Go Restive

We think this is one of the best times, if not the best time ever, to start a startup. Especially one that targets financial services. There are new technologies that dramatically increase productivity and accelerate creation. The incumbent landscape is increasingly challenged by volatile economic conditions and market consolidation. There are thousands and thousands of talented employees working in fintech already, and the regulatory dynamic looks more favorable for new entrants than it has in years. 

But just don’t take our word for it. Look within our portfolio. The companies started in the last two years generate more revenue at this point in their lifecycle than any cohort of companies we worked with over the last decade. And they run leaner and face - surprisingly - a less dilutive fundraising market than earlier cohorts of startups. It is truly a remarkable time to start a startup.

So let’s do it! 

If you’ve recently started a fintech startup or are thinking about it, we want to help. We know that our unique way of partnering with startups at the earliest stages can have a huge impact on the growth trajectory of our founders. We know that a well placed introduction can save months - or years - of cold emails and outreach. We know that many problems actually do have answers. We know that by unlocking the siloed information in our financial services industry, we can unlock the growth of new entrants. That’s what we do at Restive and one of the reasons our portfolio companies have been so successful.

But how do we scale this? How do we get even more startups? 

We thought long and hard about how best to encourage founders to take the leap and came up with a new idea: a summit for founders. So for one day, we’re going to try an experiment. We’re going to invite our founders, founders we respect who aren’t in our portfolio, leaders from across industry, leading investors (besides us, of course), regulators, and some of the most talented operators in the industry together. 

And then we’re going to invite founders, no matter how early, to take advantage of that collective wisdom. Our goal is to attract the best and brightest, no matter where they are on their journey, and give a rapid introduction to the Restive Network. 

The event will be free for founders. We will require no commitment that you accept an investment from us, and we’re not going to make any promises that we will invest. But we will promise that the event will be useful, and we’re pretty confident that some awesome startups will be there and, we hope, come out of it. 

If you are working a full time job and don’t have a cofounder but have an idea gnawing at you, apply. 

If you just launched your startup and need to raise your first round of capital, you should apply.

If you have raised money already and are in the trenches with your cofounders, and think maybe you’re too far along, you’re not. Apply. 

If you are worried that this will be a distraction, it won’t. Apply. 

If you raised $50m in 2021 and still don’t feel like you have product market fit, we have ideas. Apply.

Not sure if your startup is fintech? You’d be surprised how broad our view on the category is. You might as well apply. If we don’t think we can be useful to you, we’ll let you know.

If this just sounds cool, apply! Seriously, this is a really good time to launch a startup!