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Fresh off a $2.6 million investment round, Ames startup PeachPay is streamlining the online checkout process

March 8, 2022

For the past two years, Ames startup PeachPay has been working to streamline the online checkout process for both merchants and customers.

Founded by Aaryaman Anerao, John Jago and David Mainayar, PeachPay is a plugin that WordPress users can add to their website. The PeachPay button will appear on the website’s product, cart, and checkout pages.

PeachPay officially launched in January 2021 and by April the startup signed a partnership with WooCommerce, the e-commerce provider for WordPress-powered sites.

PeachPay is currently used by more than 500 merchants, and Peachpay’s integration with WooCommerce will allow their technology to reach millions of prospective merchant customers, Anerao told Clay & Milk.

The company currently has 21 employees, and Anerao says the company could double that number by this summer.

“Just last year, the company processed more than a million dollars in total transaction volume,” said Anerao. “We’ve onboarded some bigger merchants, and our goal is to get to a billion dollars in a transaction with some of the partnerships that we have coming together.”

Last year, the company raised a $2.6 million seed round. The raised capital will largely be used to continue to build out and improve the company’s product.

“The core functionalities of the product are still being built,” said Anerao. “We plan to have additional payment options and a more robust dashboard where people can really take a look at all of these payment methods and take action on them.”

Previous coverage

ISU graduates launch app to make online shopping faster

Tags: ames PeachPay WordPress

Fresh off a $2.6 million investment round, Ames startup PeachPay is streamlining the online checkout process | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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