Franklin, a project developed by Web3 marketing firm Serotonin, has raised a $2.9 million seed round which included crypto notable Arca, and was co-led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and CMT Digital. The fundraising round is evidence of Serotonin's strategy of turning internal projects into independent companies, building tools to support the Web3 economy.
Franklin's tool provides employers with the means to make payments to employees and contractors around the world with crypto, such as the US. The platform is built on the Ethereum network, supported by the Polygon scaling solution. This readily available and secure payments solution serves to automate payroll related expenses and tax filing processes.
Megan Knab, the CEO of Franklin, recognizes that payroll is one of the more complicated types of financial transactions to prosecute in the crypto world. However, this potential problem was identified when Serotonin's clients approached the firm searching for crypto payroll solutions - inspiring the development and launch of Franklin.
Mojito, another internal project that was spun out as a separate company, has enjoyed success with $120 million sales revenues being generated in the first 12 month period. Despite this, the current bear market has seen the traction of Mojito decline.
The other skunkwork project created by Serotonin, connected with the 'creator economy' and tokens, has not been officially announced. Franklin, in the meantime, will be using its new funding to further develop their services towards retirement accounts and health benefits. The clients of Franklin include Soul Wallet, Echooo and Alto.
The strategy executed by Serotonin has reiterated the interest of investors, without the firm having to take any debt or sell equity. This is due to the offer of partial ownership stakes to employees. Furthermore, Web3 companies can take a page out of TradFi's books by providing existing services on a smaller scale. It remains to be seen why exactly crypto firms need another crypto payment tool but with blockchain, the world can assess the success of a non-custodial and on-chain solution such as Franklin.
Benjamin Anderson
- 2023-04-04
Franklin Raises $2.9M Seed Round
Franklin, an internal project spun out by marketing firm Serotonin, has raised a $2.9 million seed round which included crypto notable Arca, and was co-led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and CMT Digital. The platform is built on the Ethereum network, providing employers with the means to make payments to employees and contractors with crypto.
