Small business financing leader Guidant Financial has entered a strategic partnership with InvestNextDoor to create what they believe to be the marketplace lending industry’s largest small business loan origination agreement: Guidant Financial has committed to drive at least $100 million in business to InvestNextDoor’s marketplace lending platform.
“Our business is solving a very important borrowing gap for small businesses,” said Tabitha Creighton, CEO and co-founder of InvestNextDoor. “We’ve been able to identify meaningful pockets of borrowers in Guidant’s ecosystem that are looking for financing and represent good opportunities for lenders. Our automated platform can provide a way to bring those creditworthy borrowers together with lenders maximizing the benefits to both sides of the table.”
The partnership matures the market for small business loans in alternative finance by creating the most integrated solution for small businesses and entrepreneurs with loan requests of less than $250,000. Coming together signals both retail and institutional investors that they now have direct access to more qualified borrowers previously accessed only by banks. InvestNextDoor and Guidant Financial seek to provide that solution with an acquisition model and marketplace lending platform that bring together high-quality investors and business owners in a community-engaged capital marketplace.
“This partnership will allow Guidant to provide capital to our existing lead flow of small businesses that either are not a match for traditional financing sources or would likely entertain more expensive financing that could compromise their long-term success,” said Jeremy Ames, President and co-founder of Guidant Financial. “We’ve tied our financial incentives in this partnership to the ongoing success of the entrepreneurs who secure financing. In both of these ways, it supports our mission to increase the number of people who succeed in small business.”
