Why Loyalty is the Next Big Infrastructure Play (And Why We Doubled Down on Benji)
Why We Backed BenjiMost brands want loyalty partnerships. Almost none have the infrastructure to launch them fast. Loyalty is one of the fastest-growing parts of the consumer economy, yet it still runs on custom deals and manual integrations, with engineering timelines that can stretch a year or more. Benji is building the modern tooling that […]
Branch + Stripe: Why this partnership is a signal, not just a story
One of our portfolio companies made news last week, and the announcement is significant: it represents exactly the kind of embedded finance milestone we look for when we back a company. On March 25, Branch, a provider of workforce financial infrastructure, announced it has become the embedded digital wallet provider for worker payouts within Stripe […]
LendAPI Partners with Target Optical
In a significant step forward for pediatric eye care, Great North Ventures portfolio company LendAPI has partnered with Target Optical to launch a specialized financing program for myopia management. This initiative aims to tackle the growing global myopia epidemic by removing the financial barriers associated with high-end treatments like Essilor Stellest lenses. While these “gold […]
Toward BNPL 3.0: From Checkout Button to Financial Infrastructure
Lower funding costs, tighter distribution and regulatory fragmentation will define the next phase of buy now, pay later. PayPal and Affirm recently applied for industrial loan company charters, and Sezzle says it’s open to pursuing that path. These moves reveal something bigger: BNPL is no longer just about shopping. It’s becoming core financial infrastructure. These […]
Inside Field Nation, The Platform Powering America’s On-demand IT Workforce
During the height of the pandemic, national IT deployment firm Worldlink saw demand for retail tech upgrades spike while it worked through labor shortages and supply-chain challenges. Like many service providers facing similar pressures, the company turned to outside support to close the gaps. One key partner was Field Nation, a software platform that connects […]
APIs, AI and Embedded Finance: What We’re Watching at Money 20/20
As the industry converges on Las Vegas, we’re focusing on infrastructure that helps launch products faster, supports new use cases and durable companies. With Money 20/20 around the corner, the conversation is shifting from front-end apps to the infrastructure shaping fintech’s future. Fintech’s next wave won’t be defined by the next consumer-facing app. It will […]
How Two Midwest VCs Have Mastered Success Through Multiple Tech Cycles
by Graeme Thickins For twin brothers Rob and Ryan Weber, founding partners of Great North Ventures in Minnesota, entrepreneurship began in college, just as the Internet was taking off in 1996. As computer science majors (and Rob later switching to entrepreneurial studies), they learned quickly that Internet traffic could be monetized. Over a few years, […]
The ‘GoDaddy of lending’: How LendAPI enables embedded finance at scale
Fintech startups are known for slick user experiences, but building them can be a major hurdle. Founders often have to stitch together a web of KYC/KYB systems, underwriting logic, compliance workflows, and loan origination tools — with limited capital and no backend infrastructure. Some are turning to platform solutions like LendAPI to speed up time […]