Financial tech start-up Apruve raises $2.25 million in funding

Apruve Inc., a Minneapolis-based financial technology start-up, said Wednesday it has raised $2.25 million in venture capital.

The firm sells a platform for business-to-business transactions that's integrated, is visible to decisionmakers and eliminates the need for invoices, requisition forms, purchase orders and paper checks.

Earlier this year, Apruve launched a corporate account management and financing solution that allows online B2B sellers to give their business customers a revolving line of credit without any accounts receivable or cash flow risk, the company said.

"Businesses don't buy things online like consumers do," said Michael Noble, CEO of Apruve. "Within B2B, sellers offering their customers credit terms on their purchases is an industry norm. The problem is that it is difficult to manage and expensive to do. With Apruve, online sellers get a turnkey solution to manage all aspects of credit approval, invoicing and collections, plus sellers are paid within 24 hours of any order placed online by their buyers, completely eliminating the need to act like a bank for their customers."

Leading the Series A funding round was TTV Capital out of Atlanta, with participation from Allegis Capital in the Bay Area.

The round of funding will be used to expand the firm's development, sales and marketing teams in Minneapolis, and build integrations with more e-commerce platforms.

"We believe Apruve is solving a fundamental problem that will enable more businesses to ride the $1.3 trillion wave of B2B e-commerce that is currently unfolding," said Tom Smith, a managing director at TTV Capital.

Apruve was one of 10 start-ups that pitched AOL founder Steve Case for a $100,000 investment at the Varsity Theater in 2014. While Noble's pitch to the panel was well received, he did not win the contest.

Adam Belz • 612-673-4405

Twitter: @adambelz