Lendio in the news

As an entrepreneur himself, Brock Blake knows how frustrating it can be for aspiring business owners to get the loans needed to turn their ideas into a reality. That’s why he started Lendio, which aims to simplify the small business loan process.

The average job opening costs an organisation $500 each day, according to employment agency Randstad. Open positions need to be filled quickly, but they also need to be filled with competent, qualified people. The job market is tightening and competition is now so stiff that even employers need an elevator pitch.

A few weeks ago, former Utah Governor and Health & Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt spoke at a technology summit here in the state. He talked about where Utah’s tech sector was 25 years ago, where it is now and what needs to happen to keep the momentum going. “Leadership is a generational relay,” Leavitt said. “Each generation builds on the generations before.” A quarter of a century ago, Leavitt’s administration laid the foundation for the state’s business growth with an objective to become a tech capital.

Lendio just announced its fourth annual list of top 10 states for small business lending, based on loan data from the Lendio platform, which matches businesses with more than 75 lenders.

Though banks were slightly more open to approving small business loans in 2018, it’s still a challenge for small business owners to access capital through traditional methods.

Looking for a franchise that fits your budget? The following are the top franchises that can be started for less than $50,000, ranked based on the scores they received in the 2019 Franchise 500.

Lendio, the nation’s largest marketplace for business loans, today announced its fourth annual list of top 10 states for small business lending, based on loan data from the Lendio platform, which matches businesses with more than 75 lenders. This year’s top states for small business lending are: California, Utah, Washington, Texas, New Jersey, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut.

Where do entrepreneurs go for small-business financing? Banks may not be an obvious answer for this. SMEs (with <500 employees) account for ~99.7% of the total employer firms in the US and contribute nearly half of the non-farm GDP of the nation. Only three out of every four of these SMEs manage to get adequate financing through loans, credit cards, venture capital, or crowdfunding.

Your chief marketing officer probably isn’t using Tinder to find new customers, but perhaps she shouldn’t laugh at the idea.
The impact of technology on personal relationships is drawing startling parallels to its impact on marketing a brand: How interested is the other party? Are their interactions authentic? Will they be around for the long haul?

The workplace continues to evolve and financial services firms are changing the ways they recruit and manage their employees. They’re tweaking the job perks they offer, like flexible working arrangements, to hire and retain top talent. Financial firms are also making changes to the structure of teams and to their organizations as a whole to keep pace with innovation.

Check out episode 453 of “Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do” – featuring an engaging interview with the founder and CEO of Lendio, Brock Blake. Brock Blake believes so deeply in the American Dream that he made it his life’s mission to help small businesses across the country fuel their own aspirations. As Founder and CEO of Lendio, the largest online marketplace of small business loans in America, he has helped thousands of business owners access more than $1 billion in funding.

If you’re interested in becoming a franchisee, you’ll find there are thousands of concepts vying for attention. Maybe you’ve narrowed down your interest to a certain category -- like food or fitness -- but even then there may be dozens or hundreds of companies to choose from. So which one is best? It’s a question that requires research and perhaps a bit of soul-searching.

Remember that Nike commercial from the 2012 Summer Olympics? It is a single-shot film, focused on a person running in the distance. As the figure approaches, viewers see an overweight child, not the star athlete most are anticipating. The takeaway is moving: We’re all capable of greatness.

We’re attracted to brands that make us feel something. Some of my favorite examples of this are National Geographic’s visual storytelling that instantly transports us to faraway lands and cultures, and Wayfair’s style of messaging that sounds like personal texts from your interior designer friend.

Mom and pop business day was last week. And, according to a Lendio study of more than 7,000 of its mom and pop business customers, these businesses (defined as those with four or fewer employees) face unique funding challenges.

The study found that while on average, mom and pop businesses take on significantly smaller loans than other small businesses, mom and pops leverage a greater percentage of their monthly sales in order to take on financing.

This year’s list of best workplaces in finance and insurance is topped by Edward Jones, which led the list last year as well. The companies on the 2019 list, compiled by Fortune research partner Great Place to Work, include both large and small companies. They’re known for being innovative, in addition to valuing their employees. Take a look at the full list of companies below.

Twenty years ago, only the big banks had the resources and infrastructure to run a full-fledged lending operation. Now, there’s no need to open a bunch of brick-and-mortar branches or develop your own secure automation solution from scratch.

In fact, all it takes is sorting out documents with your local authorities, getting reliable software to run your business and taking care of the marketing side of things.

Generally, I think it’s a bad idea to build a business with the goal to sell. As a young entrepreneur, having a successful exit was my dream. Popular tech blogs, entrepreneurial books and magazines all share the fantastical stories of entrepreneurial giants that build successful companies and sell them for hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

Either you watched it growing up, or perhaps you’re young enough that a late-night rerun on TBS was your first experience. Regardless of your age or career, the 1980s flick The Karate Kid contains some pearls of wisdom worthy of discussion. When I was a kid, I didn’t really take notice of Mr. Miyagi’s philosophical knowledge of life —I was focused on Daniel’s winning crane kick. However, as a business owner and CEO, I’ve come to value Miyagi’s approach to balance and quality of life. These days, four Miyagi lessons stand out to me.

Small business lending is an extremely important finance function that is full of sand in the gear. Lendio is working on smoothening the process and adding velocity into the ecosystem. We discuss the future of this corner of FinTech in this fascinating conversation.

Every month, Utah Business partners with Holland & Hart and Big-D Construction to host roundtable events featuring industry insiders. This month we invited the top banking and finance specialists to discuss regulatory burdens, the Utah economy, and the second longest economic expansion on record. Moderated by Juliette Tennert, chief economist and director of economic and public policy at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, here are a few highlights from the event.

In the last few years, there have been some massive developments in tech. Some of these changes have impacted the way businesses present themselves on social media, while others have prompted companies to shift how they handle data or even approach day-to-day business in the office. As leaders look out to see all of the options out there, it can seem like staying relevant is just a matter of staying up-to-date with cutting-edge tech.

Imagine running 200 miles in 2 days…on purpose. Ben Light is a Utah based Ultra Runner that said; "anything above a 26.2 is considered an ultra-marathon, and I specialize in a slighter distance -- a 200-mile distance."

Spend a few hours in Lendio’s Woodbury, LI, offices, and you’ll notice something unusual — 27-year-old Connor Caligiuri and six of his co-workers getting up from behind their desks, dropping to the floor and pumping out 20 to 30 pushups.

Overall, American small business owners are approaching 2019 with economic optimism and increased confidence in this lucrative environment, according to a survey from small business financing company Guidant Financial and online credit marketplace LendingClub Corporation. The companies surveyed current and aspiring small business owners about their views on the current state of small business.

Lendio, the nation's leading marketplace for small business loans, was certified for the third consecutive year as a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®.

This week I got to interview Doug Robinson, who is the co-founder and CEO of LGCY Power. I have been very impressed with the culture he has built at his company and think other entrepreneurs will find his experiences inspiring