With the expenses of loan origination, underwriting, compliance and ongoing monitoring, it’s difficult for traditional lenders to make small business loans profitably. The costs to issue a $100,000 loan and one for $1 million are similar, but clearly, the interest earned on the larger loan is drastically greater. Which makes it no surprise that, despite […]
When I hear the word “culture” my Portland foodie brain flashes to thoughts of yogurt or kimchi. The definition of culture that I interact with more often in my role as Head of People Operations for Mirador unfortunately leans more toward a startup cliche—fodder for plenty of mainstream comedy (e.g. Silicon Valley the TV show). […]
Google Adwords has just introduced new guidelines regarding the promotion of personal loans on the world’s largest search engine. Advertisers that promote loans, including financial institutions, marketplace lenders, and lead generators must make consistent disclosures about loan terms and cost. The details are outlined in Google’s new Financial Services Policy, specifically related to personal […]
30 hours of paperwork. Countless conversations with the bank. Weeks of wait time before a decision. Getting a small business loan is so time-consuming, in fact, that 31% of businesses who applied for a loan in 2015 considered it a negative experience – this is according to Barlow 2015 Small Business Credit Survey. Which complaint […]
Credit scores are a crucial data-point for lenders, revealing how financially stable (or how close to the edge) a small business is. But does a credit score capture a true picture of how a business is actually doing? What if a business owner has struggled financially in the past, but her social reviews show there’s always […]
Our recent post, In Small Business Lending, Slow and Steady Loses the Race, explores the pressing “need for speed” small business borrowers increasingly seek – and find with alternative lenders. Speed matters so much to these borrowers, in fact, they’re willing to accept alternative lenders’ onerous borrowing costs to cross the finish line to capital […]
Recent years have produced countless fintech companies threatening to “disrupt” the financial services space and change personal banking, financial planning, mortgages, loans, insert any other line of business forever. But have you noticed? Banks haven’t gone anywhere. Acquisitions and partnerships can partly explain why. Money talks, and when big institutions approach smaller fintech companies […]
Technology has made everything from filling out tax forms to buying groceries quicker and easier. You can invest for your retirement online. You can buy health insurance online. You can find out if you qualify for a mortgage online. Can technology do for small business lending what it’s done for the rest of the […]
Small businesses are bouncing back. After a recession-generated dip, the number of new businesses opening is once again outpacing the number of businesses exiting the market, according to the latest data from the Small Business Administration. And yet, since 2007, demand for unsecured short-term loans and term loans has decreased at traditional lenders among small […]
Kids today: they just aren’t starting businesses like they used to. At least, not yet. According to the Kauffman Foundation, millennials ages 20 to 34 made up only 23% of new entrepreneurs in 2013, compared to 35% in 1996. Today’s young workers are graduating with greater student debt and are taking longer to build household […]
