If you need to borrow money, you picked a great time. New “alternative” –meaning nonbank — lenders are popping up every day.
Within the past week, Kabbage, a small business lender, and SoFi, which helps refinance student loans, received large votes of votes of confidence from investors. More recently, person-to-person lender Peerform received $1 million in seed funding, and Fundbox, another small business lender, closed $17.5 million in funding.
It’s almost as if there’s a massive glut of capital in Silicon Valley leading to some kind of startup bubble.
Peerform has been around for several years but just finalized its seed funding. The company enters a P2P space occupied by the likes of Prosper and Lending Club, as well as newcomers like Puddle and LendStar. Peerform offers a more personalized service than banks or credit cards. Investors get to see what kind of project the borrower proposes before sending funds. Loans run from $1,000 to $25,000, according to the company. Peerform’s video is below.
Fundbox steps into the even more crowded space of small business lending, with LICUOS, Kabbage, OnDeck, CAN Capital, PayPal and Square. Fundbox has a particular twist, however, which limits its funds to paying bills. Fundbox links up to a business’s accounting system to look at bills owed. It then fronts money to pay off outstanding invoices, leaving the company sufficient capital to continue operating. Fundcox’s video is also below.
Peerform:
Fundbox: