2018-08-24T13:59:01
(BPT) – When small businesses get the financing they need to grow, it creates a ripple effect throughout the entire economy, according to a new report.
Small business is anything but small — there are more than 30 million small businesses across the United States, and these companies create two out of three net new jobs in the country, according to the US Small Business Administration. When each of these businesses grows and hires new employees, it can have an economic impact that stretches far beyond the four walls of the business itself.
To illustrate this, Funding Circle, the leading platform for small-business loans, recently commissioned Oxford Economics to research the impact of its financing to small businesses across the world. The platform connects businesses who want to borrow with investors who want to lend.
The report reveals that this lending had a massive economic impact in the United States:
* Almost 28,000 jobs created and sustained
* $2 billion contributed to the American economy in 2017 (measured in Gross Value Added)
* $170 million generated in annual tax revenues
Funding Circle was founded in 2010, just a few years after the global financial crisis.
“Today the economy has recovered, but it can still be very difficult to get a business loan through a bank,” said Bernardo Martinez, Funding Circle US managing director. “Many banks are held back by outdated systems and underwriting processes, which means that a small business could wait weeks to hear back after applying for a loan — just to be denied.”
Businesses that borrowed are widely spread across the United States and come from a diverse range of industry sectors, according to the report. Of the businesses that had first approached a bank, half said their application was rejected — which led to their decision to come to Funding Circle.
Financing fuels new opportunities. One business that used a loan to grow is Philosophie Group, a custom software solutions company based in Los Angeles and New York City.
With a burgeoning client base, cofounder Skot Carruth and CFO Jerry Signori soon found themselves in a crunch: With so many people in the New York office, there wasn’t enough room to bring in important clients. With new contracts in the wings, Philosophie needed a new office, and they needed it fast.
The founders found the perfect location close to their clients that had plenty of meeting rooms and creative thinking space for innovative developers. The rent was even affordable, which was especially surprising for a city like New York.
The catch? The lease required a full year’s rent as a down payment.
“When you’re growing a business organically, you’re very tight with cash,” Jerry says. “We had a wonderful opportunity that we would have lost if we hadn’t been able to act quickly and decisively.”
Knowing that a traditional bank loan would take too long, they applied — and their loan was funded within a few days. They moved into their new space and soon landed a project with one of the most prestigious accounting firms in the city. Within a year, Philosophie was producing enough revenue to pay down the principal on their loan.
To date, Funding Circle has helped thousands of American small businesses access more than $1 billion in financing. Learn more at www.FundingCircle.com.
