Ask any founder of a startup or a small business owner, and they will tell you how difficult it is to acquire external funding. Even though most startups these days find support in their family and friends, who might contribute to the initial funding process, it can still be a major challenge for those who lack that kind of back-up. Not to mention the extremely strenuous process of acquiring funds via a bank loan. This is exactly the problem that this start-up intends to address.
Fundid, which was founded on April 1st 2021, according to Crunchbase, is based in Montana, US. This startup aims to provide financial services to companies by allowing them to access channels that will help them grow their business. It enables its users to convert balances into fixed rate installment loans, which lets them not only build their business but also strengthen their business building card. Fundid has been founded by a female entrepreneur, Stefanie Sample, who recognised the personal hardships of accessing capital for small businesses. She states that the main goal of the company is to help businesses grow by letting them gain access to capital. She mentions that they provide businesses with just enough financial resources at that moment, so that they can say yes to growth.
Even though it is a relatively new company, Fundid has managed to work with over 16,000 businesses, most of which have less than ten employees. According to the founder of Fundid, these companies make around 80% of the 31 million businesses in the US. Fundid aims to provide its clients with -
- Acquiring loans via Fundid capital
- Along with Experian, the company has developed a proprietary underwriting model known as the Business building card. This card is said to extend financial resources to companies with less than 10 employees, to enable them to have a clean business growth plan. At present over 6,000 people are on the waitlist.
- Provide growing businesses with business finance tools, which is inclusive of financial literacy resources as well as easy access to grants and programs for small businesses.
In addition to these features, the company is said to include credit cards as well, which has been a result of the acquisition of USD 3.25 million in seed financing. This investment has been made by companies like the Artemis Fund and Builders and Backers. This investment will also be used by the company to acquire its first consumers for the loans and card businesses, in addition to getting new employees on board.
Inspiration behind Fundid
Led by a female entrepreneur, Stefanie Sample, Fundid in the long-run aims to help out women and minority business owners. The inspiration behind creating Fundid came from Sample’s personal experiences. She was working with a non-profit for women business owners where more often than not, business owners complained of not finding it easy to get capital or funding for their enterprises. Even though Sample admitted that she did not face struggles equal to that as her family had quite a few real estate holdings, she wanted to address the gap of acquiring funds for small businesses. This is what eventually led to the formation of Fundid, which now assists small business owners to get access to financial resources for their growth.
