National Funding Promotes Justin Thompson
October 3, 2018
National Funding announced today that Justin Thompson, formerly Executive Vice President of Sales, has been promoted to Chief Revenue Officer of National Funding. The new position is an expanded role that will include Thompson’s previous management of a 100-person sales division that includes Direct Sales, Renewal Sales, Broker Sales, Equipment Financing and the responsibilities of developing the company’s new Strategic Partnership vertical.
“On the heels of our acquisition of QuickBridge, and the explosive profitable growth of National Funding, this is a great time to expand our offerings to clients with new products and solutions,” said Dave Gilbert, National Funding founder and CEO. “Justin has led sales through the biggest growth period in our 20-year history and I am thrilled for him to continue building on this strong record.”
Thompson started working as Director of Sales for National Funding in 2002, according to his LinkedIn profile, and he has remained with the company until now, with the exception of a two year stint at Reliant Services Group working as Director of Sales & Operations.
“I have never been more excited about the future of National Funding as I am now,” said Thompson. “With the acquisition of QuickBridge, expansion of our strategic partnership channel, and the ever-improving performance of National Funding, we have a lot to offer our customers and brokers – making us an important resource for small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.”
National Funding has also made two additions to support the growth of Strategic Partnerships. Jason Osiecki, previously Head of Sales for QuickBridge, has been named Vice President, Strategic Partnership for National Funding. He will be tasked with driving growth opportunities in the merchant processing, leasing, B2C, Lender Decline and other markets. And Kevin Kane has been appointed as Director of Business Alliances. He will manage day-to-day relationships with brokers across the country.
National Funding Acquires QuickBridge
October 2, 2018
National Funding announced today that it has purchased QuickBridge. The two companies will combine back-end resources, including advanced technology, innovation and product development, but they will continue to operate independently, as separate brands. Ben Gold, QuickBridge’s founding President, will remain in his current post and will work closely with National Funding founder and CEO Dave Gilbert.
“QuickBridge has an unbelievable front end system that knows how to underwrite small businesses extremely efficiently,” Gilbert told AltFinanceDaily.
Gilbert also said he was particularly interested in QuickBridge’s 10 year loan product.
National Funding was a minority interest owner in QuickBridge since the company’s founding in 2011, so this acquisition was essentially a buyout of five other partners.
In addition to the technology, Gilbert said QuickBridge’s people and its headquarters in Irvine, California were elements that made it very appealing.
“There’s a lot of great talent in Orange county and there are a lot of finance companies out there, so it’s going to be a great recruiting hub,” Gilbert said.
Given the high quality pool of talent, Gilbert said he believes he can scale QuickBridge quickly. Together, National Funding and QuickBridge have provided more than $3 billion in financing to small and mid-sized businesses and their combined overall financing volume will exceed $600 million this year, according to National Funding. QuickBridge has been recognized in recent years for its rapid rise, including year-over-year double or triple digit percentage growth.
The way that both companies get business is slightly different. Gilbert said that QuickBridge derives 75 percent of its business from ISOs and 25 percent from direct marketing, whereas National Funding’s ratio is the inverse, with a sizable direct sales team.
In addition to QuickBridge’s headquarters in Irvine, it also has a small satellite office in New York, which will remain. Of the company’s roughly 100 employees, Gilbert said that virtually all of them will stay on. Founded by Gilbert in 1999, National Funding is based in San Diego and employs roughly 230 people.
Funding Circle Stays Global; Goes Public in London
September 29, 2018
Funding Circle became a public company yesterday on the London Stock Exchange, listed as FCH. Founded in 2010, the peer-to-peer lending platform for small and medium-sized businesses, was initially priced at 440 pence (£4.40), which was on the low end of the 420-530 pence per share price range. But it opened at 460 pence, placing the value of the tech company at roughly £1.5 billion, or $2 billion, according to a Reuters report. In conjunction with the company’s IPO, it raised approximately £300.
The stock price dropped below the initial 440 pence per share on Friday to 435 pence, but went back up by the end of the day. The company was founded by Samir Desai, James Meekings and Andrew Mullinger, who all met at a pub in Oxford, England, according to a University of Oxford publication. Desai and Meekings were both studying Economics and Management at the university.
Among the company’s investors are Union Square Ventures, Blackrock and Index Ventures, in addition to a £150 million investment from Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen.
According to the company’s September 2018 prospectus, Funding Circle’s total revenue has steadily increased over the past few years with $32 million in revenue in 2015 and $50.9 million and $94.5 million in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The company has facilitated £5 billion in loans its inception in 2010.
In August, Funding Circle rebranded with a new logo, and in June, the company expanded its partnership with Kansas-based INTRUST Bank, strengthening it presence in the U.S. market. Funding Circle offers small business financing from $25,000 to $500,000 with repayment options up to 5 years. While headquartered in the UK, the company also services customers the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands. Its headquarters is in London and it also has an office in San Francisco.
Download Funding Circle’s 256 Page Prospectus
September 23, 2018Funding Circle, the international peer-to-peer small business lender whose US subsidiary funded approximately $500 million to small businesses last year, is planning to go public on the London Stock Exchange. While the UK is their primary market, they ranked just below Yellowstone Capital in US funding volume last year at a level that is about 1/4th the volume of OnDeck, a direct competitor.
72 percent of their business is generated through direct marketing, while the rest comes from indirect or “intermediary” channels, the company says.
CNBC reported that the company could be valued as high as $2.4 billion.
In Anticipation of Hurricane Florence, Funders Suspend ACH Debits
September 12, 2018McLean, VA-based Breakout Capital is proactively suspending ACH debits for customers based in the counties designated by FEMA’s Major Disaster Declaration, according to an announcement made earlier today. They will be continuing to monitor the situation so that they can respond accordingly.
Gainesville, FL-based Elevate Funding is also pausing debits preemptively, the company says, for active merchants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. After the storm, merchants can call in to report their damage or business status, they say. “Being based in Florida, exposed to many storms over the years, allows Elevate to understand how a hurricane’s damage can vary within 50 miles out to a 200 miles. Each case and customer will present different issues over the next week and some out to months.”
Chicago-based Lendr, echoed a similar plan. Company CEO Tim Roach says, “We will suspend payments for the rest of September for any client that is affected by Hurricane Florence. Most clients will come back on a reduced payment schedule for a short period of time. In the past we have provided additional funding for clients in need to help get their business back on track due to these types of natural disasters.”
Ft. Lauderdale-based Fundzio has announced that ACH payments are being suspended for businesses in South Carolina and North Carolina on Monday, Sept 17th through Friday, Sept 21st.
A State of Emergency has already been declared in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, and Georgia. It is currently a Category 3 Hurricane.
RDM Capital Funding Secures $7.5 Million Credit Facility from Charleston Capital
September 12, 2018Clifton, NJ – RDM Capital Funding, LLC, a technology enabled specialty finance company, announced that it has entered into a new $7.5 Million credit facility with Drift Credit Opportunities Fund, LP, an affiliate of Charleston Capital Management, LLC. This is the first institutional credit facility for RDM Capital Funding, which was launched in 2015 and focuses on financing for small businesses throughout the United States of America.
“This facility allows us to expand our ability to serve more small businesses and help them with their working capital needs. We are pleased to partner with Charleston Capital and take this major step toward our continued growth,” said Reuven Mirlis, Chief Executive Officer of RDM.
“RDM represents an attractive opportunity for Charleston Capital as they have quickly established themselves as a disciplined underwriter with substantial operating controls,” said McLean Wilson, the Chief Executive Officer of Charleston Capital, “We expect them to become a significant presence in the space over the next few years and look forward to their continued success.”
About RDM Capital Funding:
Founded in 2015, RDM Capital Funding is a technology enabled specialty finance company, which provides working capital to small businesses. The company provides small businesses easy-to-access capital, through a quick, efficient and transparent process. RDM is headquartered in Clifton, NJ and employs 11 personnel.
About Charleston Capital:
Charleston Capital Management is an alternative asset manager that seeks to generate attractive, absolute returns by opportunistically and tactically investing in areas where conventional sources of capital are disproportionately unavailable. Charleston Capital was formed to expand the spectrum of opportunities for investors seeking risk adjusted returns that are less correlated to other markets. Specifically, the firm seeks to exploit inefficiencies that are borne from transactions requiring significant amounts of intellectual as well as financial capital. The firm is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and is part of inFactor, a FinTech firm focused on liquidity solutions for businesses. The Drift Credit Opportunities Fund is a credit strategies fund focused on structured loans to FinTech enabled Non-Bank Financial Services companies, which underwrite loans to small and medium sized businesses in the United States of America.
Contacts:
RDM: info@rdmcapitalfunding.com (877) 667-4647
Charleston Capital: media@charlestoncm.com (843) 310-3528
OnDeck Small Business Online Lending Tops $10 Billion
September 12, 2018OnDeck is the world’s largest non-bank online small business lending platform.
Federal Reserve says small businesses are turning to online lenders in record numbers
NEW YORK, N.Y., September 12, 2018 – – OnDeck® (NYSE: ONDK), today announced it has achieved a milestone in the Financial Technology (FinTech) industry, becoming the first non-bank online lender to surpass $10 billion in total loans originated to small businesses. OnDeck, with operations in the United States, Canada and Australia, is now the world’s largest non-bank online lender to small business by total loan volume.
The achievement by OnDeck, a pioneer of the FinTech lending industry, is the latest indication that small businesses increasingly prefer to seek financing online. According to the recent Small Business Credit Survey from the Federal Reserve, small business owners are turning to online lenders in record numbers. In 2017, 24 percent of small businesses seeking credit applied online, up from 21 percent the previous year. Not only did the total number of loan applications to online lenders increase in 2017, but satisfaction rates of small businesses soared almost 50 percent year-over-year.1
OnDeck provided its first small business loan online in 2007, taking just 11 years to pass $10 billion in total loan volume in a digital lending market it helped create. The majority of OnDeck’s lending occurred in the last few years as it gained scale, with the company originating $2.1 billion in loans in 2017 alone.
“If reaching $10 billion dollars in total loan volume online tells us anything, it’s that the days of old-fashioned lending to small businesses are numbered,” said Noah Breslow, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, OnDeck. “We created OnDeck because we believed the Internet could revolutionize and speed up the way underserved small businesses access capital. Today, we are helping to fill a credit gap across hundreds of industries by providing fast, secure and transparent loans that enable small businesses to grow, generate economic activity and create jobs. We look forward to providing billions more in financing and powering the small business lending migration to the online model via our OnDeck-as-a-Service platform.”
Small businesses are the economic backbone of America, accounting for more than 99% of all U.S. companies1 and employing over half of all private sector workers2. However, they still face a growing credit gap. According to the Federal Reserve survey, 54% of small businesses report credit shortfalls3 and lower-income communities are disproportionately impacted. Traditional large banks deny 44% of all small business loan applications3 and many are steadily exiting the small business credit market. Since 2008, small business lending from traditional sources has fallen over 20%4.
Identifying the developing credit gap over a decade ago, OnDeck transformed the means by which small businesses access capital, using proprietary technology and a small business credit scoring system, the OnDeck Score®, to more efficiently evaluate a business’ creditworthiness and make lending decisions in real time. OnDeck provides term loans and lines of credit to small businesses and can supply customers with funding in as little as one business day. The economic impact of this online lending activity is substantial. Immediate infusions of capital enable small businesses to purchase inventory, cover operational costs, or expand without delay, which can stimulate economic growth and help create jobs in their communities.
OnDeck and the Impact of Online Lending on the Economy
An Analysis Group report commissioned by OnDeck in 2015 analyzed the economic impact from the first $3 billion OnDeck lent to small businesses. The report estimates that those loans powered $11 billion in business activity and created 74,000 jobs nationwide. In 2018, OnDeck announced it had provided small businesses more than $10 billion in capital.
In May of 2018, a report on small business online lending in the United States revealed that OnDeck and four other small business lending platforms funded nearly $10 billion in online loans from 2015 to 2017, generating $37.7 billion in gross output and creating 358,911 jobs and $12.6 billion in wages in U.S. communities. The upsurge in online lending is filling a critical financing gap for small businesses across industries, according to NDP Analytics, a Washington, D.C.-based economic research firm. See the NDP Report here: http://www.ndpanalytics.com/online-lending/
OnDeck Company Timeline
Download here: https://www.ondeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/10-year-timeline-02.pdf
CAN Capital to Grow Team and Business with New Facility
September 5, 2018
CAN Capital CEO Parris Sanz at Broker Fair May 2018CAN Capital announced today that it agreed to a financing transaction of up to $287 million, provided by Varadero Capital. This is CAN Capital’s second facility with Varadero Capital. The first one came in July 2017. This financing will be used to fund more small business loans and to invest in talent and technology to enhance customer experience. The company plans to grow the size of its team with this new facility.
“We look forward to utilizing this funding to expand our ability to provide access to capital for small businesses, enhance our technology stack, and continue to build a dedicated, customer-driven team,” said Parris Sanz, CEO of CAN Capital.
CAN Capital also announced today that it has now provided small businesses with access to over $7 billion of working capital through more than 190,000 funding transactions with over 81,000 small business owners.
“Reaching $7 billion in working capital is a significant milestone for us,” Sanz said. “We are excited to use our deep experience and data to enable even more small business owners to grow with streamlined access to capital.”
CAN Capital makes business loans from $2,500 to $250,000 that last between 6 and 18 months. And they provide merchant cash advance financing, also from $2,500 to $250,000. They also work with broker partners to fund deals.
Founded in 1998, CAN Capital is among the oldest alternative lending companies. After an issue plagued them in 2016, the continued growth and confidence in the company from Varadero Capital is noteworthy. The company is now growing when it was making layoffs less than two years ago. Currently, CAN Capital’s headcount is 142.
“Since our initial facility, we’ve been impressed by the work ethic and dedication of CAN Capital’s staff, which have driven consecutive quarters of business growth and boosted confidence in the company’s fundamentals,” said Fernando Guerrero, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Varadero Capital.
