Tupelo is a specialist investor in small but great fintech and financial businesses
What we do
We acquire small fintech and financial businesses and grow them profitably
We work alongside management teams to achieve profitable growth, marrying private equity know-how with modern product design practices.
When the work is done, we sell to strategic or mid-market PE buyers better placed than us to steward the next part of the journey.
Our companies
Abel
Ontik
About us
We are fintech, product and go-to-market specialists, taking a unique design-led and hands-on approach to support management on the path to profitable growth. We don’t chase unicorns but take pride in building small companies into important mid-sized businesses.
We’re unapologetically focused on growing small companies into successful mid-market businesses. We operate profitably where most VC and PE investors can’t, providing better alignment with founders, liquidity for early investors and better outcomes for the company.
Focused strategy
Our team has worked, built and invested across the many niches that make up the financial services sector. We understand it takes both software and financial engineering to create a successful business.
Fintech specialist
We make investments by building a deeper understanding of the customer-product relationship. We use methods from the design disciplines to develop contrarian insights on which we identify and build businesses.
Design-led
Our team
Who we’re looking for
We acquire companies who show great potential, have had some wins and are looking for an investor who can help climb the next hill. That can be start-ups seeking an alternative to the growth beat of venture capital, or heritage financial businesses looking to modernise and secure their legacy. We don't rely on unicorns nor debt to drive our returns. Instead, we offer founders and managers a partner to reset and realign the business for profitable growth.
Investment criteria
- SectorFintech & Financial Services
- Revenue$5-25m
- EBITDAProfitable or near-to
- ModelB2B or B2B2C
- OwnershipMajority or strong minority
- GeographyUK, EU, Middle East
how we work
We take a deliberate, low-and-slow approach to investing, using both quantitative and design techniques to truly understand a market before committing a company to address it. We prefer working shoulder-to-shoulder rather than looking over it, working collaboratively with managers to create happy customers, employees and shareholders.