Profiles · Principals
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Executive
- Programs
- PPP
- Updated
The profile
Co-founder and CEO of FiveStars; signatory of the March 24, 2020 fintech letter; SumUp acquired FiveStars in October 2021 for $317 million.
In the archive
- Profile: Rushi Patel
Identity and role
Victor Ho co-founded FiveStars in 2011 and ran it as CEO through its 2021 sale. He signed the March 24, 2020 letter to Congress as a FiveStars representative. FiveStars built a customer-loyalty and marketing network for small merchants and later added payments.
Biography
His UC Berkeley alumni profile records his Berkeley degree and McKinsey & Company, where he met his FiveStars co-founder Matt Doka. TechCrunch's Series D coverage put FiveStars' funding at about $145.5 million.
The March 24, 2020 letter and pandemic relief
Ho signed the coalition letter, which asked Congress to let Treasury direct "upwards of $500 billion" to small businesses through non-bank lenders and stated, "We seek no gain from this crisis." FiveStars originated no loans. The company's pandemic-era merchant credits and free tools are cited to an Authority Magazine interview.
FiveStars also received PPP support as a borrower: the SBA's loan-level PPP FOIA file (cited; the row is not reproduced here) lists FIVE STARS LOYALTY, INC. in San Francisco with a $4,628,540 PPP loan approved on April 14, 2020 by Western Alliance Bank, later forgiven.
Where they are now (2025–2026)
SumUp, a London-based payments company, acquired FiveStars in October 2021 for $317 million (SumUp release and Payments Dive). His later status is cited to LinkedIn (self-reported).
Documents on this site
Original source documents and archived copies
- SBA PPP FOIA loan-level data,
public_150k_plus_240930.csv - Victor Ho '08, Co-founder & CEO of FiveStars UC Berkeley Innovators
- FiveStars Series D $52.5M TechCrunch, Oct 15, 2020
- OnDeck letter to Congress Mar 24, 2020 (archived text)
- SumUp spearheads US growth with $317M FiveStars acquisition Payments Dive, Oct 2021
- SumUp acquires FiveStars for $317 million SumUp press, Oct 14, 2021
Sources
- SumUp acquires FiveStars for $317 million (SumUp press, Oct 14, 2021): SumUp acquires FiveStars for $317 million SumUp press, Oct 14, 2021 (original: sumup.com · stored capture)
- SumUp spearheads US growth with $317M FiveStars acquisition (Payments Dive, Oct 2021): SumUp spearheads US growth with $317M FiveStars acquisition Payments Dive, Oct 2021 (original: paymentsdive.com · stored capture)
- FiveStars Series D ($52.5M) (TechCrunch, Oct 15, 2020): FiveStars Series D $52.5M TechCrunch, Oct 15, 2020 (original: techcrunch.com · stored capture)
- Victor Ho '08, Co-founder & CEO of FiveStars (UC Berkeley Innovators): Victor Ho '08, Co-founder & CEO of FiveStars — Take Management Advice from Interns (New York Times, September 23, 2016) (original: innovators.berkeley.edu · stored capture)
- Victor Ho of FiveStars on rebuilding in the post-COVID economy (Authority Magazine): Victor Ho of FiveStars on rebuilding in the post-COVID economy Authority Magazine (original: medium.com)
- OnDeck letter to Congress (Mar 24, 2020): OnDeck letter to Congress Mar. 24, 2020 (original: ondeck.com) Fintech Coalition Letter to Congress (March 24, 2020)
- SBA PPP FOIA loan-level data,
public_150k_plus_240930.csv: SBA PPP FOIA loan-level data (original: data.sba.gov · stored capture) (link now dead; copy taken from the Internet Archive, 5 March 2025) — our copy: SBA PPP FOIA loan-level files (loan 7416037107) - LinkedIn, Victor Ho profile (self-reported) — original: linkedin.com