Announcements
Shopify Capital Issued $87.8M in Merchant Cash Advances in Q1
April 30, 2019Shopify’s small business funding division, Shopify Capital, issued $87.8 million in merchant cash advances in the first quarter of 2019, according to the company’s earnings report. The figure is a 45% increase over the same period last year. Overall, the company has funded more than $535 million in MCAs since inception.
Shopify is primarily an e-commerce platform, but they are quickly becoming a competitor to both Square and PayPal, both of whom also offer funding solutions.
Yalber Announces $20 Million Credit Facility
March 26, 2019
Yalber announced today that they have obtained a new $20 million credit facility from Park Cities Asset Management. Brean Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Yalber on the transaction. This follows an earlier $20 million credit facility in December 2018 from a different investment fund.
“The small business funding space has drastically changed in the past two years,” said Yalber CEO Amir Landsman. “We see more and more sophisticated players in the space and to me, it’s a sign that the industry is on the right track to be the major funding source of businesses in America. Being able to close two facilities within 15 months is strong evidence that Yalber has a lot to offer.”
Yalber provides American small businesses with royalty-based investments. They can fund small businesses with up to $500,000. Founded in 2007, the company is an early player in the alternative lending space and is unique in that it generates 90 percent of its business in-house. Less than 10 percent of their leads come from ISOs, although they do look to build relationships with high quality ISOs, according to Yalber COO Amotz Segal.
Segal said that, aside from business with ISOs, all of their marketing efforts are internal and span from social media to local advertising on radio, TV and in newspapers. Yalber does not use direct mail and does not pay for leads.
“It makes the job for our salespeople a little easier because they’re not making cold calls,” Segal told deBanked. “We [mostly] get incoming calls.”
As of the beginning of last year, Yalber had funded more than 5,000 business with over $300 million, and Segal said that they had funded approximately $65 million in 2018. On the subject of regulation, Segal said that they remain very aware of regulatory changes and they don’t necessarily see regulations as a negative thing.
Headquartered in New York, Yalber employs about 25 people and has two very small offices in Dallas and Los Angeles.
Greenbox Capital Leads By Example And Eliminates Use of COJs Across Its Platforms
February 19, 2019
Miami, FL – Back in December, Debanked reported that there was a Senate bill introduced to ban COJs. Greenbox Capital has for the past 6 years been a leader and innovator in the industry in many ways. Most recently, they’ve suspended the use of COJs indefinitely.
Greenbox Capital is committed to long term success which includes taking a stand for the largely unregulated MCA industry by leading by example that shows that the industry can police itself. “Critical pieces in the long-term success of an enterprise is operating above board, employing best practices, and leading by example for others. It’s the greatest way to authentically build a great reputation with your clients and partners. It’s very important during this time even more, as the world is now watching our industry closer and we should show them that there are good actors in the space that operate with integrity,” says CEO Jordan Fein.
About Greenbox Capital
For any questions, Greenbox Capital’s Broker Support team can be reached at 305.952.3200 Option 2.
Meet deBanked’s Pig, and Fund Like One Too
February 5, 2019
Today is the Chinese New Year and the first day of the Year of the Pig, an animal that we at deBanked hold very dear. After all, a piggy bank is featured in our logo! According to the Chinese zodiac, a pig “represents luck, overall good fortune, wealth, honesty, general prosperity” and symbolizes “a hard working, peace-loving and social person with a large sense of humor and understanding.” We couldn’t identify more with these characteristics of the pig! And we hope that our readers enjoy all the good fortune, prosperity and honesty of the pig in the year to come.
We’re so wild about pigs here that, as some of you know, we invited three miniature pigs to visit our office during the holiday season. Not only that, we decided to make a more permanent connection with a very special pig. As of the end of last year, we have sponsored a fully-grown adult pig named Sister Mary Frances. She lives on a farm in Catskill, NY, and while we haven’t met her yet, we already feel a kinship to this pig.
Sister Mary Frances was named after a nun who worked closely with the farm in Catskill, and according to her caretakers, she is kind and compassionate like her namesake. She is also quite the explorer and enjoys roaming the vast grounds of the farm where she is the only pig. She also enjoys belly rubs, snacking on fruit and sleeping in the sun. And, believe it or not, while Sister Mary Frances has lived most of her life in Catskill, she was actually born in Brooklyn! So she’s got street smarts too.
During the cold months, Sister Mary Frances spends most of her time sleeping in a straw hut. So even her caretakers don’t see much of her. Who knows, maybe she’s busy closing deals. May all of our readers embody the boldness and hardworking nature of the pig and in return be rewarded with prosperity. Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Year of the Pig!
Top Accounting Officer at StreetShares Resigns
January 31, 2019Jesse Cushman, who served as StreetShares’ Chief Business Officer and Principal Financial & Accounting Officer, has resigned, according to a Form 1-U filed with the SEC this week. His exit was made effective as of January 1, 2019.
StreetShares president Michael Konson is currently filling the role in an interim capacity until a permanent successor can be named.
StreetShares’ financials have left something to be desired. The company recently reported a 12-month net loss of $6.5 million on only $3 million in revenue.
Parris Sanz Joins Petal as General Counsel
January 31, 2019Former CAN Capital CEO Parris Sanz is now the General Counsel for Petal, according to a company announcement. Petal is a US credit card aimed at the unbanked that recently closed a $30 million Series B round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.
According to a story in TechCrunch, Petal had more than 100,000 potential applicants sign up during the company’s private beta phase. This latest capital raise will be used in part to expand the product to more customers.
Alternative Finance Bar Association Webinar to Be Held on Feb 7th
January 30, 2019
Yellowstone Capital LLC Appoints Tangela Griffin as Chief Compliance Officer to Enhance its Compliance and Ethics Practices
January 23, 2019Hiring Evidence of Company’s Commitment to Compliance
New York, N.Y. (January 23, 2019)— Yellowstone Capital LLC (a Fundry Brand), a fintech company offering alternative financing to a wide variety of businesses, has appointed Tangela Griffin to the position of Chief Compliance Officer. Ms. Griffin will be responsible for enhancing and providing oversight of the company’s Compliance and Ethics Program, including regulatory compliance. Ms. Griffin will report directly to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, and its President.
“Yellowstone recognizes the importance of a strong corporate compliance function and is excited that Tangela has joined our organization to spearhead and continue those efforts,” the company said in a statement.
Ms. Griffin brings extensive industry experience in regulatory compliance and risk management to Yellowstone. She is a former Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) Large Bank Supervision Compliance Examiner and most recently served as the Head of Compliance at a financial services technology company. She previously held the position of Senior Vice President at Citibank and Deputy Compliance Officer/Assistant General Counsel at a foreign banking organization, amongst others.
Ms. Griffin holds a B.A. in History from Old Dominion University, a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar. She is also a FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator.
