yetipay, simplifying payments for small businesses

What was the catalyst for launching yetipay? 

yetipay came from the lessons learned along my entrepreneurial journey. I started at 20 with an events business. It seemed simple enough at first—book events early and ride the payment wave through the winter—but the reality hit hard. Managing multiple events every weekend was draining and taught me quickly that a good idea doesn't always make for a sustainable business. 

Next, I launched a healthy snack subscription service in London, raising £500K to fund it. But despite the funding, the numbers didn’t add up. Looking back, I realise how much I learned from those struggles. The lessons from those failures laid the foundation for yetipay. 

In 2017, I mentored startups in the Balkans. Helping other founders navigate their challenges helped me reflect on my own journey. That’s when the idea for TableYeti (now yetipay) was born—an intuitive, simple payment solution for small businesses. We built an MVP for just £5,000, and with 5% equity on the table, we were off. From there, it’s been all about learning and adapting. 

Tell us about the business – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers, and so on. 

yetipay simplifies payments for small businesses, offering fast and reliable tools that save them money and let them focus on their core work. By combining Adyen’s platform with a proven growth strategy from classic payment ISOs, we’re able to offer better margins and more control over the experience. 

Our goal is to compete with the biggest players in transaction volume while keeping our operations lean. We’re always innovating, creating products that help our customers thrive. 

We reach businesses through a network of field sales reps and growing partnerships with Enterprise and Point-of-Sale (POS) providers. We’re proud to work with brands like Brewdog, Pho, and Valiant Pub Group, helping them streamline payments and improve their customer experience. 

How has the business evolved since its launch? 

From a simple leave-at-table payment solution, yetipay has evolved into a full-scale payments platform. The shift began in 2020, when the hospitality industry was hit hard by the pandemic. Instead of retreating, we adapted by launching Tap To Tip with TiPJAR, a tool that made tipping easier for restaurants and bars. 

A 2022 trial with Brewdog in Dublin saw monthly tips rise from €1,000 to €5,000 thanks to our integration. That success led to a UK-wide rollout across 60+ locations, proving we were onto something real. In 2023, our partnership with Adyen gave us the infrastructure to scale. What started as a niche solution has now become a serious payments platform with high transaction volumes across multiple markets. 

What’s the working culture like? 

We work out of David Bowie’s old studio in Soho—there’s 26 of us, and we’re not rushing to hire just for the sake of it. We care more about building something great with the team we have. We keep the culture fun, creative, and straightforward. 

Work should feel like play, so we prioritise playfulness. Simplicity is key, so we cut through the noise and focus on what matters. Creativity keeps us sharp, always thinking outside the box. And humility keeps us grounded—no egos, just a team always learning, tweaking, and improving. 

It’s not about strict rules or endless meetings. It’s about progress, enjoying the journey, and building something that actually makes a difference. 

How are you funded? 

We’re backed by a solid group of investors—experienced entrepreneurs who know the ropes. Our angel investors include Paul Statham (Condeco), Simon Squibb (Helpbank), Nick Telson (DmN), Lloyd Amsdon (Watchfinder), and RZM Investments (Saudi Family Office), among others. 

We’ve managed to raise less capital than our total revenue, keeping dilution low while staying true to our values. 

What has been your biggest challenge so far, and how have you overcome it?

The pandemic in 2020 was a game-changer. The hospitality industry was hit hard, forcing us to rethink our approach. Instead of fighting the shift, we embraced it by pivoting to Tap To Tip, refining our payment solutions for the new reality. 

The real breakthrough came in 2023 when we decided to become payments agnostic. Moving beyond hospitality, and with the support of Adyen, we’ve been able to scale even faster, turning yetipay from a niche player into a serious payments platform. 

How does yetipay answer an unmet need? 

We combine Adyen’s platform with our own innovation, adding a human touch to payments. By keeping our operational costs low, we can offer base rates, while providing hands-on customer support to make sure businesses get the help they need. 

At the core, our success isn’t just about having the best tech—it’s about understanding the businesses we serve and staying adaptable when the landscape shifts. That’s what sets us apart. 

What’s in store for the future? 

We’re scaling across Europe, but we’re not just throwing money at it. We’re taking a smart, data-driven approach. For example, we found that PPC ads in Greece were far more cost-effective than in the UK, so we’re testing before we scale. 

We’re also expanding beyond payments, looking into expense cards, bank accounts, and local IBANs. But we’re keeping things simple. Growth comes from following the traction, staying lean, and solving real business problems. That’s where we’re focused. 

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other founders? 

Don’t get caught up in the tech—focus on the people. It’s easy to get obsessed with building the perfect product, but if you’re not solving a real problem in a way that customers actually need, it doesn’t matter. Many fintech companies are led by technical founders who prioritize features over usability, but yetipay works because we listen first. We talk to customers, understand their pain points, and build solutions that actually make their lives easier. The best technology isn’t about complexity, it’s about making things work better for the people using it. 

And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment? 

I don’t believe in work-life balance—I’m all about work-life integration. I wake up around 8am, grab my phone, and check emails from bed. By 9am, I’m on my laptop, coffee in hand, either from a local coffee shop or my kitchen, and diving into deep work. By 10:30am or so, I’m in the office, where the next 7 hours are spent solving problems, sending emails, and talking to the team to get a feel for what's happening in the business. 

People tend to leave between 6pm and 9pm, and I often dive back into deep work mode, usually building some internal tools or fixing problems that came up that day. Around 10pm, I head home, grab a quick dinner, then pull my laptop out again for a bit more work. I tend to sleep around 1am, sometimes later, then get up and do it all over again the next day.

Oliver Pugh is the founder of yetipay.