Calculus invests £1.5m in tipping platform Grateful

October 15, 2025

Harrogate and London-based Grateful, an automated tip pooling and tronc management platform, has raised £1.5m ($2m) in seed funding from Calculus Capital.

Founded in 2022 by Mason Potter, Jarrod Potter and Damian Guy, the company emerged from the founders’ experience in the United States, where they observed how efficient tipping systems could significantly enhance team motivation and performance.

Grateful is a FinTech company focused on simplifying and modernising the tipping process in the hospitality and service industries. Its platform addresses the challenges of tip pooling, compliance, and National Insurance contributions, providing transparency and automation for employers while ensuring fair distribution for workers.

The new funding will be used to enhance Grateful’s financial tools, strengthen AI product development, bolster compliance functionality, and expand into new markets.

The platform integrates digital tipping, modern tronc management, and worker financial tools into a single system, enabling fair distribution and compliance while improving employee retention and morale.

Currently, over 50,000 people use Grateful’s platform, with integrations already established with technology partners such as Toast, EposNow, Deputy, and PayCaptain.

Grateful CEO Mason Potter said, “Frontline workers are the backbone of the service economy, yet they remain under-served by outdated systems that make tipping opaque, distribution slow, and compliance a headache for employers. With the shift to a cashless society and the introduction of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, businesses are under increasing pressure to manage tips fairly and transparently, while workers struggle to make their earnings go further.”

Calculus Capital co-head of investments Alexander Crawford said, “We’re delighted to support Grateful and its exceptional management team with this £1.5 million investment as they transform the way the hospitality industry handles tipping and tronc management. Grateful’s platform brings fairness, transparency and compliance, in a cost-efficient way, to a space that has historically lacked all three. With new legislation driving change, Grateful is perfectly positioned to lead the way in ensuring every hospitality worker gets the tips they deserve, and we’re proud to be part of that journey.”

Potter added, “We’re thrilled to welcome Calculus Capital as a partner on this journey. Their backing gives us the firepower to unlock the next chapter in our growth journey, building a platform that not only solves compliance for businesses but empowers workers all around the world by giving them more transparency than ever before on hard earned tips, and making their money go further. Our mission is simple: to make Grateful synonymous with gratitude for the gig economy and create a company that transforms how frontline workers are rewarded in the modern era.”