Industry News
Recent Developments at Mulligan Funding
January 9, 2025
Last month, Mulligan Funding announced the closing of a second asset-backed securitization (ABS) totaling $120M and expandable up to $500 million. Business has been great since.
According to a representative of Mulligan, “December was the best month we’ve ever had as a company, capping off our best year since inception. And a large measure of that success is owed to the extraordinary community of ISO partners that we work with – and the incredible relationships we’ve been able to develop with them.”
As part of that, Mulligan Funding has made some changes to continue its success, an explanation of which is quoted here:
“We are continually looking for ways in which to improve our relationships and the level of service we’re able to offer them. And so, in order to continue to improve our level of service and improve the depth of our relationships with our partners, we decided to implement a restructure of our ISO Team and the way in which we manage our partner relationships.
We have established for the first time a regional segmentation of our ISO partners. This has allowed us to rationalize our ISO groupings, and to create smaller, more focused multi-person teams purely dedicated to the relationships in their particular region.
Each team will consist of people with different levels of seniority and very specific roles. Some will be dedicated purely to looking after the relationship at a strategic level; and others will be tasked with handling the transactional details of day-to-day operations.
This regional focus will allow these teams to develop much deeper relationships at all levels of the partner’s business, and to spend more time in front of these partners, developing a better understanding of their needs and wants – something we have historically found challenging, being on the West Coast.”
– Mulligan Funding
Top Stories of 2024 vs 2014
December 30, 2024A lot happened in 2024, but rather than just rehash it all out, let’s revisit the world of 10 years ago. In 2014, both OnDeck and LendingClub went public, Bitcoin landed in the mainstream, Square started funding, securitizations in the industry commenced, and the world was still not totally sold on the concept of MCA. Oh how things changed!
Are You The Top Broker?!
November 21, 2024
Broker Battle returns on February 20, 2025 at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI. The competition, now the 2nd ever after last year’s very successful launch, is back with an improved format that allows for almost any qualified broker the opportunity to be tested LIVE in person. Broker Battle TWO will also have 3 separate broker categories versus last year’s catch-all. Those categories are Revenue Based Finance, SBA Lending, and Equipment Financing.
All competing brokers will be vetted, tested, and scored through very short judging rounds on the showcase floor. The two top scores from each category will actually compete on stage for the championship.
That means that as opposed to last year’s 6 total contestants and 7 separate battles on stage, this year’s competition could feasibly manage up to 100 contestants for which there will only be 3 total battles on stage (each being a championship). The format allows for more brokers to prove themselves in person while reducing total stage time for the final grand performance.
Each broker will win a cash prize and the distinction of being Top Broker (in their category). To be eligible for entry, you must be an active broker with good ethics and a positive reputation. You must also be registered to attend deBanked CONNECT MIAMI where it will take place and enter yourself in the battle itself here.
Broker Battle intends to foster best practices.
Shopify Funds $507.6M in Q3, Expands MCAs and Loans to Australia
October 27, 2022Shopify Capital originated $507.6M in merchant cash advances and loans in Q3, up from $416.4M in Q2. The increase was assisted in part by the company’s expansion into Australia, bringing the total countries that Shopify funds in to four (US, UK, Canada, AUS).
Shopify is the largest e-commerce platform after Amazon but the two companies are in the same ballpark when it comes to lending originations, and Shopify is potentially doing more.
Shopify generated total revenue of $1.4B in Q3.
“In Q3, we delivered another solid quarter of GMV, revenue, and gross profit dollar growth against the high inflationary environment,” said Amy Shapero, Shopify’s CFO. “From an operational perspective, we recalibrated our organizational structure, successfully rolled out a new compensation framework, and began integrating Deliverr into Shopify. Looking ahead, the flexibility of our platform, breadth of solutions, pace of innovation, and disciplined investment approach position Shopify well to realize the enormous opportunity ahead.”
Arrangements for Nick Gregory of CDG: Rest in Peace
August 29, 2022Nick Gregory, a co-founder and partner of both Central Diligence Group and Capital Dude, passed away suddenly last Thursday. Gregory was a well-known and beloved 16-year veteran of the small business finance industry. If you’d like to pay your respects, please take note of the following arrangements:
Wake Location:
Roslyn Heights Funeral Home
75 Mineola Ave
Roslyn Heights, NY 11577
Tues August 30th: 3-5PM, 7-9PM
Wed August 31st: 3-5PM, 7-9PM
Mass:
Thurs September 1st, 10AM:
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church
110 Bryant Ave, Roslyn, NY 11576
-Funeral Procession to Cemetery-
Burial:
11:30-11:45AM:
Cemetery of the Holy Rood
111 Old Country Rd, Westbury, NY 11590
LoanMe Has Stopped Originating Business Loans
June 15, 2022
At least two public-facing employees of LoanMe have stated that the company has stopped originating business loans. Both believe that this is permanent.
The news may seem rather abrupt given that NextPoint Financial, a new publicly traded SPAC, just completed its acquisition of LoanMe less than a year ago. NextPoint apparently had second thoughts because in March it announced that it may have overpaid for LoanMe after reviewing its financial calculations. It stated that it would commence a review of the matter and report back. No determination to that end, if one were made, was subsequently announced.
NextPoint has since delayed filings of its year-end 2021 and Q1 2022 statements on the basis that it had not yet been able to finalize the books for LoanMe and another newly acquired subsidiary named Community Tax LLC. In doing so, it did not suggest that anything was awry.
Separately, however, LoanMe sued a loan servicing company in Delaware Superior Court on May 9th under seal for allegedly breaching a contract. The case was unsealed on June 10th. Three days later, two LoanMe employees say that they received notice that the company was shuttering.
The Senior National Accounts Manager wrote on social media, “yes, LoanMe is permanently closing. The powers that be at our parent holding company, NextPoint Financial, decided it was time to pull the plug.”
Credibly is Making Moves
June 14, 2022
Michigan-headquartered Credibly has confirmed it acquired ProApprove, a specialty finance company offering home improvement financing solutions. The deal, which it said actually took place in 2021, is now front-and-center because of an agreement Credibly has secured with Castlelake, a global alternative investment firm, for the purchase of up to $350M in home installment contract receivables originated by ProApprove.
“Through conversations with contractors who obtain financing from Credibly, we identified a significant market opportunity in the home improvement space,” said Ryan Rosett, co-founder and co-CEO of Credibly.
“We are pleased to support the expansion of ProApprove’s home improvement financing program at a time when there is increased demand for financing solutions from homeowners across the U.S.,” said, Matt Little, Partner, Global Specialty Finance and Business Development & Capital Markets at Castlelake. “We believe that ProApprove’s parent Credibly has established itself as an experienced commercial lending platform with a keen focus on risk. We believe this transaction provides an opportunity to support a new product for Credibly in a historically underserved consumer market.”
The news follows the announcement that Credibly had secured a $50M credit facility for its core small business lending business. At the time, Credibly CFO Michael Seneski said of it, “The cost savings resulting from the refinance, coupled with the new financing facility, further solidifies our position as a leader in providing capital to SMBs and will be used to accelerate our aggressive growth trajectory.”
Credibly was founded in 2010.
The Company That Acquired Alchemy Technologies is a Small Business Lender
June 9, 2022
The sale of Alchemy Technologies to Business Warrior was announced on Thursday. The sale price of $8.75M ($2.25M in cash), is more than 3x Alchemy’s 2021 revenue of $2.8M.
While Business Warrior describes itself as “the source for small businesses in America to get more customers,” its homepage leads with a pitch for a working capital loan. “Our goal is to give you access to funding before you need it so you can grow without the restraints set on you by your bank,” the website says.
Business Warrior provides loans from $5,000 to $100,000 with interest rates as low as 7.97% and with terms between 12-36 months. It also offers marketing, software, and scaling solutions.
“After working with Alchemy, we quickly realized the massive potential of adding this international group of industry leaders to the Business Warrior team,” said Jonathan Brooks, Business Warrior President, in a press release. “With our Business Warrior platform, premium marketing, and now a global lending technology presence, we are building solutions that propel the success of small businesses.”
“We are so excited about joining the Business Warrior family!” said Timothy Li, CEO of Alchemy. “This move provides Alchemy with the additional resources, tools and capital necessary to enhance our service to customers. Both companies believe small business owners are the lifeline of local communities. By bringing Alchemy and Business Warrior together, the positive impact on these communities is going to be worldwide.”
Business Warrior is publicly traded under the ticker (OTC: BZWR).
