Xplor Technologies is a global platform combining SaaS solutions with embedded payments to help businesses grow and succeed. With Xplor, SMBs operating in “everyday life” verticals – childcare and education, fitness and wellbeing, field services and personal services – can run all aspects of their businesses in one place. The fast-growing company today serves over 75,000 customers in more than 15 countries that processed $37 billion in payments in 2023.
Xplor is a prime example of the power of combining vertical business management software with integrated financial services, an intersection where FTV sees enormous growth potential. Xplor was founded in 2021 when payments processing company Clearent and business management software provider Transaction Services Group (TSG) merged. FTV was the first institutional investor in Clearent, leading a $25 million round in 2015 and investing an additional $72 million three years later.
We recently sat down with Xplor CEO Pamela Joseph to get her take on building a startup into a global company – and why serving SMBs is a bigger challenge than enterprise customers. Pamela shares her thoughts on how cultivating a global mindset in your team, and truly understanding the day-to-day problems your customers face, can result in attractive growth.
QUESTION 1
Before becoming CEO of Xplor in 2022, you had three decades of experience leading financial technology companies – including executive chair of Clearent and then Xplor. Why did you decide to take the helm as CEO, and what vision do you have for the company’s growth?
As executive chair, I already knew Xplor was in a unique position owning both the software assets used by tens of thousands of SMBs globallyand the payments side of things. I could see that the entire vertical software industry was heading in this direction. SaaS combined with embedded payments is the future. I stepped into the CEO role to capitalize on that growth potential. My past experience combines leading large companies like Elavon and TSYS, and also working at startups; I was the 30th employee of a payments company that went public three years later and grew to over $1 billion in revenue. I understand the challenges of managing hypergrowth – something we deal with every day at Xplor – and also what it’s like to run a public company. So I can envision a future for Xplor as a much larger company and can apply my tactical company-building skills to take us there.
QUESTION 2
Since you’ve been at Xplor, what is one significant decision you’ve made that has had a big impact on the company’s growth trajectory?
Centralizing our software and payments development has been a game-changer for Xplor. When I took the helm as CEO, the tech market was in a downturn – coming off of several years of growth. We had good EBITDA, but I wanted to make it better. We have four software verticals and each was running like a separate company, so I made the decision, along with our board, to centralize all software development. That would not only make us more cost efficient, but also boost collaboration between the units. We previously had tech contractors spread globally (Vietnam, Ukraine, Croatia), and we chose to centralize in India because of the strength of talent there. Over a six-month period, we onboarded 150 developers in India, all with deep fintech experience, and that team is powering our software development across all four verticals and our payments platform.
QUESTION 3
Xplor is a unique blend of a vertical SaaS company and a global payments processing company. What is the core advantage of this integration?
Our entire mission is to remove complexity for our users – primarily small to midsize business owners. A lot of SMBs still use multiple platforms to manage their operations and finances. They have to enter the same information multiple times into multiple platforms, and that wastes time and creates errors. And then there are payments. Most businesses use entirely separate payment processing solutions, which don’t always map back to their business software. When all of that just works together in one place, the way it does with Xplor, that makes business owners’ lives so much easier. They can then focus on what they really love – serving their customers.
QUESTION 4
What is one challenge every SMB shares and how does Xplor solve that problem?
Almost every business owner shares a dislike of managing back office operations. People don’t start a daycare because they love paperwork. They start one because they love working with children. The same is true for owners of fitness studios, construction companies and landscaping firms. At Xplor, we are motivated every day to reduce the daily headaches for business owners. They can start small on our platform, and then, as they grow, add over 40 different applications to manage every aspect of their businesses. And, of course, every business must accept payments. When they can do that as well on Xplor, it just makes their businesses run much more smoothly.
QUESTION 5
Xplor offers vertical software for SMBs operating in many sectors such as childcare, HVAC, landscaping, gyms, and dry cleaning, so you have a large total addressable market. What are your next plans for expansion?
We are lucky to have a huge TAM. There are millions of SMBs all over the world. At the same time, we will never just go into a country cold. Instead, we follow our customers. We have had customers say, “I want to expand into Egypt, Chile or Japan.” We then look at what other opportunities a specific market could hold for us, and if it’s large enough, we will open in the countries our clients want to expand in. We chose to expand into Japan which proved to be very positive for us and continues to grow. When we think of expanding into a new market, we make sure all four of our vertical sectors have opportunity there. Not one of our verticals is more than 25% of our business and we make sure to drive expansion across all four.
QUESTION 6
Why has FTV Capital been the right partner for Xplor on its growth journey?
FTV does a great job providing hands-on support and strategic advice in vertical software and payments. They are experts at both, and especially the intersection of the two. What we’ve appreciated most about our relationship with the partners at FTV is how they’ve offered expertise all along the growth curve. They know exactly what a high-growth startup needs to do to grow into a large company. In addition, they keep us focused on what matters, but don’t micromanage our every move. FTV gives us the latitude to run our own business, but offers hands-on guidance when we encounter challenges.
QUESTION 7
FTV sees a unique opportunity in companies that combine vertical software with not just payments, but all types of financial products. What opportunity do you see in offering financial products such as loans, accounting, and banking?
We see great opportunities to add additional financial products to our platform. We already have a capital lending offering, and it has been very popular with our customers. When it comes to our next financial products, we have asked our customers what they want and will soon launch more options. We’re looking at embedding payroll, banking and other types of lending. We’re also exploring embedding specific financial support for franchisees, as many of our customers are franchise owners.
QUESTION 8
What’s one unique part of Xplor’s culture that you won’t find at any other company?
We are a global bunch, with over 2,300 employees working across 14 time zones, so everyone here has a very international outlook and loves working with people from different cultures. Many employees readily raise their hands to move with us from Australia to Japan, or the U.S. to the United Arab Emirates, and we try to facilitate moving abroad as much as possible. Working with colleagues from around the world keeps our team members energized. And I would also say we’re a great company for people who get bored easily! There is always so much going on and so many ways to get involved in new projects and make an impact.
QUESTION 9
On that note, what advice would you give to founders who want to take their companies global?
When you’re small, keep it simple. Try expansion into one other country first and really do a great job with that one before expanding elsewhere. But I wouldn’t hesitate to start an internal DEI council early on that’s focused on cross-cultural collaboration, inclusion and understanding. We have an employee-run DEI council like this and it has been tremendously helpful whenever we expand into a new country. Learning to work with people from different cultures requires nuance and empathy, and when your employees are adept at that, the better your future global expansion will be.