Brunswick fintech startup raises $2M to fund growth

Leslie Hyman in front of the Roux Institute

Photo / Jim Neuger Leslie Hyman is co-founder and CEO of Circa, a Brunswick-based fintech startup that aims to reinvent how rent is paid.

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By Renee Cordes

Circa, a Brunswick financial technology startup looking to reinvent rent payments, has raised $2 million to fund future growth.

The company, led by CEO and co-founder Leslie Hyman, recently relocated from Connecticut to Brunswick after participating in the Roux Techstars Accelerator program in Portland.

Hyman told Mainebiz that the $2 million comes from a combination of individual investors, angel investors and venture capital firms. Investors include Maine Venture Fund and Colorado-based Techstars, which runs accelerator programs worldwide including the one in Portland with Northeastern University's Roux Institute.

"We are using the funds to grow our business," specifically in the areas of sales, account management, product development and service, Hyman said.

"We are so thrilled to be part of the Maine business ecosystem. The support we've gotten from the Roux, Techstars, municipal leaders and investors has been even better than expected. We chose Brunswick because it is an opportunity zone, growing business community and near Portland."

Circa's team consists of a six-member leadership team plus three part-time employees. Circa is a mobile app to give tenants payment flexibility and financial security while helping property owners collect rent and past-due arrears payments. Tenants, for example, can opt to pay rent in one, two or three payments in a schedule that makes sense for them, and can sign up for payment reminders by email, text or push notification to stay up-to date.

Asked about hiring plans, Hyman said Circa is hiring a business development manager and an account manager to support property owners and residents working with Circa.

The fundraising comes less than five months after Hyman took the stage in the Roux Techstars Accelerator's capstone "Demo Day" event, where participants pitched to a live audience of over 300 and 400 more watching remotely.

"Following our Demo Day pitch," Hyman said, "we had numerous investors — from individual investors to angel groups to VCs —asking to meet with us. So in addition to preparing our team to grow and present, Techstars amplified our message to their community of investors."

Hyman also credited Lars Perkins, managing director of the Roux Institute Techstars Accelerator, with creating an environment that helped her team prepare for explosive growth.

Circa's fundraising success comes despite challenges often faced by female founders to secure capital, as reported in a Mainebiz cover story last year.

For Maine Venture Fund, Circa joins an investment portfolio that includes HighByte, MedRhythms, Dream Local Digital and Atlantic Sea Farms.

The fund "is excited to support Circa's talented and mission-driven team as they work to reinvent rent. We are also glad to play a role in their decision to stay and grow in Maine," Nina Scheepers, Maine Venture Fund's investment director, told Mainebiz. "Our investment in Circa is part of our commitment to support startups coming out of Roux’s programs and accelerators."