Employer.com has acquired MainStreet.com for an undisclosed amount, the latest fintech startup to get snapped up by the workforce management company. In a post on X, Employer.com chairman and co-founder Jesse Tinsley said the two companies were “merging forces to simplify business back office solutions into one powerhouse platform.” Tinsley confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch.
MainStreet, a San Jose, California-based startup founded in 2019, built a business around helping startups uncover research and development tax credits. The startup generated revenue by taking a cut from the pool of credits. MainStreet had some success in its first year, crossing the $1 million ARR run rate threshold and helping the average client save $51,000. In 2021, MainStreet’s revenue crossed $15 million, per industry newsletter Not Boring. Signs of potential trouble appeared in 2022 when MainStreet laid off about 30% of its staff, citing “an incredibly rough market.” At its prime in 2021,
MainStreet was valued at $500 million. The company was said to have closed on a financing in 2022 at a $200 million valuation. It’s unclear what MainStreet’s balance sheet looked like immediately prior to this acquisition, although Tinsley told TechCrunch in an interview the company was profitable. In total, MainStreet raised about $75 million in known venture capital from investors such as SignalFire, Tusk Ventures, Shrug, Moxxie Ventures, Weekend Fund, Gradient Ventures, Sound, and SV Angels.
One of MainStreet’s investors introduced the company to Employer.com, according to Tinsley. MainStreet’s 15-person team will be joining Employer.com as part of the transaction, which has about 500 employees across all its companies. With the acquisition, Employer.com is valued at just north of $700 million, Tinsley said.
