On Deck Capital

We think every small business starts with a great story. That's why, in honor of National Small Business Week, we're asking Main Street business owners to tell us theirs.

Starting next week, we’ll be featuring a few choice stories on what our customers love most about being a small business owner.

If you would like to submit a story – we’re already seen topics ranging from how small businesses are helping their local community – email us today.

We look forward to your submissions, and stay tuned for next week’s post.

We had a very successful 7 minutes at our Finvoate demo! Below are a few shots of the team during the presentation.

Noah Breslow (Chief Operating Officer), Tammy Halevy (Senior Vice President, Membership & New Initiatives, AEO) and James Hobson (Senior Vice President of Platform Solutions)

After months of preparation, we’re very excited to report today we will be conducting a live demonstration of our latest technology innovation at Finovate in San Francisco.   Alongside the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), we’ll be showing a real-time example of how third parties and other organizations can now use our platform to efficiently and effectively lend to the small business market.

Now, with our technology, banks and other organizations can significantly increase the number of small businesses they are able to serve, while significantly decreasing the time and cost required to serve them. 

We can’t wait for everyone to see all of our hard work towards furthering our goal of helping Main Street grow. We’ll be live tweeting during the demonstration – be sure to follow us at @ondeckcapital.com.

After 15 years in the garage door repair industry working for larger corporations, Donald Sepeda decided to strike out on his own. He was ready to take on more responsibility, increase efficiencies, and ultimately be his own boss. He launched DJ’s Garage Door Company three years ago in Bossier City, LA and quickly grew the company into a $1.5 million business.

Despite his normally strong cash flow, Donald had a particularly slow February due to the seasonality of the industry and needed additional working capital for March and April.

After doing a quick internet search one evening, Donald came across On Deck and decided to apply. Less than three days later he had the working capital he needed to tide his business over till the warmer months arrived. Now that he is in the thick of spring, his business is back where it was. Of his experience, he said:

“On Deck really understood my company. My personal credit had been impacted from when I started my business, and I really needed additional financings to help during a traditionally slow season. Everyone at On Deck really knows what they are doing! The process is fantastic – I had my working capital before Friday after applying on a Monday evening.”

We wish Donald and the whole DJ Garage Door Company good luck with the busy season! 

Earlier this week at their "Power of Microbusiness" conference, AEO, the national trade association for microbusiness  announced  week their "One in Three" initiative - a national campaign  to bring capital and much-needed business development support services to one million microbusiness owners in the United States.  Our Founder, Mitch Jacobs is the co-chair of the campaign.

The "One in Three" campaign is focused on growing microbusinesses - (which are characterized as businesses with less than 5 employees).  If just 1 in 3 of these business hired one employee - the United States would be at full employment.

We are excited to be powering the underwriting and servicing platform for the initiative, which will allow AEO and its partners to efficiently deliver capital to small business nationwide. The first loan delivered through the initiative is expected to happen soon - we'll keep you posted as we work with the AEO to grow microbusinesses.

Read the press release on the initiative here.

As we continue in our mission to connect small businesses to capital, today we announced two exciting developments from former On Deck chief executive officer and founder Mitch Jacobs. Jacobs has been named co-chairman of the "One in Three" Leadership Council, a major non-profit initiative of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO). The council's goal is to create new jobs by reaching 1 million microbusinesses throughout the U.S., under the premise that if one in three microbusinesses hired one additional employee, the U.S. would be at full employment.

Secondly, Jacobs will also moderate a panel at the prestigious Milken Global Conference. The panel, titled The New Frontier of Credit: How Technology Can Improve Access to Capital will address how technology today is changing the lending landscape of the U.S. Fellow On Deck Board Member Matt Harris will also be participating on the panel.

Click here for more information about the Association for Enterprise Opportunity and the Milken Global Conference. 

At On Deck, we are focused on using technology to increase access to capital for small businesses. To date, we’ve delivered over $200 million by taking a completely different approach to evaluating small businesses. While excited by our results to date, there are still millions of businesses who are being judged using a fundamentally flawed system. The problem is not one of credit and capital; but rather one of time and cost for lenders.

In this article on cnbc.com, Our President, Brad Kime, details the fundamental problems facing both lenders and borrowers, and how technology can be used to solve them. Click here for the full article.

Today at the Electronic Transaction Association (ETA) Annual Meeting & Expo in Las Vegas, On Deck announced the launch of Split Funding, a new loan repayment method designed to meet the needs of Main Street business owners.  This new option retains all of the benefits of a true business loan but has the flexibility of a variable payment option, aligning payback for those with seasonal or varying sales.

On Deck president Brad Kime explains: “In the past, people who wanted variable payments were forced to go with a more expensive cash advance product that was not a true loan and lacked the benefits of credit reporting. As On Deck continues to evolve and best meet the specific needs of our customers, we now offer Split Funding as an option for small businesses that prefer their loan payments deducted from credit card sales.”

We're excited about this new option for business owners, and look forward to continuing to find innovative ways to serve Main Street!

The On Deck Team was in Chicago this week for a Fundwell-sponsored panel analyzing how technology is changing the way small businesses access capital. Alongside The Receivables Exchange and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at the City Colleges of Chicago, we discussed how the internet, social networks and alternative financing are creating more opportunities than ever before for Main Street to grow. Over 50 local small business owners were in attendance, and we spoke extensively about how this new wave of technology is helping to solve their financing needs. 

Today, the JOBS Act (aka “Jumpstart Our Business Startups”) was officially signed into law by President Obama. The legislation - designed to help the process of securing financing early on for small businesses – allows startups to seek to $1 million via crowdfunding and loosens certain federal regulations.

Necessary? No doubt. Exciting? Absolutely. According to a study by the National Federation of Independent Business, “more small employers were shut out of the credit market [in 2011] than in prior years.” However the JOBS Act is more targeted to “larger” small businesses (think less than $1 billion in revenue). And, access to capital for small businesses seeking smaller amounts remains an issue. Since 2007, there has been a 39% decline in the number of loans under $1 million (at the lowest level since 1999).

So, while the JOBS Act is a step in the right direction, its clear Main Street, smaller businesses are still not getting the attention they need from lenders.

It’s important to remember that while term “small business” is often used ubiquitously, many business owners seeking smaller amounts remain outside the parameters of traditional lenders. 

Last week, On Deck Chief Operating Officer Noah Breslow spoke at Bank Innovation 2012, a conference focused on the latest trends at the intersection of technology and banking. The panel, entitled “What is Banking Today? A Debate on the Future,” also included Shawn Budde, Co-Founder & Chief Risk Officer, ZestCash, Dan O’Malley, Founder & CEO, PerkStreet Financial, and Jeff Stephens, Founder, Tribed and CBC. Focused on exploring what successful startups tell us about the future of banking, Noah and the other panelists challenged conventional wisdoms about the industry, and how technology is increasing access to capital.

To learn more about On Deck's technolgy - and how it's changing small business lending - click here. 

Today On Deck announced an exciting milestone– we now have more than 1,000 distribution partners working to deliver our financing solutions to Main Street businesses nationwide.  Our growing partner network makes accessing financing easier than ever – which is great news for the millions of small business owners who need capital to help grow their business.  

Our partners range from banks and financial service providers to accountants, payroll firms and websites offering services to small businesses. Many of our partners are now using the On Deck API – which allows them to seamlessly integrate the On Deck application process into their own web service or CRM.

On Deck has delivered over $200 million to thousands of restaurants, retailers, physicians and local service providers nationwide. And in our latest survey,  93% of our customers told us they would recommend us to a friend.  

If you are interested in learning more about our partner program, contact us today.

About five years ago – after years of training new franchise owners from a corporate office – Sharon Herd was ready to strike out on her own. She was tired of the commute, wanted to make her own hours, and was ready to be her own boss. Armed with her industry experience, she decided to launch Tropic Tan in 2007. Now a leading tanning salon in the Kennesaw, Georgia area, she has been steadily growing her business ever since. 

Last month, she needed some extra working capital to purchase new tanning beds and upgrade her website. After deciding against a merchant cash advance (“It was 97 pages of paperwork!” she noted), she decided to check out On Deck late one night when she couldn’t sleep. She applied around 2 in the morning, and had the funding she needed less than 3 days later. Since closing her loan last month, Sharon has seen about 100 new customers walk in her door, and is having a grand reopening this week to celebrate. Of her experience, she said:

We wish the whole Tropic Tan Team luck this weekend with the grand reopening, and look forward to their continued success! 

The On Deck Team is headed down to San Diego, California this week to attend the National Equipment Finance Summit. 

We’re looking forward to connecting with attendees, including small to mid-sized independent equipment finance companies, lessors and brokers, to discuss how alternative products can broaden their financial portfolio for both current and prospective customers. 

Every few weeks we’ll provide a quick hit of the latest and greatest in everything small business-related.

• Mother & son entrepreneurs share their secrets to success – an endearing look at what it takes to run a successful business, straight from a mother-son duo.

• Is your business ready for the new Facebook page? Starting March 30^th (whether you like it or not) your company’s page will look very different. Check out how can get prepared to avoid looking outdated. 

• Small business confidence at year-high in February: According to the National Federation of Independent Business, small business confidence rose to a one year high last month. 

Today, The On Deck Team is at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the Big East Career Consortium. We’re excited to speak to a potential new crop of On Deck employees about our openings, recent growth, as well as how our technology is changing how small businesses access capital. 

Attendees include both students and alumni from the 16 Big East Conference schools  - stop by and visit us! 

The On Deck Team is now at the Javitz Center right here in New York City for the International Restaurant Show. We’re at Booth #1117, and excited to be speaking directly with restaurant owners and the chefs themselves about their current financing needs. Also an added bonus – being surrounded by the latest and greatest in new culinary inventions!

Yesterday's Highlights

Our sales team is on-site to answer any detailed questions restaurant owners or other interested parties may have about our small business loans.

This is the second in a series of posts from our Underwriting Operations in Virginia. Tom McCammon, our esteemed underwriter, will be discussing all things On Deck.  

Today is an exciting day for the On Deck Team as we introduce On Deck Express - yet another groundbreaking innovation in small business lending.  On Deck Express provides small businesses with access to up to $25,000 in capital in as fast as one business day and with a simple process that can be done entirely online.