Upfrontly, Inc. — Corporate Overview
Embedded finance for the entertainment industry.
We put working capital inside the platforms that entertainment businesses already run on. Businesses sell us a receivable and receive funds; the platform adds a capability without adding credit risk. Every purchase is funded by institutional capital.
What we do
Entertainment runs on delay. Money is committed long before it is collected, and collected long before it is distributed. The businesses inside that cycle — the ones producing, promoting, and publishing — carry the gap on their own balance sheets.
Upfrontly closes that gap by purchasing receivables. A business sells us a payment it is owed, or will be owed, and receives funds now. This is a purchase, not a loan: we take ownership of the receivable and we take the risk on it.
We reach those businesses through the platforms they already use. The offer appears where they manage their settlements and payouts, sized and approved without a separate application or a new credit relationship.
Each transaction is a true sale of a receivable. We hold the asset and the associated risk through to settlement.
Delivered inside partner platforms as a native capability rather than a separate product a customer has to find.
Funded entirely by institutional credit investors. No retail capital, and no capital from the platform.
How we work with platforms
A platform partnership follows the same sequence every time. We keep the surface area small, start with a capped pilot, and agree in writing what ends it.
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Integrate
A thin interface into the platform's existing dashboard. Customers see a native offer in the workflow they already use — no redirects and no co-branded detour.
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Underwrite and purchase
We underwrite each transaction against our own credit model and purchase the receivable at a discount. The capital is ours to deploy and the risk is ours to hold.
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Settle at source
When the underlying receivable settles, it pays to us directly. The platform runs no collections workflow and carries no receivables on its books.
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Review against written criteria
Pilots are volume-capped and time-boxed, with exit criteria agreed before anything goes live. Expansion is a decision, not a default.
Structure and capital
Purchased receivables are held in a bankruptcy-remote trust with an independent institutional trustee, separate from Upfrontly’s operating company. Capital is committed by institutional credit investors across more than one source, so no single funder determines whether a program continues.
The structure exists for a practical reason. Platform partners need to know that the financing behind a customer-facing feature will still be there next quarter, and that it does not sit on their balance sheet in the meantime.
Team
Upfrontly was founded by credit investors and operators who spent their careers structuring transactions for institutional lenders, alongside people who have run the entertainment businesses we finance.
Jonathan Hecht
Previously led entertainment investing at a family office. Background in entertainment credit, bringing that underwriting lens to embedded financing.
Mike Chacos
Former Head of Structured Credit at TD Securities. Founded and ran a structured credit products hedge fund. Oversees structuring and operations.
Dhruv Saxena
Bain alum focused on global TMT transactions. Scaled a media private equity firm and led the first Middle Eastern technology company IPO on Nasdaq, across a portfolio spanning gaming, streaming, and production.
Dave Hurka
Developer background across enterprise finance organizations including Bloomberg. Leads bank connectivity and platform integrations.
Tim Chambers
Over 30 years in live entertainment and ticketing. Founded TicketWeb UK. Former VP European Development at Ticketmaster and SVP International Corporate Development at Live Nation. Managed iconic London venues including Brixton Academy and Shepherds Bush Empire.
Alexandre Salem
President of Arcade.com. Previously held senior roles at King, Google, Huawei, and Stillfront, scaling product organizations and growth across global markets. Earlier career in investment banking at BNP Paribas and strategy consulting at Booz & Company.
Harrison Goldstein
Background in live entertainment from the venue and talent side, including Webster Hall and Artist Group International. Founded First Act Data Solutions, an artist analytics platform acquired by Undercurrents, Inc.
Start a conversation
We work with a small number of platforms at a time. If you run a platform that settles or pays out to the businesses on it, tell us what your customers are asking for and we will respond within two business days.
Capital partnerships, press, and privacy requests go through the same form.