14 DAY TRIAL // Google Ventures has led an investment of $17 million (€13 million) with participation from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Industry Ventures for On Deck.
On Deck is a company that funds small businesses with millions in loans. So far, they have shelled out more than $450 million (€342 million), Tech Crunch reports.
A few months ago, On Deck has landed another investment that reached $42 million (€32 million). In the most recent investment, there are several names involved.
Aside from Google Ventures, Peter Thiel and Industry Ventures, the list includes Institutional Venture Partners, First Round Capital and RRE Ventures.
In 2012, the company has also received a round of debt financing from Goldman Sachs and Fortress Credit Corp, which reached $100 million (€76 million).
Among those who borrow money from On Deck, you can find small businesses, such as restaurants, auto body shops, medical offices or construction contractors. Most of them have 200 employees or less.
On Deck was launched in 2006 as commercial banks were becoming scarce with their loans, regardless of how healthy a business was.
The On Deck software gathers live digital data for each business that is interested in getting a loan and that helps the company evaluate the business’ health.
According to the company, their evaluations are more accurate than most banks can perform as they provide a realistic approach to the situation by getting information most financial institutions can’t.
After it evaluates the risk of making a loan to a certain business, the company goes ahead and gives the money.
According to AllThingsD, On Deck CEO Noah Breslow said that loan volume was up 100 percent year over year. Their estimates for the current year are that they will grow once more by 140%. They expect to have loaned more than $1 billion (€0.76 million) by the end of the year.