Nav, a platform offering free source for both personal and business credit scores, announced its inclusion to Forbes’ inaugural Fintech 50 list, which honors the most innovative financial technology companies “destined to have a big impact on your financial future.” Other companies recognized in this exclusive list include: FinTech Sandbox, Credit Karma, Prosper, Stripe, and Zenefits. This award comes on the heels of the company being named 2015’s Top 100 Champion by Small Business Trends and Small Biz Technology.
Nav’s platform uses proprietary technology and an intuitive user interface to synthesize complex financial data from five different credit bureaus and scoring companies into relevant, actionable information. Its tools and insights guide small businesses in the right direction to improve financial health and access capital.
“We’re grateful for the recognition we have received from Forbes as one of the top 50 companies in financial technology,” shared Levi King, co-founder and CEO of Nav. “Credit and financing has always been a blindspot for small businesses, leaving many of them to turn to options that have unreasonable payment terms or interest rates. I’ve felt the misery myself in my early days as a small business owner, being turned down for financing multiple times and not really understanding why. We are bringing greater transparency to the credit data and the funding process for small businesses, so they can take simple steps to qualify for financing that best fits their needs. We are proud to have helped 80,000 small businesses so far – with only 29 million or so to go.”
Formerly known as Creditera, the company rebranded as Nav in October. As part of this rebrand, Nav introduced a full product redesign and acquired Fundastic.com, a leading business financing educational site. According to the release, Nav’s customer base grew over 10 times since the beginning of 2015, now with more than 80,000 small business customers using its platform to build their free business credit profile, as well as leverage a personalized marketplace that connects them to business financing based on their credit profile and needs.
“Nav has provided me with tools and insight to tackle my personal and business credit scores head on with ease and efficiency,” said Benjamin Snyder, Nav customer and founder of Snyder Technologies “The experience is simple and informative, with everything I need to know available on one dashboard instantly, whether it be at my office or on my phone. I have saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in time and wasted energy because of the advantage Nav has given me.”
During 2015, Nav added experienced executives to its team to help accelerate its mission. New hires include Tim Graczewski as vice president of business strategy and development, formerly Intuit’s director of strategic alliances and corporate development; Greg Ott as chief marketing officer, formerly vice president of marketing for QuickBooks at Intuit; Sam Blackham as CFO, formerly vice president of finance at Infusionsoft; and Gerri Detweiler as head of market education.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, up to 72 percent of small businesses get turned down for bank loans. However, Nav’s research shows small business owners who understand their business credit scores are 41 percent more likely to be approved when they apply for a business loan. Nav’s survey also showed nearly one quarter of business owners who were turned down for a loan didn’t know why they were denied, and nearly half of small businesses were unaware business credit scores even existed. See infographic below.
