FINANCE
Business Wire | October 25, 2023
BILL, a leading financial operations platform for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), has been named a Power Partner in the Financial Products & Services category of the Inc. 2023 Power Partner Awards, which recognize the best B2B providers for SMBs.
Launched by Inc., a publication dedicated to SMBs, the Inc. Power Partner Awards honors B2B organizations that have proven track records supporting entrepreneurs. To Inc., a Power Partner is that “extra muscle” that is crucial to the success of the businesses that rely on them, as well as the success of the larger economy.
Committed to Helping Businesses Thrive
For the past 17 years, BILL has been a champion of SMBs, automating the future of finance so businesses can grow and thrive. Today, BILL helps more than hundreds of thousands of small and midsize businesses remove the complexities of financial operations, making paying bills, getting paid, and managing expenses simpler. As of the end of fiscal year 2023, more than 460,000 businesses use BILL as their central hub of financial operations, and 5.8 million network members have originated or received an electronic payment through BILL’s platform. By making it easy for buyers and suppliers to connect and work together, BILL enabled $266 billion in total B2B payment volume, reflecting approximately 1% of U.S. GDP.
“SMBs need partners they can trust,” said Loren Padelford, Chief Commercial Officer at BILL. “As a category leader and partner of choice for SMBs, BILL is delighted to be recognized for this award. BILL has, and will always, put our customers first. We’ve worked relentlessly to champion SMBs, and will continue to innovate to help SMBs thrive.”
“Trusted B2B partners provide guidance and expertise that founders rely on at various steps of their organization’s journey. Partners that possess a demonstrated ability to deliver quality support are at the core of entrepreneurship and help bring big ideas to life,” says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. Business Media.
About Inc.’s Second Annual Power Partner Awards
The Inc. Power Partner Awards recognize the companies devoted to providing entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to start, run, and grow their business. This year’s awards recognize 389 firms in marketing and advertising, health and wellness, financial services, legal, logistics, and productivity, as well as other areas of business. All 389 companies received top marks from clients for being instrumental in helping leadership navigate the dynamic world of startups. These B2B partners support entrepreneurs across various facets of the business, including hiring, compliance, infrastructure development, cloud migration, fundraising, etc., allowing founders to focus on their core missions. To view the complete list, go to: https://www.inc.com/power-partner-awards/2023.
Here's what BILL customers are saying:
Becker’s Best Shoes
“Before BILL, we were handwriting checks, stamping them, mailing them, everything. Now we can stay on top of vendor payments. One of the things I love about BILL is when people are getting paid, it does not give them our banking information. That really has made payments—and my vacations—less stressful. BILL allows us more flexibility to handle other projects, besides billing and invoicing. It allows us to keep our motto: ‘Always do your Becker’s Best,’” said Amy Becker, Owner of Becker’s Best Shoes.
Ascent Respiratory Care
"BILL has saved us accounting time—tasks that took an hour now take maybe 10 minutes because it's all right there in BILL. BILL has just made our work life so much better and given us so much more transparency into our billing and purchasing. I'm thrilled with BILL’s products. With both the tangible and intangible benefits BILL has given us, it's more than worth its price,” said Heather Thompson, Senior Business Development Associate of Ascent Respiratory Care.
Q Foundation
“I would like to see every nonprofit in America partnering with BILL. BILL can help nonprofits run highly efficient financial operations, while also improving accuracy and accountability," said Brian Basinger, Founder and Executive Director of Q Foundation, a city housing needs and rent relief platform.
About BILL
BILL is a leading financial operations platform for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). As a champion of SMBs, we are automating the future of finance so businesses can thrive. Our integrated platform helps businesses to more efficiently control their payables, receivables and spend and expense management. Hundreds of thousands of businesses rely on BILL’s proprietary member network of millions to pay or get paid faster. Headquartered in San Jose, California, BILL is a trusted partner of leading U.S. financial institutions, accounting firms, and accounting software providers. For more information, visit bill.com.
About Inc. Business Media
The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc.
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TECHNOLOGY
GlobeNewswire | October 06, 2023
JumpCloud Inc., the leading open directory platform provider, and Electric, the leader in IT management software for small businesses, today announced a joint partnership to bring secure and affordable enterprise-grade technology to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Electric, serving over 55,000 end users, is one of the latest large partners joining JumpCloud’s managed service provider (MSP) program, which spans 60 countries. JumpCloud enters the Electric Partner Program, bringing enterprise IT tech to the SMB market. Both companies are actively evaluating new partnerships for each of their programs.
Electric is in R&D with JumpCloud’s device and identity management technology, preparing early access to a select group of customers to test the financial and accessibility benefits of the two companies’ integration. JumpCloud’s enterprise-grade identity, access, and device management capabilities, bundled with Electric’s seamless IT support and management capabilities, allow SMBs to focus on their mission rather than IT.
JumpCloud reimagined the directory to fit the modern world with an open, cloud-based directory for secure, frictionless access from any authorized device to any resource, anywhere. Electric makes technical and often complex initiatives such as security standardization, device management, software provisioning, and employee IT support manageable in one easy-to-use platform.
“The JumpCloud and Electric partnership pairs the best of both for SMBs with limited or no in-house IT teams with affordable, progressive IT capabilities — enabling a whole new generation of companies to take advantage of the cloud,” said Antoine Jebara, co-founder and general manager of MSP products, JumpCloud. “We’re excited to have Electric join our partner program and design their next-generation offerings around the JumpCloud platform. Our partnership will enable SMBs with enterprise-level security, allowing them to focus on their mission and scale their companies.”
“Electric and JumpCloud are teaming up to start R&D on a cutting-edge enterprise-level identity, access, and device management system specifically designed for SMBs,” says Joe Fahrner, Chief Revenue Officer, Electric. “Combining our strengths, both commercially and through our product development, brings crucial enterprise security systems within reach of businesses that previously lacked the internal resources to handle them.”
About JumpCloud
JumpCloud® helps IT teams Make Work Happen® by centralizing management of user identities and devices, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt Zero Trust security models. JumpCloud has been used by a global user base of more than 200,000 organizations, including GoFundMe, Grab, ClassPass, Beyond Finance, and Foursquare. JumpCloud has raised over $400M from world-class investors including Sapphire Ventures, General Atlantic, Sands Capital, Atlassian, and CrowdStrike.
About Electric
Electric’s IT platform makes IT easy for users who want to be something other than IT managers. Its technology simplifies the management of employees, devices, applications, and networks while providing compliance-ready reporting. This all-star team of investors backs Electric: Bessemer Venture Partners, GGV Capital, 01 Advisors, Primary Venture Partners, Bowery Capital, Slack, Atreides Management, Vintage Investment Partners, Greenspring Associates, and Harmonic Growth Partners.
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Technology
Thryv | September 07, 2023
Thryv Holdings, Inc., a prominent provider of software platforms for small and medium-sized businesses, recently garnered significant industry recognition for its award-winning SaaS technology. These accolades include Best SaaS Product for SMBs and SMEs, Best SMB CRM Solution, and Best Business Management Software Platform, received from esteemed awards programs such as the World Future Awards, MarTech Breakthrough Awards, and the 2023 SaaS Awards, as well as its consistent ranking in the top 10 of Selling Power's 50 Best Companies to Sell for 2023.
Here are some key highlights of the recognition:
Best SMB CRM Solution: Thryv Marketing Center was honored with this prestigious award from the MarTech Breakthrough Awards program, a renowned market intelligence organization that acknowledges top companies, products, and technologies in the global marketing, sales, and advertising technology sectors. This recognition comes after being selected as one of the best among more than 3,500 nominations spanning 19 countries.
Best Business Management Software Platform: Thryv Business Center was recognized with this accolade at the World Future Awards, highlighting it among the best products, software, and services poised to reshape the global economy and shape the future landscape.
Best SaaS Product for Small Business and SMEs: The 2023 SaaS Awards recognized Thryv's SaaS product as one of the finest in the world of software and Software-as-Service.
Top 8 Global Ranking: Thryv secured the 8th position in the highly competitive Selling Power's 50 Best Companies to Sell for 2023 list. This marks the company's sixth consecutive appearance on the list, with each year showing an improvement in its ranking.
Ryan Cantor, Thryv’s Chief Product Officer, commented,
“Our SaaS platform helps business owners across the globe to quickly and easily build, manage and strengthen customer relationships, and ultimately grow their footprints. This latest recognition is testament to our talented team, innovative SaaS technology and great customers, and it reinforces how Thryv helps small businesses succeed.”
(Source - Business Wire)
About Thryv Holdings, Inc.
Thryv Holdings, Inc. is a leading small business management software solutions provider, serving a diverse clientele of over 55,000 small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Its acclaimed SaaS platform, Thryv, empowers these enterprises with the essential tools to modernize and grow their operations, enabling them to navigate and succeed in today's dynamic economic landscape. Additionally, the company oversees the digital and print presence of more than 400,000 SMBs, harnessing proprietary local online and print directories, along with integration into popular social media and search engines to foster connections with local consumers. This holistic approach aids businesses in acquiring new customers and bolstering their bottom line, cementing Thryv Holdings, Inc.'s commitment to providing comprehensive and innovative solutions that empower SMBs to thrive in a fiercely competitive market.
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SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS
Business Wire | November 02, 2023
Funding Circle, the leading online platform for small business loans, announced today that we have received a formal notice from the US Small Business Administration (SBA) that our application has resulted in a tentative award for an SBA Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) license to participate in its flagship 7(a) small business loan program1.
The SBA’s decision to grant Funding Circle one of the first SBLC licenses since 1982 is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to modernize the agency and address persistent gaps in access to capital impacting small business owners and to grow the economy. The announcement follows recent research published by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and Bank for International Settlements that found Funding Circle is “increasing access to capital at a lower cost for borrowers who are less likely to receive credit from traditional banks” and “predicting future loan performance more accurately than the conventional method to credit scoring, leading to better loan performance.”
“We are excited to help more small businesses in the U.S. get the funding they need to win,” said Steve Allocca, Managing Director at Funding Circle U.S. “By leveraging our advanced data and technology platform and providing a superior customer experience, Funding Circle is well positioned to become the #1 SBA lender in the country for 7(a) Small Loans under $500,000 by providing creditworthy small businesses in low-moderate income neighborhoods and rural areas access to affordable capital to start, run and grow their businesses.”
More than 50% of banks have imposed stricter lending criteria on small businesses with half of entrepreneurs seeking credit encountering funding shortfalls or receiving the full amount sought. This credit crunch disproportionately affects minority-owned enterprises, with 51% of Black-owned, 40% of Hispanic-owned, 36% of Asian-owned, and 30% of White-owned businesses experiencing financial hurdles due to limited credit availability.
The SBA 7(a) program, which guarantees up to $36 billion a year in small business loans up to $5 million, currently sees participation from relatively few of the 11,000 banks and credit unions in the United States. 25 lenders are responsible for 50% of all 7(a) loans, averaging around half a million dollars—neglecting the crucial need for smaller loans to small and underserved businesses. 77% of Funding Circle loans are for less than $150,000, 33% go to businesses in low-moderate income neighborhoods and 40% to businesses in rural areas.
By expanding lender participation and streamlining the program requirements under $500,000 to leverage technology and more closely mirror the private sector’s policies and procedures, the SBA is making it more efficient to get more small loans in the hands of small and underserved small businesses.
Funding Circle will begin offering SBA 7(a) Small Loans in 2024. Small businesses seeking financing up to $500,000 can visit www.fundingcircle.com to apply online in a matter of minutes.
About Funding Circle US
Funding Circle (LSE: FCH) is a leading online lending platform for small business borrowers. Since 2010, Funding Circle has originated $4.5 billion to 45,000 small businesses in the U.S. and $21.1 billion to 143,300 small businesses globally.
1 Funding Circle will be permitted to begin originating 7(a) loans once all lender oversight requirements are met to the satisfaction of SBA and upon receipt of an executed Form 750, a Small Business Administration Loan Guaranty Agreement.
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