What isn’t every transaction we make completely digital? It’s quicker, more connected and best of all you don’t need to carry a wallet around. The only reason it hasn’t taken over 95% of our transactions is that we fear breaches in our privacy. The young company, Pay with Privacy, is grabbing this problem by the horns and giving you the safest way to pay. With their mission statement boasting their dreams of financial safety, their team is committed to providing convenience without sacrificing safety.
Coming off a fresh injection of funding, CEO Bo Jiang tells AlleyWatch about the funding process and how you can keep your information safe.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised a $1.2M seed round from several angels.
Tell us about your product or service.
Privacy.com is the first digital card product that keeps your personal information private. We allow you to generate disposable debit card numbers on the fly from any merchant website, and auto-populate it into the checkout form – similar to a autocomplete. You can use any name / billing info with these cards.
What inspired you to start the company?
We believe digital privacy is going to be one of the defining issues of our time. Unfortunately, much of the consumer software in this area is still stuck in the last century. The brands that come to mind when you say “privacy software” or “security software” are almost universally clunky, enterprise-focused companies. As our world becomes increasingly more digital, privacy is inevitably going to become a bigger part of the conversation.
Starting with payments, we’re building security and privacy software that we would want to use ourselves. One of the core things we believe in is that you shouldn’t have to choose between convenience/ease-of-use and privacy/security.
How is it different?
Virtual cards aren’t a new concept, but we are the first company that makes them usable to the end consumer and protect your PII (personal identifiable information) when spending.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
The goal is mass appeal for our products, but initially we’re targeting young, tech-forward individuals who are concerned about online fraud and how their data is being used online. The initial target market is ~4million individuals in the US.
What’s your business model?
We are free to consumers and make money off card issuing interchange.
What was the funding process like?
There’s probably an additional blog post of content here. It was tough at first, but once we got the first couple of checks in, it became substantially easier.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Convincing investors that privacy is a huge forward looking opportunity. Once we did that, it usually became a question of if we were the right team & how much to invest.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Team, space, product
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
#1 goal is to be profitable.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We only have 2 focuses in the near term, refining product & testing customer acquisition.
Where is your favorite place to enjoy the fall weather in the area?
Dia Beacon
