Midigator: The First Technology Platform to Prevent, Analyze, and Fight Chargebacks

“Our tech-driven nature gives us an incredible advantage over techniques still dependent on manual processes. It’s much easier to tweak code than retrain an entire workforce. So, we capitalize on that agility.”

A chargeback, sometimes referred to as a payment dispute, happens when a customer contacts the bank instead of the business to refund a credit or debit card purchase. Chargebacks come with expensive fees, revenue loss, and a lot of administrative busy-work. If they become excessive, chargebacks can even cause an otherwise well-run company to go out of business.

Midigator^®, a technology platform that manages chargebacks, was built to help merchants solve those challenges. The platform helps prevent chargebacks from happening. And if customers use the chargeback process incorrectly, Midigator helps merchants address the misuse and recover the lost revenue.

Launched in 2015, Midigator was the first service provider to solve the issue of chargebacks with technology. The concept revolutionized the industry and has been growing in popularity ever since. The company’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 74.56%, and in the last year, Midigator increased its number of employees by 44%.

The company is led by CEO Corey Baggett, a veteran entrepreneur, who specializes in developing innovative technology platforms for fast-growing companies. A member of The Silicon Review team sat down with Baggett to learn more about Midigator’s products, goals, and values.

Q. Tell us about yourself. What led you to create Midigator?

Several years ago, my partners and I launched an online marketing agency. The business was an instant success. In a single year, we increased revenue 10x and earned the #3 spot on the Forbes list of America’s most promising companies.

It wasn’t long before my partners and I decided to make a change. Since we were able to help hundreds of businesses dominate the online marketplace, we decided to start selling our own products instead of promoting other people’s brands.

Again, we saw immediate success. But this time, the success came with a setback. During this time as a high-volume e-commerce merchant, we experienced first-hand an emerging threat that was crippling so many other online sellers: chargebacks.

Since we knew very little about chargeback management, we sought professional help. But the service that was available at the time actually made things worse instead of better! So, we created a technology platform to help us better manage chargebacks in-house.

Word spread throughout the industry, and it soon became common knowledge that we had created a new way to manage chargebacks. Dozens of business owners approached us, asking to use the platform. So once again, we shifted our focus. We went from being merchants to serving merchants.

We introduced Midigator to the market in 2015 as the first technology platform to prevent, analyze, and fight payment disputes.

Q. You mentioned there were voids in the market, and you set out to fill those with Midigator. What were those voids?

The service providers available at the time—and many still to this day—used manual processes. These manual processes are slow, error-prone, expensive, and lack transparency.

We were losing a lot of money because chargeback responses weren’t being sent fast enough. And reporting was delayed by months. We had no idea what was really going on. Once we did get the reports, we realized we were paying for services we weren’t actually receiving.

So, we set out to solve those problems.

First, we built a dashboard to provide real-time reporting, in-depth analytics, and advanced notifications.

The reporting helps ensure merchants know what is happening with their business at any given moment. This is crucial because many phases of the chargeback process have very tight timelines. Plus, the sooner a problem is identified, the sooner it can be solved and the less revenue is lost.

Midigator’s in-depth analytics help merchants determine why chargebacks are happening so they can solve problems at their source. Interactive charts break down chargeback data by dozens of different variables. This makes it possible to identify trends and emerging threats at a glance.

And the real-time notifications were a game-changer. Users can pick which risk thresholds they want to monitor. Then, the technology sends a notification any time activity exceeds those pre-set limits.

Second, we automated the chargeback response process. In a matter of seconds, Midigator is able to receive a chargeback, determine whether or not it should be fought, collect necessary compelling evidence, package up the information, and respond to the bank.

These features—real-time data and automation—were what drove the original creation of Midigator and still serve as the foundation of what we offer today.

Q. Besides real-time reporting and automation, what sets you apart from the competition?

At Midigator, our company-wide vision is to simplify the dispute process. More than anything else, I think that is what sets us apart from every other strategy, technique, or service that’s out there today.

Simplicity is the driving force behind everything we do.

We provide data so it’s easy to make important decisions. We automate tasks that are difficult and time-consuming. We use pricing that clearly defines value. We optimize ROI through quality and efficiency. We breakdown complex industry regulations with straightforward insight.

Ultimately, we believe the challenge of running a business should be delivering great products or services, not managing payment risk. We work to empower businesses to get back to business.

Q. I would suspect this drive for simplicity is an on-going process. How have your products changed or evolved over time?

Yes, this is definitely an on-going process. We always want to be better than we were yesterday.

Our company values serve as a framework for what we hope to accomplish and guide how we go about doing things. They contain obvious characteristics like “we are obsessed with simplicity”. But they also include phrases like “innovate or die,” “endless pursuit to create new ideas,” “constantly learning,” and “our only competitor is ourselves.”

Embracing these philosophies on a company-wide basis has allowed us to go in new directions that others have been reluctant to try. Our tech-driven nature gives us an incredible advantage over techniques still dependent on manual processes. It’s much easier to tweak code than retrain an entire workforce. So, we capitalize on that agility.

All of our products and features are launched in beta at their most basic level. Then, we start experimenting with functionality and get user feedback. We refine the product based on what we discover. And then we start all over again with experimentation and feedback. Our products evolve in tandem with our users’ changing needs, wants, and expectations.

Q. What’s been your biggest milestone along this journey?

In 2018, Midigator received a $30 million minority growth equity investment from LLR Partners. To date, I’d consider this our biggest accomplishment.

The investment was about much more than the funds. It was an endorsement of Midigator made by one of the industry’s most respected groups of fintech professionals.

After intense scrutiny of our technology, processes, philosophies, leadership, and more, these individuals chose to join us in what we are trying to accomplish. Their vote of confidence means a lot to me personally and has helped solidify Midigator’s credibility.

Q. Midigator has come a long way in a short period of time! What’s next? How do you plan to keep the momentum going?

Midigator’s very existence is a result of change and innovation. I think back to how my partners and I shifted from marketing experts to e-commerce merchants to B2B service providers, and I am encouraged.

As we speak, Midigator is in the midst of a massive product addition. We’re building a second platform to support entirely new markets and industries. A change that big should be intimidating and overwhelming, but it isn’t. We’ve successfully shifted our focus so many times in the past; I know we can do it again.

Many of our original employees are still with us today. They’ve grown with us and embraced the drive to innovate. When I think about the future, it’s not really a question of how to keep the momentum going. It’s how to keep pace with ambition and enthusiasm.

There are big things on Midigator’s horizon. Stay tuned.

Corey Baggett: A Formidable Leader

Corey Baggett is a veteran entrepreneur. Since graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, he has acquired a knack for anticipating industry shifts and developing pre-emptive technologies to help businesses stay one step ahead.

One of his most well-known endeavors is Midigator^®, a technology platform that prevents, fights, and analyzes chargebacks. Since the company’s creation, Baggett has served as CEO and been responsible for Midigator’s strategic initiatives, product oversight, technical direction, and business development.

“At Midigator, our company-wide vision is to simplify the  dispute process. More than anything else, I think that is what sets us apart from every other strategy, technique, or service that’s out there today.”