Debt Crowdlending
Marketplace lending is essentially crowdlending, or crowdfunding without any equity changing hands. Borrowers pay interest to the investors who they can persuade to fund their loans. For example, Carlsbad, California-based Dealstruck offers SMEs a term-loan product plus a capital line of credit to high-growth startups who don’t meet the credit or size standards of banks. Dealstruck’s team aggregates the borrowers and does all the underwriting. Then, the company invites accredited investors to participate. That’s where the crowd comes in. Investors can either buy into loans on a fractional basis or buy the whole note. Notes average about $100,000, with typical interest rates of 10-20 percent, depending on risk.
Dealstruck takes a first position on assets of the business and also gets a personal guarantee from the CEO. “Our goal is not to disrupt banks, but we fill a liquidity vacuum to enable businesses to access fair, transparent capital to grow healthfully,” says Dealstruck CEO Ethan Senturia.
Jake Hansen, CEO of ZTelco, an Internet service provider and telecommunications company in San Diego, looked for financing at a time when massive growth severely strained its accounting system. “We were basically unlendable as far as our bank was concerned because our accounting was in such flux,” says Hansen. The company did, however, have collateral in the form of a data center and number of cell towers.
Hansen submitted an online application to Dealstruck, which inspected ZTelco’s operations and approved a loan of $100,000 at 12 percent within 48 hours. The funds were in ZTelco’s bank account two days later. “The interest rate was very doable, given our profit margins,” says Hansen. “No bank could touch the efficiency of this process.”
Sidebar: What Is Marketplace Lending?
Sidebar: When Service Companies Need a Loan
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
