NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, generating nearly half of the national GDP and employing millions. Despite their outsized contribution, however, many of these businesses face restrictive pathways to capital and growth. The primary driver of each limitation is the same: inadequate financial management.
Missed expenses, disorganized transactions, incomplete documentation: these seemingly small issues can prevent otherwise strong businesses from accessing capital, becoming profitable, or even getting acquired at fair value. After working with over 10,000 small businesses, Bags has seen that the majority of small businesses are strong, but their books often don’t show it, and that gap is costing them opportunities.
That’s where Bags comes in.
Founded in 2020 by Daniel Taylor, William Hayden, and Ignacio Semerene, Bags is transforming how small businesses understand, manage, and grow with their finances. The company pairs responsible AI-insights with human expertise, CFO level reporting, and bookkeeping accuracy to help small businesses scale, unlock growth opportunities, and access capital.
“We’re changing the way small businesses think about money,” says CEO Daniel Taylor. “By combining AI financial reviews, CFO level reporting, and access to over $10 billion in available credit, we help entrepreneurs become stronger operators and grow their businesses with confidence.”
And it’s working.
Businesses using Bags grow an average of 250% year over year, are 4.5x more likely to get funded, and secure financing 5x faster than the national average.
Now, the company is scaling that impact even further with the announcement of a $2.75 million investment round led by Ford Foundation, with participation from Partnership Fund for New York City, Zeal Capital Partners, Slauson & Co, Limited Ventures, and Blueprint FTC, which joins Bags’ growing list of current investors, including Slauson & Co, Connecticut Innovations, Howard Schultz Family Foundation and Swanston Labs, bringing total capital raised to $7 million.
“Well-informed financial management is the key to making prudent decisions and unlocking access to growth-enabling credit for small businesses,” says Roy Swan of Ford Foundation. “We’re pleased to support the Bags team as they expand their impact across the U.S.“
While most AI bookkeeping tools leave 5–25% of transactions misclassified and many fractional CFOs cost $10K–20K/month, Bags has found a way to make precision, clarity, and growth guidance affordable.
As a first step, Bags offers small businesses free AI-powered financial reviews that assess financial statements to identify errors and areas for improvement, explain likely causes of errors, and describe the ideal solution or approach.
“By equipping small businesses with better financial management tools, guidance and access to debt capital, Bags is helping a critical part of our economy remain competitive and financially resilient,” said Maria Gotsch, President and CEO of Partnership Fund for New York City. “A New York-based company themselves, Bags is a great example of applying new technology to solve real problems that serve the public interest.”
The investment will help Bags deepen its product capabilities for small businesses and expand partnerships with mission-driven lenders and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Following their most recent partnership announcement with TruFund Financial Services, Bags plans to support additional CDFI and MDI pilots in 2026, modernizing how borrowers get prepared, packaged, funded, and supported post-loan—improving lender throughput and borrower outcomes with real-time financial visibility.
Bags’ vision is simple: a future where small businesses are no longer underfunded or overwhelmed by financial systems that weren’t built for them. One where they are equipped with clean books, informed about what they say, and truly ready to grow because of it.
Learn more at securebags.com/financial-review.
Contact Bags at hello@securebags.com.
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