Lendio Raises $20.5 million

Lendio, a small business lending marketplace, has raised $20.5 million in a Series C funding round led by Napier Park’s Financial Partners Group. Other investors included Blumberg Capital, North Hull Ventures, Pivot Investment Partners, along with prior investors including Tribeca Venture Partners, Runa Capital and Highway 12 Ventures. 

Dan Kittredge, managing director at Napier Park, and Chris Gottschalk, principal at Blumberg Capital, will be joining Lendio's board of directors as part of the deal.

Dan Kittredge commented:

"We're excited to be a part of Lendio's future to be the number one marketplace for small business loans. Through its growth over the past few years and its major partnerships with brands like Staples, Lendio's leadership team has proven its ability to drive innovation and deliver an incredible platform that helps both small business owners and small business lenders alike."

Brock Blake, Lendio's founder and CEO, explained:

"Lendio has become the go-to hub for small business owners to obtain the financing they need to grow and thrive. Our focus is to provide three essential benefits to the business owner -- offer a wide variety of loan options, speed up the process and reduce the time and effort it requires to get funded and provide a white-glove trusted experience. Because we have served hundreds of thousands of business owners, we've been able to scale our business and improve the lending experience through an easy-to-use online matching platform, advanced machine learning and lender integrations. "

The platform will use the funding to accelerate online innovation to make it easier for business owners to find financing, deepen relationships with lenders, expand the partnership program and grow its team of trusted loan advisors.

Chris Gottschalk added:

"Lendio has created a marketplace with tremendous growth potential and has proven invaluable to both the lenders and the many businesses it serves. The Blumberg Capital team believes in Lendio's vision and its ability to become the premier trusted brand for small business lending."

Lendio facilitates over 100,000 small business loans each year. The company sells leads and information about potential borrowers to lenders instead of making loans itself. It doesn’t just refer companies to alternative finance platforms but to whatever option is right for the company.  

Earlier this year Lendio partnered with the office supply chain company Staples. Staples has previously partnered with OnDeck and Lendio has a similar partnership with the UPS Store. This small business service is called “Staples Business Loans powered by Lendio”, and will help small businesses access capital faster. 

Frank Bifulco, executive vice president of global marketing for Staples commented:

"We bring the reach and legitimacy and credibility of Staples and Lendio gives us the tech prowess," to help customers find loans. This was about us being able to better service our customers and hopefully they will use some of that money to continue to buy office supplies from Staples.”

We have previously written about EVEN Financial, another platform that is focused on targeting borrowers who could be matched with an alternative finance platform. Although Lendio’s focus is broader than just alternative finance it is another sign that the ecosystem around the industry is continuing to expand.