Aidan Corbett

eCommerce businesses have to spend heavily upfront before seeing any returns. Production, inventory, fulfilment and marketing all require capital well in advance of sales. Online brands often have to pay suppliers upfront while waiting weeks or even months for revenue to come in. That gap makes it difficult to scale, even if consumer demand is strong. Traditional finance wasn’t built for this new generation of digital-first businesses. Frankly, it didn’t move quickly enough and fundamentally it didn’t understand how to assess the risk for it. That gap created an opportunity to provide quick access to working capital to unlock these brands’ true potential.

How have you leveraged data to better understand and price the risk associated with this new generation of businesses?

Data really is the lifeblood of our proposition. We’ve developed a proprietary underwriting engine that ingests a multitude of different data sources from across our customer’s business. These plug-in API integrations enable us to see business performance of our customers in real-time. This, coupled with human intelligence from investment in customer service and credit teams, creates a rich and detailed understanding not just of the current business, but also their growth plans and aspirations. The value of all of this data compounds over time as we start to build a global picture of YoY growth across the eCommerce sector. We’re able to see how different types of products perform in different markets. Then when you step back we’re able to start identifying the characteristics of businesses with the strongest growth potential.

Wayflyer is unique in launching in the US early into journey, why was that important for the business?

The conventional wisdom is that businesses should crack their home market first, before attempting to cross the Atlantic. We always knew the biggest opportunity lies in the US, as one of the largest eCommerce markets in the world. Our thinking went that if we only had one shot at building this business, we should do so in the US, as the business would be several orders of magnitude larger than if we built the same business domestically (UK & Ireland).

Thankfully that paid off, and the US has been a huge part of our story since.

What’s been the biggest learning that you have since founding Wayflyer?

I’ve recognised the value of having difficult conversations early. Running an early stage business reminds me of the “this is fine” meme — with lots of fires going at the same time. Effective leaders are able to ruthlessly prioritise what matters most at any single point. So it can be tempting not to confront things until they pose a material risk. Yet, I’ve found the most amount of growth and opportunity typically results from having those difficult, candid conversations early on. It’s the advice I often give founders: What difficult conversation are you putting off?

The eCommerce sector has been dealt countless blows and setbacks in the last few years, how have you found underwriting progress throughout these uncertain times?

I’ve been working with eCommerce businesses since 2016, and to this day I’m astounded by the resilience and determination of the community. It continues to serve as endless inspiration for the Wayflyer team and I. So whether it’s trade tariffs, ships running aground in the Suez Canal, or an iOS update throwing Meta’s ad targeting out the window — these businesses are incredibly adept at reacting to changing conditions, spotting opportunities and finding their way through.

As testament to our conviction in the market, we recently reached the milestone of deploying over $5bn to 5,000 small businesses globally. The truth is, we’re only just getting started.