Early Funding Path
Bootstrapped + Angel + IPO
First Customers
Churches
Founded (Year)
2011
Key Tactics
Niche vertical focus
Type
Donor Management / Fintech
Vertical
B2B SaaS
Website
Pushpay was founded by Chris Heaslip and Eliot Crowther (2011), initially bootstrapped with early angel investor support, then listed on the NZX in 2014 to raise capital for expansion.
Early customers were churches and charities using the mobile giving / donation platform. By 2019 the company served over 7,000 churches globally.
Startup Rollercoaster: Pushpay
The Spark – Giving Made Simple
- In 2011, co-founders Chris Heaslip and Eliot Crowther noticed how difficult it was for people to donate in traditional church settings.
- They built a mobile giving app and a donor-management platform to modernise church donations and simplify the experience.
The Peak – Listing & Growth
- Pushpay listed on the NZX in 2014, raising external capital to fuel expansion.
- The platform saw increasing adoption among churches; by 2019 it had over 7,000 church customers.
The Drop – Scaling Complexity
- Meeting the needs of large / enterprise-scale churches required more sophisticated features, tighter integrations, greater reliability, and compliance.
- As a public company, Pushpay faced pressure from investors to show growth and profitability under scrutiny.
The Reset – Focus & Expansion
- The company sharpened its product focus: recurring giving, engagement tools, more robust donation workflows.
- In 2016 it listed on the ASX as well, to support expansion, especially into the U.S. and broader faith-sector markets.
The Discipline – Customer-Centric Execution
- Built strong support function, invested in security, reliability, and uptime.
- Developed features tailored to large churches while retaining ease of use for smaller ones.
- Prioritised integrations, usability, and retention of customers.
The Climb – From NZ Startup to Faith Tech Leader
- With improved product, credibility, and funding, Pushpay expanded internationally, especially in the U.S.
- By staying focused on its niche (churches / faith-based organisations) and consistently executing, it became a category leader in digital giving and church engagement.
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