We are excited to announce that Matchstick Ventures Fund III has completed an investment in Bean. Bean is a marketplace and workflow management platform for accounting and finance services. 

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With the rise of the gig economy over the last decade, and the world embracing remote work because of the pandemic, specialized accounting services have become one of the fastest-growing segments for consulting and project-based work. Because of these dynamics, half of current CFOs are already relying on project-based accounting talent to help them do their jobs effectively. Each year they spend $37 billion, in the US alone, on financial consultants to help mitigate issues related to variable accounting and finance needs.. That number is expected to rise to over $70 billion in the next six years. Today, these CFOs turn to established, traditional firms - the Big Four (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PWC, and KPMG) who dominate the market or, if they can’t afford them, lesser known firms who are hit or miss on quality. 

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With the lack of balance so pervasive in the Industry,more than half of accountants are considering quitting their jobs in the next nine months, with many considering working as consultants on their own as an option. Unfortunately, there are few avenues that connect  specialized accountants and financial services talent with clients outside of word-of-mouth referrals or expensive and inefficient old-school marketing. Vice versa, CFOs are relying mainly on references and recommendations when making decisions about hiring these financial consultants.

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Bean provides an online marketplace for CFOs and corporate finance teams to access top-tier, pre-vetted accounting and finance talent, while also providing tools to help these professionals manage their projects and find new clients.

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Before they are engaged on projects, “Beans,” as talent is called, are qualified and background-checked, with requirements for certifications and experience. Then, Bean leverages dynamic technology to suggest the best matches between projects and talent, with machine learning over time to suggest better matches even quicker. Once a project is started, Bean offers timesheets and billing options for accountants to manage invoicing and payments. To ensure ongoing quality, the platform  provides automated reviews so future clients can see feedback.

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With experience in both the world of accounting and finance as well as technology, Bean’s founders Anees and Cono are uniquely positioned to both see the inefficiencies and flaws in the current system and to innovate through them. We were connected with them during the Techstars LA program, and are excited about the opportunity in this space.

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