The Mint by BTV
The most comprehensive and supportive pre-seed platform curated for fintech founders
Enter: BTV.
After building their own fintech companies, Jake and Sheel ran the 500 Fintech accelerator and supported several highly successful companies, including...
Think of us as an extension of your founding team. We've backed over 100 fintech companies, and we understand the challenges like nobody else.
Our founders look to us for help with hiring, building company culture, distribution, strategic partners, fundraising, and everything it takes to win.
You’ll have direct access to Team BTV, plus direct connections to partners, customers, and investors from the BTV portfolio and broader network.
And when it's time to raise, we'll work side-by-side with you on strategy, storytelling, and connections with the best angels and VCs for your business and stage.
On top of partnering with Team BTV from idea to IPO, you’ll get 10 curated weeks for in-person, focused support.
This program culminates in a Demo Day, where you’ll present to top-tier VCs, strategic partners, and our extensive network.
The Mint was excellent in providing resources, tailored to fintech companies, on a wide range of topics for early-stage founders.
Team BTV’s eagerness to help as a sounding board or with introductions was a real standout!
And the community aspect, especially for co-founders working day in and day out, was really beneficial.
Jenni, CEO of Indagari
The Mint far exceeded my expectations.
This fantastic group of individuals with low egos excelled at creating a positive atmosphere where we felt safe and encouraged to learn, experiment, and test new ideas without fear of judgment or criticism.
Kelsey, COO of InScope
The fintech focus and bringing in awesome speakers were invaluable.
Talking with other founders every day about nuances and problem-solving with so much support was a major benefit of the program.
Basil, CEO of Leeway
Build your company fast in the only pre-seed program tailor made for fintech founders, by fintech founders.
Featuring...
Seasoned Mentors
We’ll pair you with an experienced fintech operator/former founder uniquely suited to your business.
Stay on track and execute with weekly 1:1 coaching and mentorship to track goals and overcome challenges.
Intimate Firesides
Ask burning questions in off-the-record chats with prolific CEOs, like...
Eric ( ) Founder of ra m p,
Ryan ( ) Founder of , Christina ( ) Founder of
, Drew ( ) Founder of
and Tim ( ) Founder of .
Workshops and Office Hours
Unlock key essentials and unknown-unknowns with functional experts in your niche, like:
⚖️ Legal pitfalls, 👶 early-stage product, 💸 founder-led sales, 🧭 pricing strategy, 🌟 early-stage HR
+ other builders from companies like...
Founders don't need calendars packed with blanket seminars.
They need time to build and a helpful community. Hear from them what The Mint’s really like.
Introducing
The Mint cohorts
Minimize mistakes,
accelerate your success.
FAQ
Yes. The Mint is BTV’s value-add program within our pre-seed deals.
We have a standard pre-seed deal for every company accepted into our portfolio, and thus, to The Mint: $500,000, for 10%, through a standard SAFE.
Please note: Our support of these companies isn't limited to the duration of the program. We start working together as soon as we decide to partner, and we continue to closely support these companies long after the program is over. As with all of our companies, we love being their first call along every stage of their journey.
No, the program is not limited to startups catering to the U.S. market. BTV invests globally, including our pre-seed companies who go through The Mint.
Past applicants have included companies at the idea stage. Most accepted companies are pre-revenue.
That said, we typically do not back founders from -1 to 0, and we expect founders to have already identified the problem they want to solve.
We strongly recommend that you apply when you’re ready, but it’s definitely advantageous to apply early.
Some of our offers to pre-seed companies go out many months before The Mint’s cohorts begin – our founder support begins at the time of investment, and it’s ramped up via The Mint once the next cohort begins.
Yes, this is a hands-on program to work and learn side by side with other driven fintech founders, as well as the BTV team and their network. This in-person element is what allows for rapid progress and serendipitous community building.
We hold the program in person, in San Francisco and New York.
The 2025 cohort dates and locations: March-May will be in New York, and August-October will be in San Francisco.
Generally, we believe founders should utilize the in-person 10-week program to focus on setting lofty goals, and hustling to reach them quickly alongside top resources and community — via their own team, other fintech founders, and Team BTV.
As such, our bespoke programming (e.g., firesides and office hours) is strategically lean – we bring in relevant support and guidance, organized to match the founders in each cohort. On average, it doesn’t consume more than 2-5 hours per week.
Fundraising at the end of the 10-week program is not the universal target or requirement; not every company needs to raise at that point. But every company benefits from perfecting their pitch and meeting our Demo Day audience: tier-1 VCs, founders and angels, and potential strategic partners, like banks and insurance companies.
For the companies that were ready to raise, they were able to do so. For the rest, they forged valuable connections to tap into once they were ready to raise.
We respond to all applications within 1-2 weeks. Since we receive hundreds of applications monthly and are a small team, we’re limited to providing specific application feedback to the companies that are invited to interview with us.