MEDICI now! The Billtrust Story

MEDICI now! Startup Stories highlights the companies that are shaping the new financial technology industry. Here is the Billtrust Story:

Company: Billtrust

Name/title: Flint Lane, Founder & CEO

Industry segment: Payment Cycle Management and Accounts Receivable

Target markets: US

LTP: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Flint Lane: Prior to Billtrust, I co-founded an electronic bill payment and presentment company because I hated paying my bills. I wanted to build something that would move the industry from paper to electronic. With that company, I made a lot of first-time entrepreneur mistakes, but often, failure can turn around to be a success. From that experience, I saw there was still a need in the industry, and, more importantly, I saw how I could capitalize on that market trend. That led me to found Billtrust in 2001.

LTP: Give us a paragraph pitch of your company.

FL: Billtrust helps accounts receivable (A/R) departments drive efficiency throughout the invoice-to-cash process with the adoption of payment cycle management. Our cloud-based solution helps businesses accelerate cash flow by automating invoice delivery, invoice payment, and cash application. By working with Billtrust, businesses gain transparency into their A/R processes and increase customer satisfaction rates.

LTP: In a sentence or two, what problem are you solving today?

FL: Billtrust wants to help the B2B industry solve their billing and payments roadblocks. Many companies are still using a paper process that is more expensive, bad for the environment and drives elongated payment cycles. So whether it’s updating and automating outdated, manual processes that are slowing down cash flow or building an online portal for customers to pay their bills easily and securely, Billtrust assists in overcoming the roadblocks that many A/R departments face every day.

LTP: Who are you selling to?

FL: We are selling to medium/large enterprises that are looking for best-in-class business performance. Companies who are facing invoicing, payments, operational and cash flow issues and who also might have limited IT resources. These organizations are looking for an end-to-end solution that can quickly and easily integrate with their current systems.

LTP: Why did you start the company?

FL: I started Billtrust because I have seen and continue to see businesses struggle to make the transition from paper to electronic. Billtrust recognizes that every business has a different view on making this transition, and I have a firm belief that we can transform the industry.

LTP: What’s the most important change coming to your segment in the next 3-5 years?

FL: Companies are coming to recognize that the payment cycle management process isn’t something they should solve themselves. They have options that won’t add to their headcount, will reduce manual processes, will mitigate the risk inherent in payments and increase customer satisfaction rates, while also increasing cash flow.

LTP: What’s your next milestone?

FL: I really don’t like to think in terms of milestones when it comes to our vision as a company. Our goal is to help change the way businesses interact with their customers in a more meaningful way, and to me, that makes the journey more important, not the destination.

LTP: What keeps you awake at night?

FL: Between the technology, the clients and the industry as a whole, this business changes quickly, so I have to make sure that we are doing the right thing for the scale of the organization. What we did last year to be successful may not be the right thing to do this year, so I have to keep that in my mind at all times.

LTP: Thank you, Flint!

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