What Is Revenue-Based Funding and Why Founders Are Choosing Flexible Models

Scaling an ecommerce brand takes more than grit and great products. It takes capital that can move as fast as your growth. For founders who want to scale without giving up ownership, revenue-based financing (RBF) offers a flexible, founder-friendly way to fund that growth.

But not all RBF models are created equal. Many providers still rely on rigid paytance structures, limited funding windows, or manual reapplications that slow brands down just when they’re ready to scale.

Clearco’s approach to revenue-based funding was built specifically for ecommerce, where demand can change daily and momentum matters. With products like Rolling Funding and Invoice Funding, founders can access capital continuously as they pay, without reapplying, and make capped weekly payments that flex with revenue.

In this post, we’ll explore how Clearco’s flexible model goes beyond standard RBF to give ecommerce founders the freedom, speed, and control they need to grow with confidence.

Rigid Payment Structures Penalize Fast Moving Brands

For fast-growing ecommerce brands, rigid financing quickly becomes a barrier. It creates friction, slows reaction time, and limits the ability to reinvest when opportunity strikes. Brands that want to grow need capital that moves with them, not against them.

Growth rarely follows a straight line, but many funding models still expect it to. Even within revenue-based financing, some providers use rigid payment terms or fixed daily payments that drain cash before new revenue arrives. Others limit funding to set committed tranches, forcing founders to pause when timing matters most.

These limitations create friction when brands need flexibility the most. Slow capital means missed campaigns, delayed reorders, and less room to react when growth opportunities appear.

Clearco is built for the pace of ecommerce. Our model adapts to your brand’s performance so you can reinvest faster, protect cash flow, and scale without slowing down.

Funding That Flexes: How Clearco’s Model Matches Your Sales

Clearco takes revenue-based financing further. Our model is built around the way ecommerce brands actually operate – dynamic, fast-moving, and margin-conscious. Payments flex with sales, funding replenishes as you pay, and you stay in control of timing and spend. No fixed schedules, no reapplications, and no loss of ownership.

In September 2025, we rebuilt our model to match the real-world rhythms of online retail. During slower periods, funding doesn’t cut into your margin. And when growth windows open like Black Friday, Cyber Monday (BFCM) or a seasonal spike, you’re ready to act.

Two capital solutions, built for speed and flexibility:

• Rolling Funding gives eligible operators ongoing access to capital as they pay, without reapplying or waiting for approval cycles.
• Invoice Funding helps cover time-sensitive vendor payments, like marketing investments or inventory orders, with capped weekly payments.

Clearco Moves With Your Momentum

Ecommerce moves fast, and so do the founders building it. Clearco funding is designed for brands that operate beyond a 9 to 5 schedule and need capital that can keep up.

For operators with strong margins and ambitious plans, Clearco’s flexible model delivers capital that adapts as you grow. Lengthy approvals, rigid terms, and fixed payment structures slow momentum, but Clearco gives founders the ability to act fast when it matters most. Whether you’re preparing for BFCM 2025, the holiday season or launching a new product, your capital is ready when inventory orders, paid media, and fulfillment begin.

The impact is clear from brands like DIGGS, who used Clearco funding to move quickly and invest in what mattered most.

“Clearco is the best financing partner we’ve worked with. They are thoughtful, knowledgeable, and deeply committed to supporting DTC brands with the working capital they need to fuel their growth.”
— Zel Crampton, Founder of DIGGS

By aligning capital with the key levers that drive growth, Clearco helps ecommerce brands scale with clarity and control. Founders need more than fast funding; they need flexible, strategic capital that moves with their ambition.