Mainstack processed $1.5 million in transaction volume for 9,000 customers last September. The founders, Ayobami Oyaleke and Olamide Akinola, pitched that number on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. Their bet is straightforward: give creators and small businesses a no-code tool to build storefronts, portfolios, and booking pages, then handle the messy cross-border payments underneath. For a Nigerian-led company operating from Austin and Lagos, the early traction suggests they found a wedge.
The No-Code Payments Wedge
The initial product was a pre-beta storefront with payments, launched in January 2022. It attracted 3,000 users and processed $100,000 in its first month, growth the founders attribute to organic Twitter traction [TechCrunch, September 2023]. The platform has since expanded into a unified ecosystem for media kits, invoicing, and bookings. The core proposition abstracts the complexity of payment APIs and currency conversion into a simple interface. This is a classic fintech play: own the transaction layer by solving a painful, fragmented problem for a specific audience. In this case, the audience is global creators selling digital goods, courses, and professional services.
Traction in a Growing Market
The disclosed metrics point to early, capital-efficient scale. The company reports serving users in 127 countries with a 33% month-over-month growth rate as of last fall [TechCrunch, September 2023]. This geographic spread is a key signal. It indicates product-market fit not in a single region but across the emerging-market creator economy, where access to global payment rails is often the primary bottleneck. The tailwind is significant. Africa's creator economy alone is projected to grow from approximately $5 billion in 2025 to nearly $30 billion by 2032 [Lawyard]. Mainstack is positioning itself as the infrastructure layer for that expansion.
The Funding and Competitive Landscape
The company raised a $500,000 seed round in 2023, led by Techstars with participation from Midlothian Angels Network [TechCrunch, September 2023]. The round is modest, especially for a venture-scale fintech play. It suggests a focus on proving unit economics before a larger raise. The competitive field includes platforms like Selar, another Nigerian player serving creators. The rivalry appears substantive; a March 2026 report from Weetracker described "bad blood" between the companies spilling into public view [Weetracker, March 2026]. For Mainstack, differentiation will hinge on the depth of its payment integration and the simplicity of its no-code tools.
The table below outlines the early competitive positioning based on available public information.
| Company | Primary Focus | Known Scale | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainstack | No-code storefronts & global payments | 9,000 customers, $1.5M volume (2023) | Global, HQ in Austin/US, Lagos/NG |
The Quiet Period and the Road Ahead
The most pressing question for observers is momentum. All public metrics and news coverage stem from September 2023. The absence of subsequent funding announcements, major partnership reveals, or job postings creates a natural pause in the narrative. The risks here are clear:
- Scale capital. The $500,000 seed round is lean for building robust payment infrastructure and sales teams.
- Feature depth. Competitors are not standing still, and the no-code tooling space is crowded.
- Monetization. The model relies on transaction fees and premium subscriptions; scaling volume is critical.
Yet, the early numbers are hard to dismiss. Processing $1.5 million across 127 countries with a small team is a proof point. The Techstars backing and the Top 20 finish at TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 provide validation [Techpoint Africa, September 2023]. The founders, who have participated in forums like Startup Grind Lagos, are betting the complex global payment flow can be made simple enough for anyone to use [Startup Grind].
The next check will likely be a Series A. The terms of that round, and which investor writes it, will answer whether Mainstack's early organic growth in emerging markets can be systematized into a global fintech business. Can a $500,000 Techstars-led seed turn into a nine-figure valuation by wiring together the world's creators?
Sources
- [TechCrunch, September 2023] Mainstack's no-code online business service eliminates cross-border payment complexity | https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/20/mainstacks-no-code-online-business-service-eliminates-cross-border-payment-complexity/
- [TechCrunch, September 2023] Mainstack Pitches at Startup Battlefield | TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnI-Vyv5SgM
- [Lawyard] Africa's creator economy projected growth |
- [Techpoint Africa, September 2023] Nigerian-led Mainstack emerges as one of the top 20 startups at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 | https://techpoint.africa/2023/09/19/mainstack-emerges-t0op-20-at-techcrunch-startup-battlefield-200/
- [Weetracker, March 2026] Bad Blood Between Nigeria's Creator Economy Rivals Spills Onto The Streets | https://weetracker.com/2026/03/16/selar-mainstack-rivalry-nigeria-creator-economy/
- [Startup Grind] From Vision to Venture: Lessons in Startup Success W/ Ayobami Oyaleke(Mainstack) at Startup Grind Lagos | https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-lagos-presents-from-vision-to-venture-lessons-in-startup-success-w-ayobami-oyalekemainstack/