat clean,” she says. “So I took matters i nto my own hands and started making small, healthy snacks for myself. My friends told me that they really liked them, and before long I started selling them at the gym I worked at. People loved them, and it slowly started growing.”
Her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in, and Kewaza snacks were born. Her business began to gain real traction when she started going store to store to get her tasty snack to a wider audience. A few stores turned into about 50 and the venture became too big for her to tackle alone. She signed a deal with a distributor, moved into her own kitchen facility and in four years Kewaza now has eight different products and is in more than 600 locations. Ekram also recently finished shooting an episode of Dragon’s Den featuring her Kewaza chocolates that will air this season.
“It has evolved organi cally,” says Ekram, who acknowledges being an entrepreneur has brought lots of challenges. “There’s no one- stop shop that tells you this is how you exactly start a business. This is how you budget. This is how you don’t overspend or be overly optimistic. I made a lot of mistakes.”
But the learning process has only strengthened her resolve and made her realize she can’t go it alone. “A part of that process is knowing how to manage cash flow,” she says. “Managing cash as an entrepreneur is one of the biggest challenges.”
That’s why one particular Facebook post from a colleague and fellow entrepreneur caught her attention. The post recounted an experience its author had had working with Fund Through, an invoice funding service and financial technology (fintech) company that helps small and growing businesses meet their cash flow needs. Fund Through made a huge difference in the poster’s cash flow and allowed her to successfully negotiate that tricky growth phase. Ekram loved the idea, and the fact that a colleague could attest to the assistance provided by Fund Through led her to call them up right away.
Fund Through allows users to set up a funding line with about two or three minutes of effort. Once set up, business owners collect on their invoices in 24 hours rather than waiting for 40 to 60 days for that money to come in.
Steven Uster, an entrepreneur himself and the chief executive officer and co-founder of Fund Through, wants to eliminate the strain that comes with waiting on invoice payments. “We’re putting cash flow back in the hands of the small business owner. Today, having to wait 30, 60 or 90 days on invoice payments can put a massive wrench into a business’s ability to grow. With Fund Through, business owners can access that cash the instant they issue the invoice and start putting those funds to work right away.”
Running her own kitchen and maintaining her own equipment is a big expense. As Kewaza grew, waiting on invoices became a burden. “Fund Through l ets us pay the immediate payments that need to go out and keeps us afloat,” says Ekram. “When we’re so small that banks won’t give us a loan, it’s the push entrepreneurs need. It’s a solution to a problem that keeps entrepreneurs up at night. If you’re in a constant state of worry, you’re not at your best performance level.”
Fund Through is able to provide a better lending experience by using new tech- nology that connects directly with financial tools the business owner is already using, such as accounting software and their bank account. Within hours the entrepreneur can access their customized funding limit from as little as $ 500 up to millions if needed.
“There’s no lengthy application process, so our customers don’t wait a long time to get approved,” adds Uster. “The owners only take what they need with repayment broken up into manageable payments. And it’s all automated.”
The automated system Fund Through uses alleviates a lot of stress for new entrepreneurs, whose time commitments are already stretched thin. The Canadian company’s focus on customer service is also much appreciated by business owners like Ekram. “They want to see you succeed,” she says. “Entrepreneurs have a common trait of worrying about growth. Having someone who cares and helps can make all the difference. They are continuously asking how they can make us better. I appreciate that Fund Through is there with me, hand in hand, as I grow.”
Now that Kewaza cont i nues to have success, Ekram is looking at expanding. She has signed new distribution deals and plans to launch bigger product lines. She says the life of an entrepreneur has had its share of ups and downs but with those comes the power of having a positive outlook.
“I think entrepreneurship is 80% mindset,” she says. “It’s the resilience and perseverance within the individual that helps them get through the challenges. I have the capacity to manufacture other products, like brownies and cookies. Now, it’s about making my creative vision a reality. Fund Through allows me to do that.”