On Deck Capital

• Staples has launched the "Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs" contest, and will award 5 small businesses up to $50,000 each in free local television advertising. If you think your business has what it takes, check out their Facebook page to enter. 

• PEX Card is a leading provider of Visa Prepaid cards for small businesses. They simplify funding and monitoring employee purchases with a seamless, digital process. And, they’re offering a free-trial now – click here for more details.

• The National Small Business Association released data this week stating small-businesses’ access to capital, while improving slightly in the last six months, continues to evade nearly one-third of all small-business owners. On Deck is currently working on our survey of a similar variety – stay tuned for more details.  

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

If you’ve ever received a phone call from an On Deck loan processor, underwriter, customer service rep or loan closer, you’ve probably noticed the New York City area code, 212, but we’re in Virginia! Located just a few miles from downtown Washington, DC, in Arlington, is our Virginia operations center. Every loan that On Deck evaluates comes through our office. We love our jobs and take pride in the fact that we are an essential facet in connecting Main Street businesses with the capital they need to make their business a success.

Coming from a commercial lending background before landing at On Deck as an underwriter, I’m well aware of the hurdles and setbacks that often hobble small business owners when seeking capital for their business. Banks lean heavily of personal credit scores and financial statements that several months to over a year old, which may ignore positive, recent changes to business operations, and aren’t the most reliable indicators of business’ ability to repay their debts. Further, traditional bank lending is often cumbersome, duplicative, and moves as slow as molasses in January.

This is what makes On Deck such a great development for small business lending. Using recent, pertinent financial data and our cutting edge business evaluation model, we can make smart, effective credit decisions in hours, not weeks, with funding in as little as 48 hours. Further, this efficiency and technical approach to risk management reduces our costs versus those of our competitors and allows us to pass those savings on to our customers.

A universal maxim for production and productivity is often expressed as “Good, Fast, Cheap. Pick two.” Here at On Deck, we like to think we are changing the game by offering all three to our customers, and based on the feedback we get daily from our customers and business partners, we think we’re making great strides towards it. 

Since the company’s inception in 2006, On Deck has been focused on bringing innovation to the small business financing space. But, as Jim Collins fans might ask, “What is On Deck’s Hedgehog Concept?” or “What is On Deck the Best at?”

For the past 5 years, On Deck has become the leading provider of technology that facilities small business loans to Main Street businesses. We’re putting technology to use in new ways to streamline and replace outdated lending processes, ranging from origination and underwriting to fraud mitigation and loan servicing, all while maintaining impressively low loss rates. Today we announced that we’re making our technologies available for use in 3^rd party applications through the On Deck API.

Why build an API?

The small business financing industry is extremely nuanced. Banks, accountants, small business advisors, online software applications, technical assistance non-profits, micro lenders, and more all contribute to the small business lending ecosystem. We want any participant in the ecosystem to be able to take advantage of the On Deck feature(s) most applicable to that business or organization.

Initial features of our API include the ability to provide a pre-qualification to your small business users on the web and the ability to facilitate a loan application for a client without leaving your CRM system. We’re looking forward to exposing a lot more functionality to 3^rd parties over the next year.  Feel free to drop us a line with any feature ideas or to request developer information for your company (api@ondeckcapital.com).

Our most recent On Deck Success Story comes from sunny San Diego (we’re a bit jealous being in brisk NYC). About four years ago, lifelong art enthusiasts and husband and wife team The Beatty’s decided turn their passion for fine arts into a business. They started the Losina Art Center with a clear vision: a place for students of all ages and skill level to develop and learn about art, as well as a venue to showcase local artists. Bill was tasked with running the day-to-day operations while his wife taught classes ranging from portraiture to abstract to academic drawing. While the business was certainly thriving, summer and winter holiday time became difficult due to the nature of student and professionals’ schedule.

When classes broke for this holiday season, Bill needed additional working capital to tide the business over until students returned after the holidays. He came to On Deck through Lendio, and never looked back. Of his experience, he said, “I was very impressed with how smoothly the process went. My representative stayed with me the whole time and made sure I was comfortable every step of the way.”

On behalf of On Deck, we look forward to seeing more progress from Bill and the entire Losina Art Center team.

We’re excited to announce NexGen Medical Solutions, a Laredo-Texas based healthcare consulting and IT firm, is the latest On Deck success story. Having been in the industry for over 10 years, owner Jaime Gonzalez decided to start his own business in 2007. However last month, he was in need of taking on more employees to accommodate his growing customer base. Strapped for time and reluctant to take on a lengthy bank prodecure, and turned to On Deck after a simple internet search. Of his On Deck experience, Jaime said:

“It was so streamlined, extremely quick and very convenient. With my On Deck loan, I’ve been able to increase my client base by 20%.”

We wish Jaime and his team a happy holiday season, and look forward to NexGen’s continued success!

The 2^nd Annual Small Business Saturday is right around the corner, and On Deck would like to take this opportunity to support the movement. The day after “Black Friday,” SBS is dedicated to encouraging consumers to patron local small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.  Research has shown that for every $100 spent at a locally-owned, independent business, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.

As part of the initiative, On Deck would like to dedicate an On Deck Success Story to Abe Koplen Clothing Company in Danville, Virginia. Owner Barry Koplen is the fourth generation owner of the men’s clothing store, which specializes in custom-made suits. Barry credits his success to his family’s dedication to forging a connection the community. He used his On Deck loan to stock up on seasonal inventory before the holidays.

The On Deck Team hopes Barry and everyone at Abe Koplen Clothing Company has a very busy holiday season – we look forward to your continued success!

Trucks ‘N Permits, a Cincinnati-based family-owned company that processes oversize, overweight, trip and fuel permits, is the latest On Deck success story. A simple internet search led owner Peggy Muller to On Deck, and she’s never looking back. She was in need of some additional working capital for day-to-day expenses, and On Deck’s small business loans perfectly fit the bill.

Of her experience, she said: 

“Working with On Deck was wonderful! All of my questions were answered in a timely and courteous manner. Working with a bank takes a lot – all of the paperwork can be overwhelming – but with On Deck, it was simple and easy. They really go above and beyond. On Deck has a customer for life with Trucks 'N Permits.”

We look forward to Peggy and the Trucks ‘N Permits Team future achievements!

JPON Glass Company, the Texas-based leader in the glass industry, was in need of additional working capital. Keeping inventory in-stock was the biggest challenge for the company, and financing was necessary in order to buy larger volumes at a discount. After a quick internet search, owner Jason Mallett knew he found the right source with On Deck. He said, “I have looked at banks before, but they weren’t really interested in working with us. They told us that pretty much up front. Then I did an internet search and found On Deck.” After his quick and easy approval, Jason was able to keep up with his customer demand. “I always had very good, and very timely information,” he said of his experience with On Deck.

We always love to hear from satisfied customers! The entire On Deck team wishes Jason and JPON Glass Company the best of luck.

On Deck had a strong presence at this year’s BAI trade show, Retail Delivery, the largest retail financial services event in the world. Attended by hundreds of influential banking professionals, the conference was an excellent opportunity to showcase our technology and recent accomplishments.

Our founder, Mitch Jacobs led a panel titled “The Main Street Opportunity: How Technology Is Changing Small Business Lending,” alongside Bob Kaufman, Senior Vice President for U.S. Bank’s Small Business Segment. With more than 130 people in attendance, On Deck shined as a key element to this small business lending sector by demonstrating how the our platform can be leveraged by banks to increase their small business lending.

Former President Clinton shared his insight on the industry and recognized On Deck – the only company he mentioned – during his inspirational keynote speech, referencing their commitment to delivering capital where it matters most – to Main Street businesses.

NetBanker – the leading financial technology publication reviewed the show and referred to On Deck’s small business credit/lending engine as “most likely to change the world.” 

While we know our platform is fundamentally improving capital access for small businesses nationwide, it’s always nice to have a nod from the former President of the United States!

A successful show indeed.

On Deck recently spoke with Jonathan Smith, the owner of ITOnCommand, a Microsoft Certified IT outsourcing firm based in Denver, Colorado. With competencies in Advanced Infrastructure, Hosting, and Security, Jon was looking to increase revenue through marketing efforts. Jonathan took a loan with On Deck in June of this year, and used the funds towards using a business coach, implementing a direct mail campaign and taking on a trial run with an outside SEM / SEO firm.

Of his experience with On Deck, Jonathan said “Though our business has grown steadily for the last few years, we wanted to take it to the next level with some major marketing initiatives. On Deck gave us the capital we needed to invest in our marketing, and we look forward to seeing an increase in business, and a long term relationship with On Deck!”

On Deck wishes Jonathan and the entire ITOnCommand team the best of luck – we look forward to its continued success.

The On Deck Team announced yesterday its technology platform has delivered more than $150 million to thousands of restaurants, retailers and other service providers – a 50% increase in just 8 months.  We believe the surge serves as a key indicator that our technology is part of the solution to America’s small business lending challenge.

We’d like to congratulate the entire team on this significant milestone in On Deck’s history. To read about the release in full, click here.

On Deck attended the 2011 Small Business Influencer Awards last night in New York City. The ceremony honored companies, organizations and people who have made an impact on the small business community.  At the ceremony, we were inspired by the supportive dialogue about how small businesses are the backbone of the US economy and a major catalyst for job creation. On Deck applauds all the attendees and winners and looks forward to continuing to serve small business nationwide.

On Deck was profiled in this week’s edition of the Hartford Business Journal. Journalist Greg Bordonaro spoke with recent On Deck customer Post Road Limousine, a Connecticut-based limousine company. Owner Ben Enaye said he turned to On Deck after becoming frustrated with his bank; he noted, “…it’s a drawn-out process and anyone’s guess if you are actually going to get the loan.”

On Deck’s Chief Product Officer Noah Breslow went into further detail about On Deck’s value proposition for small businesses such as Post Road Limousine, as well as recent company milestones.

To read the article in full, click here.