On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on a TechTO stage in 2026. Every TechTO talk is searchable — ask the archive about Assel ↗
In their words
I used to think once we get to X amount of revenue or customers, things will just disappear and everything would be on autopilot. No — turns out you'll have other problems. You just unlock the new level, and you have to break what you've done before and build it again and again and again.
Me and my co-founder, we went to the bank and took personally guaranteed lines of credit — did not tell our parents, did not tell our family — but that's essentially how we started.
I was surprised how there are actually more people willing to help you — you just have to reach out. Turns out people actually want to help other people.
Around the web ×3
Quick answers
What does PaperStack do?
PaperStack provides non-dilutive funding — capital taken without giving up equity or ownership — to consumer packaged goods brands and retailers. It underwrites each brand holistically across channels like Shopify, wholesale, retail, and B2B rather than looking only at e-commerce, and customers mainly use the capital for inventory and marketing.
What did Assel Beglinova do before founding PaperStack?
She was born and raised in Kazakhstan and immigrated to Canada as an international student after high school. She then worked in banking at Scotiabank and CIBC, where she was often the person telling customers they didn't qualify for loans — interactions with thousands of customers that showed her where innovation in financing could help.
How did PaperStack fund itself early on?
There was no friends-and-family round; Beglinova cold-messaged many people and eventually raised equity, entering the market around the 2022 venture winter while Clearco was a prominent, billion-dollar-valued player. To lend before having a track record, she and her co-founder took personally guaranteed bank lines of credit — without telling their families — after modelling worst-case scenarios in Excel.