On Deck Launches First- Ever Credit Score for Main Street Businesses, Fundamentally Changes Small Business Lending

NEW YORK, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On Deck (www.ondeckcapital.com), the first technology platform to connect Main Street directly to capital, announced today a breakthrough for millions of restaurants, retailers, salons, florists and other local businesses with the launch of its On Deck Score – a business credit score developed exclusively to serve the critical Main Street segment. After delivering over $100M to Main Street through their platform, On Deck engaged Equifax (NYSE: EFX) to develop and implement the second-generation proprietary On Deck score.

"Increased economic pressures and other factors have made it cost prohibitive to spend 100 hours underwriting a florist for a $20,000 loan. We believe that these types of challenges make delivering financing to Main Street a problem of time and cost," said Mitch Jacobs, founder and chief executive officer, On Deck. "On Deck is committed to addressing this issue by leveraging new and unique technology to analyze the true health of this unique category of business – providing Main Street the opportunity to access the capital it needs to grow."

Banks have historically faced challenges making loans to the Main Street market as they lacked an efficient way to analyze businesses for sub-$100,000 loans.  As a result, they have judged these businesses like individual borrowers – underwriting commercial loans based on a consumer credit score. This approach has prevented millions of creditworthy Main Street businesses from accessing the capital they need to grow and expand.  

Recently, Equifax conducted extensive score trend analysis and validation on On Deck's latest custom scoring model designed to evaluate and segment the small business market in a new and unique way.  

"As the economy continues to make its comeback, business lenders must apply the right combination of innovation and technology to serve the needs of key market sectors while minimizing risk and limiting credit exposure," said Dr. Reza Barazesh, senior vice president, Equifax Commercial Information Solutions. "On Deck has proven itself a leader by using innovative technology to analyze the Main Street market in unique and efficient ways."

The cloud-based On Deck platform provides turnkey underwriting, monitoring, cash management and collections functions – providing the marketplace with a blueprint to better serve the massive Main Street segment. Businesses go to OnDeckCapital.com to create a business profile, which links to electronic data sources including online banking, accounting and merchant processing. That information is combined with social, tax, industry and firmographic data to create a complete financial profile of the business never before available.

To date, the On Deck system has delivered over  $125M to Main Street businesses nationwide, demonstrating that a significant portion of the more than 5 million businesses in this sub-25 employee category are in fact top performing borrowers worthy of capital. This accomplishment comes at a critical time as the US economy relies on this segment for up to 40% of its jobs.  

To learn more about On Deck, please visit www.ondeckcapital.com.  If you are interested in speaking with Founder and CEO Mitch Jacobs, please contact [email protected].

About On Deck

Launched in 2006, On Deck uses data aggregation and electronic payment technology to evaluate the financial health of small businesses and to efficiently deliver capital to a market underserved by traditional bank loans.  Through the On Deck platform, millions of small businesses can obtain affordable loans to meet their daily operating and long term goals.  The company's proprietary platform looks deeper into the health of small businesses, focusing on the overall business performance, rather than the owner's personal credit history.  

On Deck Capital is financed by some of the nation's leading venture capital firms, including SAP Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Khosla Ventures, RRE Ventures and Village Ventures. For more information, please visit: www.ondeckcapital.com.

About Equifax Commercial Information Solutions

Equifax Commercial Information Solutions is the leading provider of small business intelligence. We provide the information and expertise necessary for companies to best understand and manage their dealings with small business customers, prospects and suppliers. Our best-in-class commercial credit risk data, combined with highly predictive scoring, corporate linkage, and innovative technology, enables companies to make quick, confident credit decisions and minimize potential losses. Leveraging our EFX ID® keying and linkage technology, companies can also gain greater visibility into their supply chain as well as improve the precision of their sales and marketing efforts – from customer acquisition to retention and expansion.  

SOURCE On Deck