"Sage's flexible financing model offers growth-focused companies a balanced approach to capital, helping businesses optimize costs, equity dilution, and risk at every stage of development."
-Jonathan Benjamin, Co-Founder & CEO
Jonathan Benjamin, the founder and CEO of UnityLab, discovered that the customer journey for purchasing commercial appliances was far from easy or enjoyable. Small businesses either had to choose between lower-priced consumer models that often failed to meet their demands or very expensive commercial models that lacked transparency of information and often had poor customer service.
As a result of this gap in the market, Jonathan built Unity Laundry Systems, now a part of UnityLab, a unique web platform that provides small business owners with a consumer-like shopping experience including access to exclusive high value products, strong customer service and lots of information about light industrial products used in a commercial environment.
This case study explores how Jonathan leveraged revenue-based financing to fuel remarkable growth – expanding the business by 10X over four years. Today, revenue financing remains a key strategic tool in Unity's ongoing expansion and success.
Revenue Finance for Product Development
Founded in 2018, Unity Laundry Systems revolutionized the commercial appliance industry by pioneering a direct-to-business model that combines competitive pricing with seamless purchasing and premium customer service—all tailored for small business owners. From its humble beginnings with a single commercial laundry machine, UnityLab has grown into the largest online commercial appliance provider of its kind, now serving over 25,000 customers worldwide with a comprehensive range of commercial appliances, accessories, and value-added services.
Today, UnityLab's portfolio includes two distinguished brands—Unity Laundry and Hoffman — offering commercial washers, dryers, presses, logistics and installation services, replacement parts, extended warranties, and expert support. Through robust organic growth and strategic acquisition plans, UnityLab continues to establish itself as the trusted one-stop solution for small business owners, enabling them to focus on their core operations while elevating their performance with confidence.
When Unity first approached Sage Growth Capital in August 2020, the company had 47 customers, less than $1M in annual revenue, and was operating at a loss. Having bootstrapped the business since its inception and validated their concept through the successful launch of their first machine, it became evident that expanding their product line would accelerate growth and meet increasing demand from their target market.
Through detailed analysis of data made available by Unity's direct-to-business model, research indicated that introducing both smaller and larger capacity machines would address clear market opportunities. However, launching these new SKUs would require additional capital investment.
"We always knew that delaying traditional equity raises would benefit our founding team, since early-stage VC funding could prove both expensive and detrimental to the business. And with negative operating cash flow, traditional debt wasn't an option," explains Jonathan, Unity's CEO. "Still, we recognized that external capital was essential to take the business to the next level. This led us to explore alternative financing options, which is how we discovered Sage's unique revenue-based financing model. Their offering appeared to be perfectly aligned with our needs."
The Sage team was impressed with Jonathan’s experience, the company’s recent growth and its organized financials, which led them to make a $150,000 revenue-based investment.
Unity used Sage’s capital to introduce two new machines, which helped the company meet the demands of customers and close their gap to profitability. From 2020 to 2021, the business grew by 2X, despite supply chain issues amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The funding from Sage enabled us to introduce two new SKUs to our product line, which fueled rapid growth. Throughout our partnership, we found Sage incredibly collaborative—they were consistently available when needed and proved to be strong advocates for both our team and Unity as a whole. Even during challenging periods, such as the COVID pandemic and subsequent supply chain disruptions, Sage's support remained unwavering."
Growth Capital for Strategic Acquisitions
By the time Unity approached Sage for a second time in December of 2021, the company had grown its customer base exponentially. This time, Unity was looking for additional funds to support the financing of an acquisition of Hoffman, an older industrial business based in Pennsylvania that sold steam boilers and pressing machines to many of the same small business customers Unity was selling its washers to such as retail dry cleaners and hotels.
Hoffman New Yorker, Inc. was well-known in the equipment industry and larger than Unity, with 24 employees and a global customer base of thousands of customers. By acquiring Hoffman New Yorker, Unity would not only grow in size and offerings, but also enhance its manufacturing with a local facility. Jonathan was also able to benefit from the synergies of adding many of Hoffman’s product lines onto his online platform.
The company primarily used debt and grants to finance the acquisition of Hoffman, but needed an additional $750K to finalize the deal. Always eager to help strong performing portfolio companies, Sage decided to provide the funds and enable the company to achieve its acquisition objective.
Through strong management and detail-oriented execution, Jonathan successfully merged their offerings and business operations with Hoffman’s. The Hoffman acquisition, along with core business growth, helped Unity grow by nearly 4X from 2021 to 2023.
Sage’s capital allowed Jonathan to preserve ownership without using more equity to finalize the Hoffman acquisition in Q1 of 2022 which later positioned Unity for a favorable Series A round of funding in Q3 of 2022 totaling $6.6 million.
"Securing acquisition funding for Hoffman proved challenging since it wasn't yet generating positive cash flow. However, our due diligence gave us confidence that we could turn Hoffman around, create new growth opportunities, and improve profitability," explains Jonathan. "Once again, we found ourselves seeking non-dilutive funding that would allow us to prove our thesis with Hoffman before pursuing a traditional venture round. Sage’s capital enabled us to do exactly that—we completed the acquisition, implemented our improvement and growth plans, and demonstrated the results to external investors. This strategy proved successful, allowing us to secure our Series A financing at a favorable valuation."
Bridge Capital for Later Stages of Growth
In May 2024, Unity secured additional financing through their existing partnership with Sage. The funding was strategically structured to support Unity's upcoming expansion plans, including international market growth, platform scalability enhancements, and new product development. This financing arrangement, building on their previous successful collaboration with Sage, was specifically designed to prepare Unity for future acquisitions and fundraising rounds. The funding structure proved advantageous as it preserved existing equity positions, maintained a streamlined cap table, avoided complications with senior and subordinated debt arrangements, and provided capital for growth initiatives that could enhance company valuation.
The strategic deployment of this capital has driven substantial operational advancements. UnityLab established a new office in Xiamen, China, along with a wholly owned subsidiary that manages domestic production, marketing, and sales within China while supporting global exports. The company mirrored this expansion in Europe by establishing UnityLab Italy. Operationally, UnityLab implemented a sophisticated global supply chain sourcing strategy, enhanced by new technical tools and integrations, resulting in a 40% reduction in gross margin costs. This strengthened operational foundation has positioned the company to efficiently introduce new product lines—whether acquired or developed organically—into global markets while optimizing overall cost structures.
"While our existing shareholders continue to support the business ahead of raising new funding, we see tremendous benefit in utilizing Sage's capital to support key development initiatives that will enable our next stage of growth," explains Jonathan. "Rapid growth requires capital, and the flexibility of Sage's program enables us to move quickly and invest strategically—whether in key team members, global operations, or technology infrastructure suitable for acquiring larger targets. We need these resources sooner to meet our aggressive timelines, and the customized programs that Sage can offer perfectly align with our near-term goals."
Flexible Capital That Scales
In just four years, UnityLab has transformed from a $700,000 startup into a global enterprise, growing more than tenfold through a powerful combination of strategic acquisitions and organic growth. This remarkable trajectory was made possible through their partnership with Sage Growth Capital, whose revenue-based financing provided the right capital at precisely the right moments to fuel UnityLab's expansion.
Their innovative approach to commerce has revolutionized how small enterprises worldwide access commercial appliances. With offices spanning Asia, Europe, and the United States, UnityLab distinguishes itself through rapid lead times, exceptional service, and customer value. Each brand in their portfolio operates profitably while continuing to invest in growth.
"Sage's partnership has been transformative," says Jonathan. "Their revenue-based financing model gives us the agility to seize opportunities—whether that's expanding our product line, building capabilities, or improving our valuation position before fundraising rounds. Most importantly, they've proven to be a true long-term partner, not just a one-time capital provider. Their continued support will be instrumental in our future growth."
The company continues to leverage Sage's flexible financing to fund strategic initiatives, particularly during periods when traditional capital becomes scarce or expensive. This approach allows UnityLab to maintain its aggressive growth trajectory while building lasting competitive advantages in challenging market conditions.
About UnityLab
UnityLab specializes in building and buying brands that work hard for small businesses. UnityLab develops brands to fulfill unmet customer needs and acquires respected brands with passionate customers and proven track record. Every brand that becomes part of UnityLab benefits from a team with decades of expertise, to take them to the next level. UnityLab brands include Hoffman-NewYorker and Unity Laundry Systems. Learn more at www.unitylabinfo.com
About Sage Growth Capital
Sage Growth Capital is a venture capital firm that provides revenue-financed capital to growing companies who do not fit traditional equity or lending models. We invest between $100,000 and $1 million in companies at any stage with “recurring-like” revenue, gross margins of at least 40%, and who can demonstrate that our capital will lead to higher sales. To learn more about Sage Growth Capital or to apply for funding, visit: www.sagegrowthcapital.com.
About Revenue-Financed Capital
Revenue-financed capital (RFC), also referred to as royalty financing, revenue share or revenue-based financing, is a non-dilutive form of growth capital where investors receive a percentage of monthly revenues until a set amount has been paid. RFC differs from equity financing as the investor does not obtain ownership of the company and it differs from debt financing as there is no collateral required and payments are variable. RFC is designed to empower entrepreneurs to grow their businesses with non-dilutive capital that aligns with their sales cycles.