FinovateSpring 2013 / LendUp
Presenter Profile:
How they describe themselves: LendUp is an online socially responsible lender that makes loans to borrowers that banks and credit unions decline. LendUp is the creator of the LendUp Ladder, an innovative program that uses small dollar loans to provide a path out of the payday loan debt trap and help borrowers build credit. LendUp is accessible on any web-enabled device and offers first time borrowers up to $250 for up to 30 days and proven borrowers up to $1,000 for up to a year.
How they describe their product/innovation: The LendUp Ladder changes the dynamics of a small dollar loan: rather than being a dangerous first step into cycle of debt, small dollar loans become an opportunity to learn good financial behavior and to build credit.
Contacts:
Bus. Dev., Press & Sales: Kate Schwartz, Head of Marketing, kate@lendup.com
Website: lendup.com
Blog: lendup.com/blog
Twitter: @LendUpLoans
HQ Location: San Francisco, CA
Founded: November 2011
Product Demoed: LendUp
Product Launch: October 2012
- Key Executives
Sasha Orloff (CEO), Jacob Rosenberg (CTO)
Key Stats
- Key Investors
Y-Combinator, Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, Data Collective, Kapor Capital, Thomvest Ventures, Bronze Investments, Startfund, Founders Co-op, and many prominent Silicon Valley angels.
- Key Customers
Last year, 15 million Americans looked for credit from outside of banks and credit unions – from payday lenders, installment lenders, and secured lenders. Many of these people were looking for a simple fix to a short-term financial problem, but ended up trapped in long-term debt caused by hidden fees, costly rollovers and opaque terms and conditions.