Matan Bar is the co-founder and CEO of B2B payments startup Melio. He discusses how Melio prioritizes investor quality and alignment over maximizing valuation.
Opinion
Matan Bar: Bill.com targets finance pros; Melio targets owner-operators
“As these tools, Bill.com, Avid Exchange, all these wonderful accounts payable automation solutions are mostly built for finance professionals, like an accountant, a bookkeeper, a finance team, and Melio is targeting these owner operators, these small businesse…”
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Bar: B2B paper check volume will drop to zero within five years
“The next five years is when the 18 trillion, or whatever number you choose of, some research says, 18 trillion dollars of paper checks They will decrease to zero. There's no doubt about it.”
Assertion Partly supported
Bar: Federal Reserve research shows $18T in US B2B payments remain on paper checks
“Hasn't happened yet in terms of how a business pays another business or how B to B payments are being done, and I remember this one number that I shared with Michael that I read the Federal Reserve research that indicated that there are around 18 trillion doll…”
Insight
Bar: Ubiquity drives winner-takes-all dynamics in payment networks
“And ubiquity wins. Like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, Square Cash, all these payment networks, they became ubiquitous around the US, As more and more people started using them, and that's how its winner takes all, or winner takes most, I guess, with these types of pay…”
Insight
Bar: B2B payment platforms cannot rely on forced recipient sign-ups
“With B to B payments, and with Melio, it was interesting because we could not force a closed network. So, when a restaurant owner is paying its, I don't know, 15 suppliers, electricity company, the fish supplier, we need to make sure that the restaurant owner …”
Opinion
Bar: Setting strict 50-50 gender quotas is wrong approach for diversity
“So we didn't aspire to get to fifty-fifty. I don't think that's the right way to do that.”