Fintech firm Novo opens Wilmington office

Novo, the developer of a fintech platform for small businesses, recently opened a Wilmington office. | PHOTO COURTESY OF NOVO

WILMINGTON – Novo, a financial solutions platform provider for small businesses and one of the fastest growing private companies in the country, has opened a Wilmington office as part of its expansion plans.

Founded in 2016 by Michael Rangel and Tyler McIntyre, the fintech company is now headquartered in Miami. It has built a platform for small businesses that combines a checking account with a variety of business services like invoicing and financing options, while integrating with payroll services.

It ranked No. 38 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies, with a three-year growth rate of 9,906%. Novo was also named to the Forbes Fintech 50 list, which highlights “the top private companies that are transforming finance through technology,” in both 2022 and 2023.

It has surpassed $20 billion in small business transactions and serves more than 200,000 customers. Notably, it has developed integration partnerships with leading online retailers Amazon and gig economy platform Fiverr, among others.

Another recently developed product is Novo Funding, which offers loans to small businesses to for working capital. Since its launch, Novo Funding has issued more than $70 million.

In May, the company opened an outpost location at the Stat International coworking space on Orange Street in Wilmington. It has hired a dozen employees since then and “will continue to grow the office in the coming years,” according to an announcement Friday by the state’s public-private economic development organization, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, regarding the investment.

According to online job listings, Novo is hiring for collections and servicing specialists, or those who contact customers who are behind on payment to negotiate repayment terms, in Wilmington.

“Small businesses make up more than half of Delaware’s workforce — an incredible testament to the work Delaware has done to make small business creation and growth as accessible as possible,” said Grant Sahag, vice president of operations at Novo, in a statement. “The Novo team is honored to be a part of Delaware’s thriving small business community.”

Delaware, and Wilmington in particular, are home to some of the largest fintech operations in the country, including those by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Discover, Capital One, Citibank and Barclays. A growing number of companies, including Ally Financial, City National Bank and Goldman Sachs, have also established operations here in recent years. The activity has also birthed other local successes, such as Best Egg.

Seeking to capitalize on that leading industry, the University of Delaware recently opened the FinTech Innovation Hub on its Newark campus to continue to advance financial service technology design, operations and security research and instruction in the First State.

“Novo’s decision to expand to Wilmington is great news for the First State,” Gov. John Carney said in a statement Friday. “We want to be the place companies consider when starting and growing their businesses. Novo’s move to Wilmington shows that our efforts to make Delaware inviting to corporations are working and that the Delaware Prosperity Partnership is making a difference.”