Lendr

What Lendr does

Lendr is a Chicago-based, privately held small business lending company founded in 2011 that provides merchant cash advances (MCAs) and commercial term loans to U.S. small and medium-sized businesses. Operating as Lendr.Online, LLC from 670 N Clark St in Chicago, the company claims to have funded more than $500 million across 10,000+ businesses nationwide (note: one source variant cites $250M+, but the company's website states $500M+). Its core product set centers on rapid, revenue-based capital access — MCAs up to $250,000 with 6–14 month terms repaid via a fixed percentage of daily credit card or ACH bank-deposit sales, alongside structured commercial term loans with fixed monthly payments and early-payoff discounts.

Lendr's technology stack is composed entirely of third-party integrations rather than proprietary infrastructure. It uses Ocrolus for AI-driven bank-statement document automation, Plaid for financial data aggregation from U.S. bank accounts, and AdvanceIQ.ai's AIQ Platform (PortIQ portfolio intelligence, SMB RiskIQ proprietary risk scoring, ARIA natural-language insights) for portfolio management and underwriting support. Underwriting is positioned as revenue-based rather than credit-score-driven, with offers delivered in approximately two hours and funded within 24 hours. There is no public evidence of in-house ML models, patents, or research output.

Lendr operates a hybrid go-to-market: a direct-to-consumer digital application funnel on lendr.online combined with the Partnr Portal, a broker/partner channel that lets third-party originators submit and track deals in real time. Target verticals are auto body and repair shops, restaurants and food service, healthcare and medical facilities, and transportation and construction — typically SMBs underserved by traditional banks. Revenue is generated via the spread embedded in MCA factor rates and interest/principal payments on commercial loans. The company is led by CEO Daniel DeMeo and has received one disclosed equity round of $25M in March 2018.

Name

Lendr

Legal name

Lendr.Online, LLC

Website

https://lendr.online

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lendr is a Chicago-based online lender providing merchant cash advances up to $250,000 and commercial term loans to U.S. small businesses in auto repair, restaurants, healthcare, and construction verticals, via direct online applications and a broker partner portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Alternative Lending

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Cash Advance (Online & Storefront) (FSAKAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pricing, Risk-Based Offer & Limit Management (FSAGAHAE)

Keywords

• Merchant cash advances
• Commercial business loans
• Small business lending
• Working capital financing
• Alternative business funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Merchant Cash Advance: Lendr provides lump sum capital in exchange for a fixed percentage of the business's future daily credit card or bank deposit sales. Repayments are made daily based on sales volume, with flexible terms ranging from 6 to 14 months. This is a transaction-based revenue model where repayment flows with business sales.
2. Commercial Loans: Structured term loans with predictable fixed payments tailored to the business's financial health and industry. Revenue generated through interest and principal repayment over the loan term. Early payoff discounts are available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lendr provides fast working capital to small and medium-sized US businesses through two core products: a Merchant Cash Advance (up to $250,000, repaid as a fixed percentage of daily credit card or bank deposit sales, with terms of 6 to 14 months) and a structured Commercial Loan with predictable fixed monthly payments and early payoff discounts. The application is completed online in minutes without impacting the applicant's credit score, with offers typically generated within 2 hours and funds available within 24 hours. Lendr also distributes through a broker/partner channel called the Partnr Portal, which provides real-time deal tracking and dedicated partner support.

Product overview

Lendr is a Chicago-based small business lending company offering two core financing products: Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) and Commercial Loans. The Merchant Cash Advance provides up to $250,000 in funding with repayments tied to daily credit card or bank deposit sales, offering terms of 6 to 14 months with flexible daily or weekly payment options. Commercial Loans offer structured fixed-payment terms for businesses seeking expansion capital, equipment purchases, or inventory investment, with early payoff discounts available. Both products are designed for fast access to working capital with applications that can secure funding in as little as 24 hours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Merchant Cash Advance A financing product that provides US small businesses with up to $250,000 in lump-sum working capital in exchange for a fixed percentage of future daily credit card or bank deposit sales. Repayments are made via small daily (or weekly) payments tied to business sales volume, with flexible terms from 6 to 14 months. Offers are generated within 2 hours and funds are typically available within 24 hours.
• Commercial Loan A structured term loan product for US small and medium-sized businesses seeking predictable fixed monthly payments and competitive rates for expansion, equipment purchases, opening new locations, or bulk inventory. Features early payoff discounts and is tailored to the business's financial health and industry, with funding typically available within 24 hours of approval.

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to $250,000 in funding within 24 hours
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AdvanceIQ.aicoreTechnology or Integration · 5 February 2026Lendr is a customer of AdvanceIQ.ai's AIQ Platform, which includes PortIQ for portfolio intelligence, SMB RiskIQ for proprietary risk scoring, and ARIA for AI-driven natural-language insights. Lendr CEO Daniel DeMeo provided testimonial praising the platform's ability to improve portfolio visibility, surface risk signals earlier, and accelerate underwriting decisions.
• OcroluscoreTechnology or IntegrationLendr implemented Ocrolus' AI-driven document automation solution to streamline bank statement verification processes. This technology enables faster and more accurate processing of financial documents required for small business lending decisions, improving underwriting efficiency and customer experience.
• Plaid Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationLendr uses Plaid Inc. to gather financial data from financial institutions. By using the Service, customers grant Lendr the right to access and transmit their personal and financial information from relevant financial institutions. Plaid enables secure data aggregation for underwriting purposes.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CAN Capital: CAN Capital has long offered MCAs and small business loans to underserved SMBs, making it one of the most established direct peers in Lendr's category.
• BlueVine: BlueVine offers SMB financing including lines of credit and term loans with fast digital underwriting, serving a similar small business borrower base as Lendr.
• Rapid Finance: Rapid Finance is an MCA and small business loan provider focused on speed of funding and broker partnerships, competing head-to-head with Lendr for the same SMB clients.
• Fundbox: Fundbox provides working capital advances and lines of credit to small businesses through a digital application flow, overlapping directly with Lendr's MCA and short-term loan offerings.
• OnDeck: OnDeck provides online small business loans and lines of credit with rapid funding decisions, directly competing with Lendr in the SMB working capital space using revenue-based underwriting.
• Credibly: Credibly originates working capital loans and MCAs to SMBs with fast approvals, positioning it as a direct competitor in the same product categories and verticals Lendr serves.
• National Funding: National Funding provides working capital loans and equipment financing to small businesses with a broker-friendly model, closely mirroring Lendr's direct-plus-channel GTM.
• Forward Financing: Forward Financing provides revenue-based advances and working capital to SMBs with a strong broker channel, closely comparable to Lendr's MCA-plus-partner strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe Capital: Stripe Capital offers revenue-based financing to merchants on Stripe's payment platform, representing a larger, more established player using sales-based underwriting analogous to Lendr's MCA model.
• Square Capital (Block): Square Capital provides MCAs to Square sellers using their payment processing data, an incumbent version of the sales-based working capital model that Lendr employs for SMBs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lendronline
• Facebookfacebook.com/LendrOnline

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lendr