NEW YORK, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On Deck (www.ondeckcapital.com), the technology-powered Main Street lender, announced today two key new hires. Jerome Hershey has been brought on as Vice President of Business Development and Ofer Bar-Zakai as Vice President of Information Technology (IT). Hershey will oversee general business strategy and develop new strategic platform partnerships.  Bar-Zakai will be responsible for all aspects of IT, including implementing the corporate systems, production infrastructure and security strategy that will support the scale and future growth of the company.

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The executive hires come during On Deck's accelerated growth surge. The technology powered lender is experiencing a consistent 100% year-over-year uptick and has delivered more than $450 million dollars in loans to the critically underserved small business population. This year, On Deck completed a Series D financing totaling $59M, led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) with an add-on to the round led by Google Ventures.

Hershey joins On Deck with a decade of experience as a private equity investor at Technology Crossover Ventures and Spectrum Equity Investors. At both, he focused on late-stage growth companies in the financial technology, business services and software sectors. Hershey began his career as an analyst in JPMorgan's Technology Investment Banking group. He received a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bar-Zakai most recently was a Director of IT at Pointroll, Inc., where he oversaw corporate and hosting IT and implemented systems that consistently met 99.999% service levels. Previously, he was the IT & Hosting Manager at Traiana, Inc. for over five years where he developed IT solutions for major financial institutions. Bar-Zakai holds an MA in Business Administration and a BA in Computer Engineering both from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

"Jerome and Ofer bring decades of critical experience that will directly translate to On Deck. Jerome has driven significant growth at successful companies, and Ofer has developed best in breed IT solutions, both important areas of our company," said James Hobson, chief operating officer, On Deck. "These appointments are yet another milestone for On Deck as we build our ranks and drive our technology innovation." 

On Deck is fueling the growth engine of the US economy and is the leading technology platform that solves one of the biggest challenges facing the U.S. Economy: how to effectively deliver capital to Main Street. Through a process that is substantially faster and easier than a traditional bank loan, tens of thousands of Main Street businesses across 700 different industry verticals have received capital from the On Deck lending platform. The On Deck system provides the infrastructure needed to evaluate businesses based on electronic performance data rather than relying solely on the business owner's personal credit score. The typical On Deck customer is a "Main Street" business (retailer, restaurant, salon, dentist, florist, etc.) that has been in business more than one year and has revenue between $100,000 and $4,000,000.

To learn more about On Deck, please visit http://www.ondeckcapital.com.

About On Deck
Launched in 2007, On Deck uses data aggregation and electronic payment technology to evaluate the financial health of small and medium sized businesses and efficiently deliver capital to a market underserved by banks.  Through the On Deck platform, millions of small businesses can obtain affordable loans with a fraction of the time and effort that it takes through traditional channels.  The company's proprietary credit models look deeper into the health of businesses, focusing on overall business performance, rather than the owner's personal credit history.  The On Deck system also provides a critically needed mechanism for financial institutions and other business service providers to efficiently reach the Main Street small business market.

On Deck has deployed over $450 million in capital to tens of thousands of businesses in 700 different industries. The company is growing at greater than 100% annually, and was recently named to Forbes' 100 Most Promising Companies in America list and the Inc. 500. On Deck is financed by some of the nation's leading venture capital firms, including Google Ventures, SAP Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Institutional Venture Partners.

For more information, please visit: www.ondeckcapital.com. For more information, follow On Deck capital on Twitter @OnDeckCapital

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SOURCE On Deck