The Fintech Fund Research
Investment Thesis
The Fintech Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm founded by Nik Milanović, the creator of the widely-read "This Week in Fintech" (TWIF) newsletter. The fund's investment philosophy centers on identifying and supporting the best fintech and decentralized finance (DeFi) teams globally at the pre-seed and seed stages. Rather than simply providing capital, The Fintech Fund operates as a hands-on investor committed to bringing together a comprehensive ecosystem of support for portfolio companies.
Milanović has articulated the fund's core value proposition: "There's a lot of ETFs that will write large checks. But our goal is to really bring together this whole community — and that's newsletter readers, investors in the fund, our angel syndicate — so that when the founder gets a check out of The Fintech Fund, it's not just money but also a ton of consulting or referrals to new hires and to new customers." This community-driven approach leverages the TWIF platform's 125,000+ newsletter subscribers and global event network to create a unique competitive advantage.
Fund Overview
The Fintech Fund was founded in 2022 and has successfully closed two funds to date. Fund I was launched in 2022, and Fund II closed in September 2024 with $10 million in commitments. The fund now manages approximately $20 million across both funds. The firm is actively deploying capital and seeking new investment opportunities in the fintech and DeFi sectors.
Stage and Check Size Focus
The Fintech Fund operates at the earliest stages of venture capital:
- Primary Focus: Pre-seed and seed-stage companies
- Average Check Size: $200,000 to $400,000
- Typical Range: Pre-seed investments start around $200K, while seed investments can extend to $400K+
This focus on early-stage investments positions the fund well for capturing emerging fintech innovations and building deep relationships with founding teams from inception.
Investment Geography
The Fintech Fund invests globally in fintech and DeFi companies, leveraging Nik Milanović's international presence and the TWIF community's reach across multiple continents. The fund hosts events in major financial hubs including:
- New York (primary headquarters)
- Dubai
- London
- Mumbai
- Mexico City
- Lagos, Nigeria
This global footprint allows the fund to identify and support fintech innovation happening outside traditional venture capitals strongholds.
Sector Focus
The Fintech Fund invests across the full breadth of fintech and blockchain-based financial technology, including:
Core Fintech Areas:
- Payments and payments infrastructure (Payments-as-a-Service)
- Embedded payments and payment integrations
- Lending and loan origination platforms
- Banking infrastructure and services
- Alternative finance and lending
- Financial software and services
- Wealth management and investment platforms
DeFi and Blockchain:
- Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols
- Blockchain-based financial services
- Cryptocurrency and digital asset platforms
Adjacent Technologies:
- Banking and AI/ML applications for financial services
- Identity and verification for financial services
- Compliance and regulatory technology for fintech
The fund explicitly invests in both traditional fintech innovations and emerging blockchain/DeFi opportunities, positioning it at the intersection of finance and emerging technology.
Recent Investment Activity
The Fintech Fund has maintained active investment pace, with 61 total investments as of October 2025. Recent major investments include:
2025 Investments:
- BMONI (October 2025, Early Stage VC)
- Coinflow (August 2025, Financial Software)
- Stable Sea (March 2025, Financial Services)
- WiseLayer (January 2025, Financial Software) - Most recent major investment
- Linc Payments (December 2024, Financial Software)
Recent Notable Portfolio Companies:
- Rainforest - Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) provider, raised $20M Series A (2024), followed by $29M Series B (September 2025). Total raised: $57.5M.
- Cascading AI (now Casca) - AI-native loan origination platform, raised $3.9M pre-seed, recently closed $29M Series A (August 2025)
- Unit - Banking-as-a-service platform
- Ansa - Financial services platform
- Carry - Tax-advantaged investment platform for business owners
Portfolio Track Record and Exits
As of October 2025, the fund has achieved 7 exits from 61 total investments:
- WiseLayer - Merger/Acquisition (December 2025)
- Outgo - Exit (May 2025)
- Ampla - Exit (April 2025)
- Payable - Exit (December 2024)
- Syro - Out of Business (July 2024)
- Cyrus - Buyout/LBO (August 2023)
- Additional portfolio exit
Notable successful exits and portfolio companies demonstrate the fund's ability to identify strong teams and support them through to successful outcomes.
Leadership and Team
Founder & General Partner: Nik Milanović
- Founder of "This Week in Fintech" (TWIF), a global fintech newsletter with 125,000+ subscribers
- Founder of Stablecon, a fintech-focused conference and community platform
- General Partner of The Fintech Fund
- Background: 13+ years in fintech with operator experience from Google Pay and Petal
- Key strength: Extraordinarily broad deal flow and access to fintech practitioners globally through the TWIF newsletter and events platform
- Known for being highly accessible to founders and community members, responding to cold emails and actively participating in community building
The fund operates with a lean, focused team structure that leverages the TWIF ecosystem rather than maintaining a large back-office.
Decision Process and Investment Philosophy
Decision Timeline: Rapid, hands-on process typical of early-stage seed funds
Lead Tendency: The Fintech Fund shows strong lead investment capability, having led multiple seed rounds including Rainforest ($20M Series A) and participating in numerous follow-on investments.
Value-Add Philosophy: Beyond capital, the fund provides:
- Access to the TWIF community of 125,000+ fintech practitioners
- Introductions to potential customers, partners, and hires
- Strategic consulting from Milanović's deep fintech expertise
- PR and thought leadership opportunities through TWIF newsletter
- Global events and networking platform access
- Warm introductions to other investors and service providers
Decision Criteria: The fund seeks founders and teams building solutions to real pain points in financial services, with a preference for technical founders who understand their target customers deeply. Portfolio companies like Cascading AI, Rainforest, and Unit demonstrate the fund's strength in backing infrastructure and platform plays that serve the fintech ecosystem itself.
Competitive Positioning
The Fintech Fund operates in a competitive landscape with other specialized fintech VCs including:
- Better Tomorrow Ventures ($225M AUM, $500K-$4M check size)
- Infinity Ventures ($350M+ AUM, $1M-$10M check size)
- QED Investors ($4B AUM, $15M-$20M check size)
- TTV Capital ($750M+ AUM, $2M-$8M check size)
Among these competitors, The Fintech Fund's differentiation lies in its:
- Deep integration with the fintech community through TWIF
- Founder-friendly approach and accessibility
- Unique combination of founder community and institutional capital
- Global reach and events platform
- Hands-on support and value-add beyond just capital
Market Positioning and Current Activity
As of early 2026, The Fintech Fund is recognized as one of the five most important fintech-focused VCs actively deploying capital in the sector, according to TechCrunch analysis. The firm has maintained steady investment pace despite broader fundraising challenges in the emerging fund manager space, benefiting from its strong community connection and demonstrated track record.
The fund's focus on pre-seed and seed-stage investments positions it well to identify and support the next wave of fintech innovation, particularly in areas where blockchain and AI are transforming financial services.
Summary
The Fintech Fund represents a modern approach to early-stage fintech venture capital, combining institutional investment discipline with deep community engagement. Founded by Nik Milanović, one of the most connected voices in fintech, the fund leverages unique access to deal flow and founder networks through "This Week in Fintech." With $20M AUM across two funds, a portfolio of 61 investments spanning payments, DeFi, lending, and fintech infrastructure, and a hands-on investment philosophy that prioritizes value-add beyond capital, The Fintech Fund has established itself as a trusted early-stage investor for fintech founders globally.