Founder Friday is a content series from SuperAngel.Fund highlighting companies in our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
In our 26th edition we are featuring Alaxic Smith & Dega Gebre, Co-Founders of Edge, a modern payments platform designed for merchants mis-labeled as high-risk.
Most businesses have a wide range of choices when it comes to selecting a payment processor, with Stripe ($74B valuation), being one of the leading players. There are many other businesses, however, that are rejected by traditional processors for being mislabeled as “high-risk,” since they operate in less established markets. These include cannabis, fantasy sports, skilled gaming, crypto, web3, alcohol, telehealth, adult entertainment & more.
For companies in these areas, they are forced to choose from the ‘best of the worst’ second-tier providers resulting in high fees, large holdbacks, and poor user experiences. That’s where Edge comes in - offering a premium, transparent solution for mislabeled merchants. Edge delivers a first-class customer AND merchant experience, reduces costs, increases flexibility and decreases time to market.
Co-Founders Alaxic Smith and Dega Gebre each bring a unique set of experiences to the table. Alaxic’s background is in engineering, previously co-founding multiple businesses while acting as a CTO. Dega has a deep sales and business development background, working at several venture-backed SaaS companies. Together, they plan to build Edge into a suite of financial tools and services, with payments for high-risk merchants as their wedge. Given the team’s abilities, vision and enormous market opportunity, it is no surprise they’ve attracted over $2m for their pre-seed round, led by Long Journey Ventures.
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Alaxic: Payments APIs for all.
Dega: Payment processing for mislabeled merchants.
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Alaxic: After working at 2 companies that were labeled as 'high-risk', I experienced what it's like as an engineer when you can't work with Stripe. Merchants labeled high-risk resort to the best of the worst processors that lack developer API's, are expensive, and generally take advantage of them. I decided that I wanted to build a more inclusive payment processor that partnered with more inclusive financial partners, better underwriting, and the best API's.
Dega: It sounds really cheesy, but is totally true: to have ultimate control over my professional destiny. Additionally, and this is huge for me, was to no longer feel underutilized. Knowing that you can do more but are constantly held back from doing so is the worst feeling.
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Alaxic: Just start building. Reading multiple guides, blogs, seeking advice, etc. There is no substitute for just building. You'll learn far more from experience.
Dega: Believe in yourself to take that first step. We are highly adaptable individuals and will make any situation work!
What do you love to do in your free time?
Alaxic: Hmm, I'll say 3 things: 1. travel 2. geek out over home appliances/tools 3. fitness (run, spin, and weightlifting).
Dega: Gym, beach, ride my bike, movies, travel, eat amazing food and read articles! Pretty boring and middle of the road haha.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Alaxic: Ibiza — got engaged there!
Dega: Big Sur on a solo trip. The most beautiful coast line and hidden beach gems. The water is so pristine, the scene is so serene, and the forests and hiking are amazing. It allowed me time to myself with no cell service/internet, so I could focus solely on reflective and introspective thoughts. I left Big Sur with a renewed and laser focus on what I need to do and deep understanding of how to get there.
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Alaxic: Work tool: Notion — just makes it easy to organize my brain. Personal life: Equinox — while I do work a lot, Equinox helps me balance/reset and clear my thoughts.
Dega: Favorite app/tool in work life is LinkedIn Sales Navigator. This tool has been so helpful in my sales outbound work, as well as for professional networking in general. I've had deals initiated through SalesNav and have landed multiple job interviews through LinkedIn. Favorite app/tool in personal life is Spotify. I love music. I have songs and playlists for any and every occasion. Music hits my soul like nothing else.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Alaxic: Resilience at every level — investors, employees, market conditions, etc. It's important to remain steadfast and not to let things rattle you too much.
Dega: Accountability. Being able to hold your cofounder, your team, your investors, and most importantly, yourself accountable is an extremely critical piece to accomplishing the goals you and your team put in place.
SuperAngel.Fund is an early stage fund that invests in Consumer, PropTech & Future of Work. You can learn more at SuperAngel.Fund.