Slash has raised $41 million at a $370 million valuation for its business banking platform that promises to end the one-size-fits-all model and instead provide bespoke offerings for different industries.
Goodwater Partners, NEA and Menlo Ventures joined the round for Slash, which comes after a 2023 $19 million Series A.
Slash started out serving sneaker resellers but, little over a year ago, it was hit by the fallout from Kanye West's anti-Semitic outbursts, which led to the rapper losing his Adidas partnership, which in turn saw the startup's revenue fall to the tune of 80%, co-founder Victor Cardenas tells Fortune.
Slash pivoted to serving larger businesses, targeting their "deepest, vertical specific financial needs," says Cardenas in a blog.
This vertical approach separates it from other business banking fintechs such as Ramp and Mercury, which have a horizontal method. Slash first went after marketing specialists that run ads for e-commerce firms and has since added crypto businesses, helping them to toggle between fiat and crypto.
Says Cardenas: "In essence, we believe most banking products in the market today are too 'cookie cutter' and don’t do enough to solve their customers’ problems. Legacy banks compete exclusively on the basis of high yields, rewards, and relationships.
"Other fintechs go further, and couple their banking + card products with bill pay, invoicing and expense management solutions. Their products, however, are industry agnostic: they’re the same for restaurants, construction companies, property managers, e-commerce brands, and crypto companies - even though the underlying needs of each vary wildly."
With the new funding in place, Slash plans to become the "largest commercial card in America" by building apps for dozens of categories, such as online travel and property management.