Publication: Funding Xchange
30th April 2015
First ever online marketplace for business funding makes lenders compete to provide finance
* Ocado innovator and former Bain SME expert launch first ever online business funding marketplace that makes lenders compete for the chance to work with a business
* Businesses need to look beyond the high street for funding with up to 50% of loan requests being refused by banks
* However, shopping around is nearly impossible as each lender has their own lengthy application process
* For the first time, Funding Xchange allows SMEs to compare options across the market and makes lenders compete for business — ensuring the business can pick from the best available terms
Why shouldn’t businesses have lenders compete to provide funding? That was the question that led to the birth of Funding Xchange – the UK’s first ever online business funding marketplace – launching today.
Five years ago, when high-street banks provided around 95% of business funding, small businesses didn’t really need to shop around. But today, up to 50% of loan requests are being refused by banks.
The good news is that more than 100 funders have stepped into the gap and are ready to lend. But this has created new challenges for business owners who are often unaware of the options or find the choice bewildering. Running a business leaves little time and energy to find and negotiate with multiple lenders.
As a result, 2/3 of businesses seeking funding only approach one potential lender and 60% spend less than two hours sourcing funding. Many business wait until the last minute to seek financing (40% seek financing within 7 days of needing it) making the search for funding one of the most stressful experiences for small business owners[1].
Until now, shopping around meant giving up evenings and weekends to battle with a huge number of providers and products before wrestling with endless application forms.
Funding Xchange has a simple mission: to give small business owners control over finding finance by making it simple to shop around for the best deal from a wide group of lenders in a matter of minutes.
Business owners answer a few questions and with just one request can reach many funders to get a transparent view of the available options. Funders respond with individual quotes, bidding for the opportunity to lend and making it easy for businesses to compare. For the first time, Funding Xchangeputs business owners in control and allows them to choose which lenders to work with.
Katrin Herrling, CEO and Co-Founder commented: ” href=”https://fundingxchange.sharepoint.com/Shared%20Documents/Funding%20Xchange%20(new)/Comms%20-%20PR%20and%20Marketing/PR/Press%20Releases/FXE%20launch/15%2006%2002%20General%20launch_FUNDING%20XCHANGE%20DH%20+%20KH%20EDITS3.docx#_ftn1″ name=”_ftnref1″>Olivier Beau de Loménie, CTO and Co-Founder added: “As a technologist I am passionate about creating innovative new enterprise solutions. Throughout my career, I have used technology to make complex processes simple for customers. At Ocado, our focus was to cut through the complexity of grocery shopping and change the way consumers shopped for food.Funding Xchangeis no exception. It brings clarity and simplicity to a process that is notoriously tricky and opaque.”
If you want to tryFunding Xchange, or have any questions, please find a link to the website below:
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:
AboutFunding Xchange
Funding Xchange was founded last year to help business owners navigate the funding space and take control of funding their business — addressing one of the biggest obstacles growing businesses face. As owners of small businesses, Katrin and Olivier have first-hand experience of how difficult it can be to find the right business funding — even if there are now hundreds of innovative solutions available. This led them to set upFunding Xchange, the marketplace for business funding, to simplify access to business finance through one funding request and deliver the best available quotes, from the whole of the lending market.
About Katrin Herring, CEO and Co-Founder:
Katrin has been managing her family’s dairy farm for more than 15 years. She has helped to grow the farm and transform the operations. The business is much more than a source of income. It is a huge part of her family life. Katrin had a parallel career advising large banks and financial firms and understood that they often were not the right answer for a small business that needed funding. So, FUNDING XCHANGE sets out to get business owners in the position where they can easily compare terms available from many providers, increasing the chances that one of the offers is going to be right for the business.
About Olivier Beau de Lomenie, CTO and Co-Founder:
Olivier built his first bespoke enterprise online app way back in 1995 right after graduating from Stanford University at a time when the interactive web was still in its infancy. Since then, he has constantly been developing online solutions for a wide range of businesses, industries and markets. He launched the Ocado website, Moneio / Freedom Finance, Myshowcase, Emolument and numerous others. As a technologist, Olivier has a passion for creating new online services that make a real difference.Funding Xchangeis no exception. It brings clarity and simplicity to a process that is notoriously tricky and opaque. As an entrepreneur, he is also very aware of the need SMEs have to get appropriate credit. His wife was one of the first customers of the platform as she needed to fund her working capital needs for her growing dolls clothing business.