If you need funding for your small business, you’ve got more options now than ever before. Alternative lending is growing, as evidenced by Bloomberg Businessweek’s recent interview with OnDeck’s CEO, Noah Breslow.
Breslow said that OnDeck generated $65 million in revenue in 2013 — two and a half times that of the year before. A large portion of that increase is due to residential construction contractors requesting loans.
OnDeck appeals to small businesses because the company is willing to take risks that banks no longer are in lending to small businesses. OnDeck’s average rates are higher than traditional banks’ rates —15 percent of the total loan amount (an annualized 30 percent on a 6-month loan), but they can work for many businesses.
A report earlier this year estimated that in 2013, alternative lenders, including OnDeck, lent approximately $3 billion to small business owners.