.png)
It all started in 2021 with a simple question I asked myself while reviewing a job offer at The Thesis Hotel in Coral Gables: "Why can't I get paid in crypto?"
My college best friend Hakim Isa and I had always been working on ideas together, from selling UCF T-shirts after a bowl game to interning at the same angel investor group. We knew we worked well together so when I shared the idea, Hakim was immediately on board.
As ambitious as we were, we knew we needed someone with serious technical skills. So I pitched the concept to my dad, Perumal Ramakrishnan, a seasoned computer engineer who had spent his career building complex enterprise systems at some of the world’s biggest companies.Â
His response was classic: "Sure, prove you can raise money and you know how to sell to customers."
Thanks to our friends at OnDeck, we successfully raised some cash, built a waitlist, put together a team and got to work. Â
My dad recruited his former colleagues Sathish, to help lead the technical efforts, and KK, to recruit a team of developers in India. Logan and Nikhil joined soon after to round out our Benefits, GTM + Payroll Operations. My uncle, Ragu, even moonlighted with us in the early days to help get us off the ground!Â
None of us knew what we had exactly signed up for but we knew we could figure it out.
Our Pivot
After a year of building, we launched our crypto-enabled payroll product in 2023.
As luck would have it, we went live right in the middle of a historic bear market thanks to FTX, 3AC, Celsius + others. Consumer demand for crypto was at an all time low. We had to go back to the drawing board on our value prop and distribution.Â
Our lightbulb moment came while opening a business bank account during the SVB meltdown of March 2023. We noticed how Bank of America offered “payroll services” but it just referred clients to outside services like QuickBooks and ADP. It left us a bit confused. That’s when the 2nd biggest question in Rollfi history came up, “Why doesn’t the bank just offer its own payroll service? They already hold my money.”Â
That's when we realized: we could help unlock a ton of easy revenue for Fintechs, Vertical SaaS platforms, Accounting Firms and Financial Institutions by letting them white label or embed our payroll + benefits infrastructure to their existing customers.Â
Payroll has historically been a one size fits all type solution that segmented by business size without caring for the nuances of each individual industry. It didn’t matter if you were a construction company, a nail salon, or a rocket ship tech company in the making - the options were the same. If we can lower the barrier to entry, we can help a ton of platforms and firms unlock easy revenue by tailoring their payroll experience specifically to their industry, workflow + client base.Â
This wasn’t an entirely revolutionary concept, Toast had already proven how effective SaaS + Fintech could be with restaurants. In fact, they bought StratEx, a restaurant payroll company for millions to unlock this exact opportunity.Â
With Rollfi, we help founders do this for a fraction of the cost.
The Acquisition
Fast forward to today, Rollfi has officially joined Priority Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: PRTH). Thank you Luke for making the introduction!
This isn’t just an acquisition - it is a validation of our vision.
“Payroll is a critical component of any company’s financial ecosystem,” said Tom Priore, Priority CEO. “This acquisition unites Priority’s robust financial infrastructure with Rollfi’s innovative payroll and benefits solutions, positioning us to deliver even greater value to our customers by enhancing and expanding our existing offerings.”
Essentially, we now combine the focus, speed and obsession of a startup with the institutional strength of one of the largest payments businesses in the country.Â
We join other Priority Tech Ventures acquisitions such as Plastiq and Ambient.
What This Means for Our Partners
With Priority's backing, we now offer:
- Battle tested money movement rails (Powering over $1T in Commerce)
- 20+ Tier 1 and Super Regional Processing Banks
- Nationwide Money Transmitter Licenses
- The Fastest Way to add Payroll + Benefits to your product suite
Our payroll and benefits infrastructure helps banks, accountants, and vertical SaaS platforms effortlessly expand their product suite to unlock new revenue streams + increase stickiness.
Looking Ahead
As I reflect on our journey - from a random idea in a Miami hotel to being acquired by a NASDAQ listed company - I'm incredibly proud of what our incredible team has built over the last 3 years.
We are here to solve a simple problem: making payroll match the modern workforce.Â
Today, with Priority's support, we're doing exactly that.
About RollfiÂ
Rollfi provides the fastest way for Banks, Vertical SaaS, Accounting Firms, and Fintechs to integrate payroll and benefits into their offerings through our white-label solutions + robust APIs. By leveraging Rollfi’s infrastructure, businesses can unlock new revenue streams, increase customer retention, and access valuable payroll data insights. With rapid deployment and comprehensive coverage, Rollfi transforms your platform into a one-stop-shop for essential services, driving growth and enhancing customer satisfaction.