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Business Finance Brokers in 2025
We’re now ten years out from the original “Year of the Broker” article in deBanked Magazine. Brokers are still here, the business has just changed slightly. Here’s some of the top line differences vs. 2015:
Cold Calling: 12% of merchants say they started their search for business funding options from a cold call.
Google Search: Organic search rankings beginning to diminish in favor of AI Q&As.
Training: AI can now listen to every call and grade you on every component of it.
CRMs: Pen and paper are over. Every touch on a deal should be traced and automated and deal tracking organized in a system.
Competition: Every POS solution and merchant fintech software now has a funding button embedded into it.
Commissions: Still high.
Funding Options: Lines of credit, term loans, MCAs, SBA, equipment financing, real estate lending, and more.
Regulations: There are now numerous state registration and disclosure requirements. (See the map here).
Leads: Referral networks are now more valuable than ever. Referrals from CPAs, lawyers, trade associations, chambers of commerce, and more.
Gates: You may have to go through a super broker to get access to a top tier funder.
Startup Costs: The registration requirements in several states has significantly increased the cost of starting a new broker shop today.
Business Finance Companies on Inc 5000 List in 2025
Here’s where small business finance companies rank on the Inc 5000 list for 2025 (and if we’ve missed you, email info@debanked.com):
| Ranking | Company | 3-Year % Growth |
| 15 | Parafin | 9594 |
| 206 | businessloans.com | 1862 |
| 669 | Pinnacle Funding | 626 |
| 831 | SBG Funding | 508 |
| 1215 | Essential Funding Group | 359 |
| 1240 | Clara Capital | 352 |
| 1417 | Backd | 306 |
| 1705 | Kapitus | 256 |
| 1719 | Channel | 255 |
| 1756 | Fundible | 248 |
| 2027 | 4 Pillar Funding | 214 |
| 2117 | Biz2Credit | 203 |
| 2293 | Byzfunder | 187 |
| 2671 | Critical Financing | 156 |
| 3081 | Lendzi | 131 |
| 3226 | eCapital | 124 |
| 3508 | ApplePie Capital | 111 |
| 3545 | SellersFi | 109 |
| 3901 | Splash Advance | 95 |
| 3973 | Fora Financial | 92 |
| 3993 | Capital Infusion | 91 |
| 4076 | Expansion Capital Group | 88 |
| 4162 | Shore Funding Solutions | 85 |
| 4206 | Direct Funding Now | 83 |
| 4712 | ROK Financial | 63 |
Adding Event Connections to DailyFunder
MY BIG PET PEEVES WITH “EVENT APPS” ARE:
1. 95% of users stop using them after the event is over.
2. Most are white labeled from a third party with no customizable solutions.
3. They are generally zero-sum in that everyone can see you’re going or no one can. People want to choose their own visibility.
4. If a boss buys 10 tickets under their name for their team, it makes it hard for the individual team members to be able to access the app because their info isn’t in the system.
5. There are generally no moderation capabilities to limit or stop abuse.
6. Redundancy.
We had a deBanked Events App (2018 – 2023 white labeled), a deBanked App (2015 – 2017 white labeled), and a DailyFunder App (2013 – 2017 white labeled), but we recently rebooted a DailyFunder App only.
Why DailyFunder? With 17,000+ members, 3 million+ annual page views, and an average session > 10 minutes, it seems the most logical starting point to tackle point 1 above, which is keeping a party going 24/7 instead of just a few days before an event and never again right after. We’ve moved development in-house, no more white labels. We can put events in there whether they’re affiliated with us or not. You can let people know if you’re going or not. You can dm other people that plan to go. You can follow up with them afterwards. You can see the sponsors. We can put video content in there like tech companies that demoed or the interviews on the red carpets. No, you won’t see the whole attendee list, but you’ll be able to see those that want other people to connect with them at each one. You can use your real name or be pseudonymous. We can remove fakers. You can post on the forum. You can see what people are saying. It doesn’t all end when the event ends. You can see news headlines from deBanked and other video content we choose to put on there.
This is a work-in-progress but currently live in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you have ideas or suggestions, email them to webmaster@dailyfunder.com. There’s some bugs we’re aware of. You must have a DailyFunder account already to log in. The registration process is still only on the website but we’ll change that.
Some thoughts are being able to add events like a Title sponsor’s cocktail party, a related golf-outing, etc. People are always asking which company is having a party after an event or before.
So instead of having to go on the forum, facebook groups, linkedin, or the whatsapp chats to be like “yo, xyz is happening.” or “who’s going?” we can just add it in here and then everyone can see them in one place to communicate with each other about them if they want to.
Open to suggestions.
View PostBitty Continuing to Perform Well in Q2 2025
“Our investment in Bitty continued to perform well in the 2025,” said Todd Schwartz, CEO of OppFi, during the Q2 earnings call. “The business continues to add accretive profitability and cash flow to OppFi. Bitty is doing a great job utilizing technology to improve operations and the customer experience, identifying additional growth opportunities in new credit segments and capitalizing on the continued supply/demand imbalance in the small business lending space.”
OppFi holds a 35% stake in Bitty. Their pro-rata share of Bitty’s first half 2025 earnings was significant to their bottom-line.
View PostNerdWallet: ‘AI Answers Are Taking Organic Search Clicks Away’
NerdWallet, which operates one of the largest online small business lending marketplaces in the US, is experiencing the competitive pressures of AI in real-time. For example, the company has long depended on organic search traffic to generate customers, but Google’s search results now serve more than just links.
“I’d say the story hasn’t changed much since last quarter. Organic search is still pretty challenged,” said NerdWallet CEO Tim Chen during the Q2 earnings call. “What’s happened incrementally is we’ve seen AI-overviews roll out to a much broader swath of queries in recent months, which is resulting in more people getting answers without ever clicking through to websites.”
The company revealed that SMB products revenue of $25 million was down 4% year-over-year, “primarily due to pressures in organic search traffic.”
NerdWallet, however, has also noticed early signs that LLMs are generating referrals for them.
“What’s probably less obvious is that people who click through from LLMs have materially higher intent to transact than people who click through from search engines,” Chen said. “So, while encouraging in terms of that being a new growth channel, it’s still pretty small.”
View PostSquare Loans Originates $1.64B in Small Business Loans in Q2
Block’s merchant financing division, Square Loans, continues to lead the competition. The company originated $1.64B in small business loans in Q2, up slightly from $1.59B in Q1. That puts them on pace for $6.5B for the year and allow them to maintain their top position among small business finance companies that deBanked tracks. Square Loans’ advantage is that its customers repay their loans automatically through their daily Square POS transactions.
Overall, Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced that the entire company is “Back on offense.”
“We had a strong second quarter,” wrote Dorsey in his shareholder letter. “Square GPV grew 10% year over year and Cash App gross profit grew 16% year over year, accelerating as we exited Q2.”
View PostShopify Capital: Business Loan & MCA Originations Grow, Loss Rates Consistent
Shopify Capital purchased $1B worth of business loans and MCAs in Q2, bringing the total to $1.8B for the first half of 2025.
“Our capital business continues to grow, supported by recent product innovations that enhanced our suite of credit offerings and expanded our geographic reach, including launching Capital in Germany and the Netherlands,” said Shopify CFO Jeff J. Hoffmeister. “We’ve introduced new tools that give merchants more choice in how they manage and select loan options, providing greater flexibility to meet their financing needs. Note that loss rates have remained consistent with prior quarters. This is about the successful, thoughtful expansion of capital.”
The company is on pace to outperform last year’s estimated originations of $3B. The company held ~$1.6B in business loans and MCAs on its balance sheet as of June 30.
Certain loans and merchant cash advances are facilitated by Shopify and originated by a bank partner, from whom Shopify then purchases the loans and merchant cash advances obtaining all rights, title and interest or discount. deBanked is able to estimate originations from these figures.
View PostCloudsquare Unveils New Website and Brand Direction, Cementing Its Role as the Leading Lending Platform for Alternative Finance
LOS ANGELES, CA – August 06, 2025 — Cloudsquare, the highest-rated Salesforce partner in the lending industry, today announced the launch of its newly redesigned website, marking a significant milestone in the company’s evolution from general Salesforce consultancy to a purpose-built platform provider focused exclusively on brokers and lenders in the alternative finance space.
Built natively on Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM, Cloudsquare’s lending platform gives brokers and funders the power to automate workflows, reduce risk, and scale faster than ever before across all verticals of alternative financing.
“This website doesn’t just show off what we’ve built—it reflects who we’ve become,” said Jeffrey Morgenstein, CEO of Cloudsquare. “We’ve spent years quietly building the most flexible, powerful lending platform in the market. Now we’re ready to show the industry exactly what we’ve been up to.”
Reflecting on Platform-First Identity
Since its founding in 2018, Cloudsquare has operated as both a Salesforce implementation partner and software platform provider. But over time, it became clear that the biggest impact came from one thing: delivering the end-to-end platform that lenders actually needed.
Over the past year, Cloudsquare has fully aligned its pricing, delivery model, and internal roadmap around this platform vision—sunsetting general Salesforce consulting and doubling down on technology, support, and services designed specifically for the lending industry.
“Every improvement we’ve made, and continue to make, is thanks to the feedback and insight of our customers,” said Paul Albuquerque, Director of Product. “We’re proud to have built the platform from the ground up, but it’s our customers who help us refine it every day to meet the evolving needs of the lending industry.”
A Streamlined Buying Experience and Smarter Pricing
The new website gives prospects a crystal-clear view into what the platform can do—featuring in-depth product demonstrations, real-world use cases, and simplified module breakdowns that make it easy to evaluate Cloudsquare’s fit for any lending model.
The company has also introduced a restructured pricing model, making Cloudsquare one of the most affordable enterprise-grade lending platforms available.
“We’ve made Cloudsquare more accessible—without cutting a single corner,” said Dennis Mikhailov, Chief Revenue Officer. “Whether you’re a solo broker or an enterprise lender, you should have access to world-class software that drives results.”
Implementation, Support, and Continuous Innovation Cloudsquare’s delivery team plays a hands-on role in every implementation and continues to support customers long after go-live. Every new client starts with one of Cloudsquare’s structured implementation packages—now more affordable thanks to the new pricing model.
Once live, customers benefit from ongoing, free product support designed to ensure long-term success. And because Cloudsquare operates as a modern SaaS platform, customers get access to continuous innovation—including new features, evolving workflows, and cutting-edge tools powered by artificial intelligence and automation.
For teams that need more advanced customization or support, Cloudsquare offers flexible options including Consulting on Demand and Managed Services programs—ensuring every lender can scale on their terms.
“We don’t just deliver software, we deliver outcomes,” said Christelle Asmar, Director of Delivery. “As the market changes, our platform evolves, so our customers are always equipped with the latest tools to compete, grow, and lead.”
Additional Information
The relaunch of Cloudsquare’s website marks a pivotal moment in the company’s growth and platform maturity. With a modular architecture, streamlined pricing, hands-on delivery services, and continuous feature innovation—including AI-powered tools—Cloudsquare is positioned to be the technology partner of choice for brokers, lenders, and funders across all alternative lending verticals. For product details, implementation packages, or to request a live demo, visit www.cloudsquare.io or contact the Cloudsquare team directly.
About Cloudsquare
Cloudsquare is the leading end-to-end lending platform, uniquely powered by Salesforce, to deliver unparalleled flexibility and innovation for lenders and brokers. With a commitment to optimizing lending processes through cutting-edge technology, Cloudsquare provides robust, scalable solutions that empower clients to achieve greater efficiency and growth. Celebrated by industry leaders, Cloudsquare has earned a place on the Inc. 5000 list as one of America’s fastest-growing companies and is consistently rated a top service provider on platforms like Salesforce AppExchange, G2, Clutch, and Manifest.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Cloudsquare Marketing Email: marketing@cloudsquare.io
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