A failed payment can damage a company financially, but multiple such occurrences can drown one’s business in debt and drive potential investors away.

Driven by a personal problem in the same area, Casey Graham decided it was time to make a change. He got an idea to become a middle-man no one sees and notices while fixing companies’ financial issues.

Together with Renee Weber, they created Gravy, a company born to make things right as its main purpose is to recover failed payments and retain customers. This way, businesses can gain back huge sums of money that would otherwise slip through their fingers.

Keep reading to learn how a small idea grew to be a giant in the entrepreneurship industry!

Early Life

Casey Tomas Graham didn’t have a perfect, carefree childhood. He used to stay at home with his brother each day as his mother had to work in his grandfather’s poultry store. As all kids do, Casey and his brother had the occasional sibling fights, which were broken by his mother calling from the store. Despite sounding ruff, these were actually the best memories in his life.

However, when he was 12 years old, things started to change. Due to debt and lack of money, his beloved grandfather took his own life. The suicide shook young Casey’s childhood and thus triggered a core fear of not having enough. This is where Casey, whose middle is that of his late grandfather, swore to fight in life and never be poor.

His business gears started turning, and Casey began his first “career” at 14 - lawn mowing. At this time, he also initiated his first investment in the stock market. And he didn’t stop. By the age of 16, Casey had started to wash cars too. The fear of ending up like his grandfather pushed him to keep on looking for new ways to earn money.

Renee Weber comes from Georgia, US. Even though she is not as open with her story as Casey, she has contributed to the creation and initiation of Gravy with the same passion. Before she jumped to this idea, she used to work in the financial services industry.

Professional Life and Education

Casey went to Wallace Community College Selma between 1999 and 2001 and got his Associate's degree in Business Administration and Management. After that, he continued to Samford University, where in two years (from 2001 to 2003), he earned himself a bachelor's degree in Business Administration (B.B.A.), Business Administration and Management.

Casey dipped his toes in the entrepreneur waters at 27 when he had his first business. He got the idea for this business while working as a church staff member, which is why he moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

He slowly built his idea and created a book-keeping business for churches, which he sold after building it strong enough. Then he started another book-keeping business, only this time it was for other types of companies. This one lived the same fate as Casey sold it after he grew it.

Previous to Gravy was an online subscription business he had where they taught pastors in churches everything that they didn’t learn in seminary. The learning process consisted of all the practical sides of how to run a non-profit organization.

This company was dealing with subscriptions and memberships as well as a software product for the church space. Casey and his team at the time grew this company for six years before selling it to private equity in 2017.

At this point in his life, he had enough money to live out the rest of his life. However, something was still missing as he didn’t feel satisfied. Casey began working toward finding the missing piece of the puzzle when he stumbled upon a great idea - Gravy.

Renee was equipped with many skills when she joined Casey in their adventure. She used her considerable expertise in program implementation, data management, HR, team management, and executive support to create what Gravy is today. She attended the University of North Georgia, earning a Bachelor of Science focused in Psychology.

Initiation and Application of Services

Gravy is a leadership and development company that provides recovery of failed payments and customer retention. It was launched in 2017 by Casey Graham, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder, and Renee Weber, who holds a position as Chief of Staff.

The company's original name was Payment Saver, which didn’t sit well with Casey and Renee. There were many tries to find the perfect fit until the first board meeting when the company finally got its name - Gravy.

This firm helps businesses regain the millions of dollars they lose simply due to customers neglecting their accounts, subscriptions, and payments. However, its strong side is also part of its weakness. Namely, Gravy faces many problems as it works simultaneously with many businesses and customers’ accounts that need to get back on track.

Nonetheless, it still sees to go over this and provide customers with the care and attention they deserve. Casey and Renee based the company’s creation on three reasons. The first and most important is bank holds for various reasons. The second one is insufficient funds, which happens to many subscribers. The last reason is administrative errors, such as wrong addresses, newly issued cards, and similar reasons.

The co-founders of Gravy insist these obstacles occur because companies treat people as if they are just a payment. Once they treat their customers as real beings, they will avoid losing all that money Gravy tries to get back for them. Challenges and Barriers

One of the biggest challenges for Casey, personally, while growing the company was his mental health. Although not directly linked to money and entrepreneurship, this significantly impacted the recognition he received, and thus, indirectly, Gravy.

The pressure of balancing things out to maintain his position in the business world got to him eventually. This is why he went to counseling for 14 months. His experience in the fight for his mental health led him to often talk on diverse business platforms about how important it is to maintain one’s physical and mental health.

Many other entrepreneurs voiced the same problem, acknowledging the struggles they have to face, especially in the early stages of their companies.

Funding Headquarters Employees and More

Gravy currently has 94 employees and headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 5 management profiles include Casey Graham, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer; John Cozad, SVP of Operations; Britton Clark, who holds the position of SVP of Revenue; the Chief Revenue Officer, Josh Rhodes; and Renee Weber, the Chief of Staff.

The company's several fundings over the years came in 4 funding rounds. The seed round went up to $1 million, while the Series A round got them $1.4 million in 2020. The Series B round in 2021 reached $4.6 million, with the lead investor being Arlington Family Offices. The last round was a Debt Financing Round, which closed at the start of 2021.

What’s Next For Gravy?

Currently, Gravy has around 100 employees but is set on increasing the number as the company grows. So far, they’ve made a return to their clients of $500 million, but their goal is to reach $1 billion by 2023.

Many believe Casey will sell this company, considering his previous business endeavours. Yet, neither of the co-founders have expressed such statements.

In all cases, the future of this company is bright. What is now solely focused on returning money has the potential to grow into business-to-business money transfers.