A Boulder-based entrepreneur is back on the scene with a fintech company that promises to help companies pay their suppliers early.
Benjamin Apel was last known in Boulder for the company called Final, a credit card issuer he co-founded that was eventually rebranded into the Apple Card. Apel's description on his LinkedIn calls Final the first consumer credit card issuer built since Capital One, which was then acquired by Goldman Sachs and rebranded.
Apel's name came up again in association with a $21 million capital raise for Boulder-based Mesa Financial Inc. Apel is listed as founder and CEO of the company.
Mesa disclosed the funding in a May 16 regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, noting that about $14.6 million was achieved through convertible debt.
Founded in 2021, Mesa helps companies offer early payments to their suppliers using embedded payment solutions, according to the company website. The result is a more predictable cashflow that sidesteps the wait for mailed checks or manually processed credit card payments, Mesa says.
The faster payment option has opened up more opportunities for some service providers who otherwise avoided larger companies due to prolonged payment terms, according to testimonials on the site.
Representatives of Mesa declined to offer further insight on the capital raise. A total of 15 investors contributed to the company's $21 million in new backing, according to the SEC filing.
According to Mesa's LinkedIn, the company has between 11 and 50 employees. The company lists its address as 1905 15th St.
According to an interview that Apel did with the Boulder Daily Camera in 2014, Final was a participant in the 2014 Techstars startup accelerator program in Boulder. Earlier this year, the tech accelerator said it was moving its headquarters from Boulder to New York City.
Apel also listed his experience on LinkedIn as having overseen initiatives for the fintech Honey, which was acquired by PayPal in 2022.
