Long Island financial tech startup gets $1M from early Etsy funders

Long Island startup Bookkeeper360 has raised $1 million from two of the original funders of Etsy Inc., the online arts and crafts retailer now valued at more than $25 billion.

Woodbury-based Bookkeeper360's subscription model offers small businesses a financial app that spotlights metrics like working capital, payroll costs and cash-burn analysis. The company's services unit provides human assistance for accounting, tax and payrolls.

The new funding round came from brothers Judson and Spencer Ain, both of Roslyn. In 2005, they participated in a three-person angel funding round for Etsy, whose stock has climbed more than six-fold in the last 12 months.

Judson Ain said that the explosive growth of Brooklyn-based Etsy came as a surprise.

"Etsy's a $25 billlion company. I never thought I'd be an investor in that," Ain said, describing himself and his brother as "low key guys" who work in real estate management.

Part of the appeal of Bookkeeper360, Ain said, is that its technology can help e-commerce merchants like those on platforms like Etsy and Shopify.

Bookkeeper360 already is profitable and has strong leadership in founder and chief executive Nick Pasquarosa, he said, but needs funding to grow.

Though they have pored over the financials, Ain said it's also important to take the measure of the entrepreneur.

"You have to believe in the leader," he said. "[Nick] is not going to give up until he's successful."

Before the latest round, Pasquarosa said, the 9-year-old company had raised $1.1 million in small increments from friends and family.

Bookkeeper360's app, launched in July, pulls data from clients' Xero accounting and Gusto payroll software, Pasquarosa said, and plans call for integrating with additional systems, including those of Amazon and Shopify.

"People have their accounting systems," he said. Bookkeeper360's app extracts data and provides cash-flow alerts and tells startups "how long the runway is."

Pasquarosa said current clients, including retailers, e-commerce companies and real estate and law firms, are scattered from coast to coast.

The app costs $19 a month and full accounting services start at $399 a month.

"Not everyone can afford a [chief financial officer]. If you need more personalized help, we can assist on a project or hourly basis," he said.

Investors worldwide have been pouring money into financial technology — fintech — "unicorns" with valuations of more than $1 billion, such as Robinhood, which appeals to younger investors by offering trading in cryptocurrencies and fractional stock shares.

"It's pretty remarkable what's going on in the space," Pasquarosa said. "I'd love to be the one that brings [a unicorn] to Long Island."

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.