Clocktower Technology Ventures

A fintech-only venture arm in Santa Monica

Clocktower Technology Ventures is the venture capital business of Clocktower Group, based in Santa Monica, California. Its site says it invests exclusively in financial technology, in technology companies that are changing the future of financial services. The wider group began in 2007, and the venture arm describes its aim as investing in people who make financial services better.

Where it looks

The firm names two main areas of interest. One is capital markets and investments, the other lending, credit and banking. Its team includes partners, a head of platform who works with portfolio companies and the wider group network, and deal and operations staff. A venture partner based in London advises on sourcing and managing investments in the United Kingdom and Europe. The older site spelled out the roles on the team, from someone who handles deal sourcing, due diligence and execution to someone who coordinates operations, research, content production and investor relations.

What the portfolio looks like

The portfolio page is a long list of young companies, each described in a line. Examples include a compliance training platform for fintechs and banks, an identity risk product that automates onboarding decisions, fraud and money laundering monitoring and credit underwriting, a cash management and capital markets platform for start-ups, a platform for institutional derivatives on pre-IPO securities, a financial planning and analysis tool for finance teams, a treasury management business for global companies, and a digital bank designed for teenagers.

Latin America, the UK and real estate

Several holdings are regional. A back-office software provider serves start-ups and small companies in Latin America with bookkeeping, legal and payroll services, a marketplace supplies restaurants across the region, and a voucher business operates in Brazil. In the United Kingdom the list includes a used car financing platform and a single-family residential investment platform. Others work on financial automation for real estate, credit building through rent payments, mortgage servicing and insurance distribution, and a brokerage for independent contractors. Some entries are marked as acquired by larger companies.

Clocktower Technology Ventures is a venture capital business based in Santa Monica, focused solely on financial technology. It is part of Clocktower Group, whose managing partner began the wider group in 2007. The team backs founders who aim to improve financial services.

What Clocktower Technology Ventures offers

• Fintech investment: funding for start-ups in capital markets and investments.
• Lending, credit and banking: a second stated area of interest.
• Platform support: a head of platform works with portfolio companies and the Clocktower Group network.
• UK and Europe coverage: a London-based venture partner advises on sourcing and portfolio management.

Who it works with

Financial technology founders. The portfolio page lists compliance training, identity risk, cash management, insurance, mortgage, credit-building and back-office software businesses, including Affinity, Alloy, Arc, Capbase and Caplight.

Key facts

• Based in: Santa Monica, California
• Parent group: Clocktower Group
• Sector: financial technology only
• Team: partners, a head of platform, deal and operations staff