Stelrix

Currently raising.

Overview

Stelrix is the first card directly backed by investment portfolios, giving users buying power without liquidating their assets. Unlike traditional credit, Stelrix ties credit to real investments, with revenue from interchange, interest, and premium memberships all powered by a proprietary real-time underwriting system.

Core Mission

Stelrix's mission is to unlock the full potential of idle capital by enabling seamless, collateral-backed credit access.

Short-Term Goal: Drive go-to-market initiatives by building the pre-order list and preparing for a 2026 launch of the first investment-backed credit card.

Long-Term Goal: Redefine how wealth flows by building financial infrastructure that unlocks liquidity across asset classes, expands access to credit, and directs capital into new markets worldwide at unprecedented scale.

Pain Point

Selling investments to access cash triggers tax events, forfeits compounding, and causes liquidity delays, while traditional or alternative credit/lending is often expensive, complex, slow, or inaccessible.

Solution

Providing real-time, portfolio-backed credit with zero FICO involvement, no asset sales, and no friction, creating a seamless alternative to traditional lending.

Differentiating Factor

Stelrix is creating the financial infrastructure behind the first investment-backed card. Nearly every part of the system, from card design to the technology that powers it, is proprietary and unprecedented. Their credit engine combines dynamic collateralized lending, real-time underwriting, and one of the most advanced APR pricing systems ever developed. With clear partner obligations and minimal regulatory risk, Stelrix is positioned to unlock capital at scale and redefine access for future generations.

Target Market

Stelrix targets urban professionals, self-directed investors, and tech-forward consumers aged 25-40 who want liquidity without selling their brokerage assets. They also serve fintech-native users who are underserved by traditional credit systems.

Sector: B2B & B2C in Blockchain, Direct to Consumer, FinTech, Infratech, LuxuryTech, RegTech, SMB, and SaaS

Competitors: Stelrix has no direct competitors, as it is the first platform to deliver live, dynamic, secured credit against investment portfolios at the point of sale. The product is not only the first of its kind but also advanced, real-time, and built as infrastructure rather than a surface-level fintech feature.

Key Metrics

Stage: Seed

Next Steps:

1. Close seed round and activate debt facility partner.

2. Expand pre-order waitlist through GTM and collaborations.

3. Publicly announce funding milestones, advisors, and partners.

4. Distribute sample cards for content and campaigns.

5. Align marketing, compliance, and ops for hard 2026 launch.

   
   

ARR: Not yet reported, as the company is in pre-launch and focused on product readiness, funding, and go-to-market execution.

Market Size

TAM: $2.17B annual revenue opportunity across U.S. retail investors, sized by population, adoption, and ARPU.

SAM: $236M annual revenue potential in near-term priority markets, including NYC, LA, and Miami.

SOM: $33M-$48M ARR within 24-36 months, targeting 35-50k active users at ~$952 ARPU.

Round Information

Valuation: $25M Post-Money

Round Status: Actively Raising

Instrument: SAFE

Round Size: $4M. Backed by a VC advisor, the company is preparing for meetings with notable angels and larger firms. Investor minimums start at $50K, with ideal commitments ranging from $50K (angels) to $200K (family offices or VCs).

Already Raised: None, and looking for lead investors

Ideal Investor: Strategically involved investors who provide insight, connections, and guidance without requiring day-to-day involvement. Preferably fintech-savvy, well-networked, and aligned with their mission to transform how capital flows.

Funding Allocation

35% ($1.4M): Product infrastructure & operations

34% ($1.36M): Team, product, and engineering

20.5% ($0.83M): GTM, brand, customer acquisition

10.5% ($0.42M): Office, tools, cloud overflow & buffer runway

Note

Highly conservative TAM, SAM, & SOM projections

About The Team

First Founder Background:

Colin Sahagun - Founder & CEO

Colin oversees core operations, including product development, investor relations, partnerships, compliance, and go-to-market. He leads roadmap prioritization, manages cross-functional initiatives, and drives execution across engineering, finance, and workflows.

Colin brings a strong foundation in finance, strategy, and client management, developed through hands-on experience at Independent Financial Group and leadership roles across diverse environments. As a junior analyst, he supported financial advisors with data organization and portfolio construction, curating high-performing equity funds that consistently outpaced market benchmarks. His ability to identify early-stage growth opportunities and anticipate market trends earned recognition from senior management. Previously, he supported large-scale corporate events and investor relations initiatives, including engagements with high-profile figures such as Steve Wozniak. Colin's background blends analytical rigor with real-world business execution, making him adept at bridging finance, operations, and client engagement.

Second Founder Background:

Alex Soetseris - CTO

Alex is a software engineer with a passion for building clean, reliable systems that make a real impact. At WebstaurantStore, he helped automate key backend processes and shipped new features across large-scale applications using C#, TypeScript, and React. Known for his drive and attention to detail, Alex consistently went above and beyond - delivering more than twice the typical output during his co-op while mentoring other developers along the way. His time working with teams across QA, AI, and product management gave him a strong sense of how great software gets built - not just through code, but through collaboration and problem-solving.

Third Founder Background:

Nick Maeder - Advisor

Nick Meader is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lioncrest Ventures, a $100 million multi-strategy investment platform focused on FinTech, HealthTech, Cybersecurity, and GovTech. A former founder who successfully exited his software startup in 2022, Nick brings both operational and investment experience to venture building. Before launching Lioncrest, he worked with top firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and NFX, and briefly attended Columbia University before focusing full-time on scaling Lioncrest.

Founder Interest:

Colin Sahagun is a first-time founder interested in connecting with venture capitalists, angel investors, and fellow founders to build out his round.

Fun Fact:

"When I was a kid in elementary school aftercare, I was usually the last one picked up. To stay busy, I took all the Monopoly money from the games and started opening pretend bank accounts for the other kids. Before long, I was running accounts for more than fifty classmates, tracking what they "bought" and even deciding what they qualified for. A whole pretend economy grew around it, with kids opening restaurants and hotels, while I stayed the only bank. It all ended when I tried to print real-looking money on the school printer and got in trouble. Looking back, it was my first experience creating financial systems that people trusted and took seriously. I loved it!"

The turning point for the company?

"A single sentence from a finance executive I worked for when asking why more people didn't use SBLOCs or alternative lending: 'It's too complicated for normal people.' That moment lit the fire." – Colin Sahagun

Stelrix is headquartered between Philadelphia, PA, and New York, NY