# Kanmon incentives: summary

**Date:** 2026-07-29 · Full: `kanmon-incentives-deep-dive-20260729.md`  
**SMS = SMB.** Labels: **[F]** fact · **[H]** hyp · **[AP]** absent-public · **[UNK]** gated/unknown

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## Money + motive (10 sec)

**SMB** pays fees for speed / soft pull / stay-in-workflow / invoice·AP control.  
**Partner** gets rev-share / bps pitch (**LinkedIn**; **% unpublished**) + retention / no credit risk. Not a FAQ line.  
**Kanmon** gets yield − losses − share − ops. Biggest fight: **volume vs risk vs brand spam**.

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## Incentive map

```
SMB cash gap ──fees──► Kanmon ──rev share──► Partner
     ▲                    │                      │
     └── funds / soft pull / risk on Kanmon ◄────┘ distribution UX
```

| Party | Wants | Pays / risks |
|-------|-------|--------------|
| **SMB** | Cash now, soft pull, object control, ≤24–48h | Finance fee; late $25 / NSF $35 **[F]** |
| **Partner** | Rev + retention, brand-safe | Eng/GTM; support spillover; spam backlash |
| **Kanmon** | Funded $ in loss band | Capital, credit risk, partner share **[F]** risk |

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## SMB incentives (call table)

| Lever | Why it wins | Alt it beats |
|-------|-------------|--------------|
| Soft pull | No personal score hit claim **[F]** | Hard-pull bank / cards |
| In-workflow | No separate lender portal **[F]** | Factoring portals |
| 30/60/90 + invoice pick | Control liquidity **[F]** | All-or-nothing factor |
| Speed ≤24–48h | Close payroll/inventory gap **[F]** | Wait on AR |
| Pay suppliers (AP) | Stock before turn **[F]** | Drain ops cash |
| Fee vs wait/factor | Econ = fee < opportunity + hassle **[H]** | Rate unpublished **[AP]** |

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## Partner incentives (call table)

| Lever | Status |
|-------|--------|
| Rev share / bps on financed $ | **[F]** pitch · **% [AP]** |
| No balance-sheet / credit risk | **[F]** |
| Retention / ARPU 2–5× claim | **[F]** marketing |
| Insights / upsell language | **[F]** thin depth **[AP]** |
| Marketing kits | **[F]** |
| CS SPIFs / recommend tools | **[AP]** (Pipe peer: assist → 2× advances **[F]**) |
| Disincentives | Brand spam, support load, decline optics |

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## Product favoritism

| Product | Partner FAQ weight | Model favors because |
|---------|-------------------|----------------------|
| **Invoice / AR** | Highest (Cleo, Nuvei, Avionté, Cin7) | Object-native, repeat, DSO job |
| **AP** | Strong (PingPong, Cin7) | Supplier/PO moment, inventory |
| **Term** | Common secondary | Ticket size / growth lump |
| **LOC** | Present, thinner stories | Buffer / habit draws |

**[H] preferred mix:** invoice+AP core → LOC buffer → term overlay. Not MCA-first.

**Trigger → product:** unpaid AR → invoice · supplier due → AP · lump → term · ongoing → LOC.

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## Misalignments (watch)

| Conflict | Failure |
|----------|---------|
| Conversion ↔ risk | Vanity funds, CM death |
| Partner spam ↔ originations | Feature muted / turned off |
| Rich share ↔ Kanmon CM | Happy partner, broke lender |
| Object control ↔ the hiring manager book | Over-finance regret |
| **Biggest:** push starts vs protect losses *and* partner brand | Quiet *or* reckless book |

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## Gaps / white space (sharp)

| Gap | Cap or Inc? | Status vs peers |
|-----|-------------|-----------------|
| Upstream Moments / object triggers | Cap | Liberis Adverts **[F]**; Kanmon **[AP]** |
| Quiet-partner success tooling | Cap | Pipe portal **[F]**; Kanmon insights thin **[AP]** |
| CS recommend-capital | Cap (+Inc if SPIF) | Peer assist claim; Kanmon **[AP]** |
| Self-serve rev-share dashboard | Inc | Pipe **[F]**; Kanmon % + UI **[AP]** |
| Soft prequal teasers | Cap | Peers strong; Kanmon soft pull only **[F]** / pre-appr **[UNK]** |
| Cross-product router | Cap | Shelf **[F]**; router **[AP]** |
| In-partner fee calculator | Cap | **[AP]** |
| SPIFs / rate promos / tiers | Inc | **[AP]** |
| Direct SMB channel |, | **Strategic no** **[F]** |

**Diagnose first:** no see → Moments/router · won’t push → econ/SPIFs · start friction → prequal/education · don’t invent D2C.

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## Case implications (Capital Moments)

1. Moments = align SMB pain + partner brand, not louder banners.  
2. Kill Moments if stall ≠ placement (ops/incentive/credit).  
3. Capability gaps fit Series A PM better than blind incentive spend, *unless* funnel already converts.  
4. Bet Moments on **invoice/AP objects + routing**, not generic “right time.”

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## One-liners

- **SMB:** “Fee for cash-against-object, soft pull, stay in tool.”  
- **Partner:** “Bps + stickiness, zero credit risk, if UX isn’t spam.”  
- **Kanmon:** “Funded yield inside loss band; share is cost of distribution.”  
- **Gap:** “Public shelf strong; Liberis triggers / Pipe econ portal / CS recommend look thin.”