Service 1st Financial

What Service 1st Financial does

Service 1st Financial, operating as Comfort Connect, is a U.S. home comfort financing platform founded in 2019 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company serves HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors and the homeowners they serve, with secondary reach into rental and multi-family property managers. Its flagship offering is the Comfort Connect Platform, which unifies three financing products in a single workflow: traditional 1st/2nd/3rd-look loans, the Premier Program® (a Home Comfort-as-a-Service subscription bundling new energy-efficient equipment with covered repairs and maintenance over 10+ year relationships), and a Lease-to-Own option for subprime borrowers. The platform is built on cloud-based infrastructure with an integrated credit decisioning engine that decisiones approximately 95% of applications instantly and delivers 90%+ approval coverage across credit profiles, plus a contractor portal and homeowner management portal (leadwithcomfort.com).

The company operates a B2B2C go-to-market, embedding financing inside contractor in-home sales workflows via hands-on training and ride-alongs, and supplements this with direct-to-consumer marketing through comfortconnect.com and social channels. Distribution is reinforced by flagship OEM partnerships with Lennox and York (Johnson Controls), core OEM ties with Rinnai and Luxaire, and strategic industry network partnerships with Nexstar Network and Service Nation, alongside a NYSERDA relationship for state energy-efficiency programs. Revenue is generated from two primary streams: transaction fees and interest on originated loans, and recurring monthly payments under the Premier Program subscription model. Reported unit economics for contractors using the platform include +5-10% higher close rates, 10-20% higher average ticket value, and ~95% customer retention. The company has raised approximately $15M in equity from S2G Investments and a senior debt facility from Forbright Bank, both in 2022, to scale the Premier Program nationally.

The company is privately held, founder-led (Anuj Khanna, Founder & CEO), and operates with a small team (11-50 employees) focused on platform development, contractor onboarding, and capital deployment against the lease book. No public financials, valuation, or headcount-trend disclosures are available.

Name

Service 1st Financial

Legal name

Service 1st Financial

Website

https://service1stfinancial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Service 1st Financial, operating as Comfort Connect, is a Bethesda-based home comfort financing platform serving HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors and their homeowner customers. It offers traditional loans, a Home Comfort-as-a-Service subscription (Premier Program®), and lease-to-own financing across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Home Improvement Financing

NAICS

Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing (5324), Services to Buildings and Dwellings (5617)

SIC

Services-Equipment Rental & Leasing, Nec (7359)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Lease-to-Own & Subscription Home Furnishings (Online-First) (CRAIAOAF)

Keywords

• Home comfort financing
• HVAC lending platform
• Contractor point-of-sale financing
• Home improvement loans
• Lease-to-own programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Financing/Loan Revenue: Revenue generated from origination fees and interest on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd look loans for HVAC, plumbing, and standby generator installations. Contractors facilitate financing for homeowners seeking equipment replacements and repairs.
2. Premier Program (Home Comfort-as-a-Service): Monthly subscription-style payments from homeowners for new, energy-efficient equipment with included maintenance, repairs, and ongoing coverage. Provides contractors with predictable recurring revenue and 10+ year customer relationships.
3. Lease-to-Own: Alternative financing option for customers who don't qualify for traditional loans, providing a path to ownership through lease payments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Service 1st Financial, doing business as Comfort Connect, operates an all-in-one home comfort financing platform that enables residential contractors to offer homeowners financing for HVAC systems, water systems, plumbing, and standby generators. The platform bundles three solutions—traditional 1st, 2nd, and 3rd look loans, the Premier Program® Home Comfort-as-a-Service subscription that bundles new equipment with maintenance and repairs, and a Lease-to-Own option—into a single application workflow with instant credit decisions and an integrated contractor and homeowner portal.

Product overview

Service 1st Financial operates as Comfort Connect, a home comfort financing platform offering three distinct financing solutions: Traditional Loans (1st, 2nd, and 3rd look options for repairs and replacements), the Premier Program® (a home comfort-as-a-service subscription model providing equipment plus maintenance in one monthly payment), and Lease-to-Own (for customers who don't qualify for loans). The platform integrates all three solutions into a single workflow, serving contractors, homeowners, and property managers across HVAC, water systems/plumbing, and stand-by generator categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Premier Program: Home Comfort-as-a-Service program offering new, energy-efficient equipment with no large upfront cost plus no maintenance, repairs, or consumable worries. Structured as a lease available in select territories in the United States.

Products and services

• Premier Program® (Home Comfort-as-a-Service) Subscription-based Home Comfort-as-a-Service product that provides homeowners with new, energy-efficient HVAC, water systems, or standby generator equipment for a low monthly payment, with covered repairs, ongoing maintenance, and no large upfront cost; designed to lock in 10+ year customer relationships for contractors and deliver predictable recurring revenue.
• Traditional Loans (1st, 2nd & 3rd Look) Consumer loan products offered to homeowners financing HVAC, plumbing, water systems, and standby generator repairs or replacements, with fast credit decisions, transparent terms, and 90%+ approval rates spanning perfect-credit to low-credit profiles.
• Lease-to-Own Alternative financing option for homeowners who do not qualify for traditional loans, providing a no-credit-qualification affordable path to ownership of home comfort equipment through structured lease payments.
• Comfort Connect Platform All-in-one cloud-based home comfort financing platform that integrates traditional loans, the Premier Program, and Lease-to-Own into a single workflow for contractors, featuring instant application decisioning, ~90%+ approval coverage, and dedicated contractor and homeowner portals.

Quantifiable outcome

• +5-10% higher close rates for contractors using the platform
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Nexstar NetworkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic industry group partnership providing access to a network of independent home services contractors. Comfort Connect provides financing solutions and support to Nexstar member contractors, who in turn drive volume through the platform.
• LennoxflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOEM partnership with Lennox, a leading HVAC equipment manufacturer. Lennox recommends Comfort Connect financing to their contractor network, driving adoption of the Premier Program among Lennox installers.
• RinnaicoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPartnership with Rinnai, manufacturer of tankless water heaters and home heating products. Rinnai co-markets with Comfort Connect to their installer network, providing financing options for Rinnai product installations.
• NyserdacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) to promote energy-efficient home comfort solutions in New York state, combining regulatory incentives with financing solutions.
• York (Johnson Controls)flagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPartnership with York (brand of Johnson Controls), a major HVAC equipment manufacturer. York contractors have access to Comfort Connect financing options, and Comfort Connect is featured in York marketing materials.
• LuxairecoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPartnership with Luxaire, an HVAC equipment brand. Luxaire contractors are directed to use Comfort Connect financing solutions for customer installations.
• Service NationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Service Nation, a network of premium home service contractors. Service Nation members utilize Comfort Connect financing solutions to differentiate their offerings and improve customer conversion.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• GoodLeap: GoodLeap is the largest point-of-sale lender for residential home improvement and clean-energy upgrades (solar, HVAC, roofing, windows), operating a B2B2C model through contractor and installer networks — the closest large-scale analog to Comfort Connect's embedded contractor financing for HVAC.
• Foundation Finance: Foundation Finance provides home improvement financing for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors, with structured contractor programs and lease-to-own options — directly overlapping Service 1st Financial's contractor-embedded financing model in HVAC/plumbing.
• Service Finance Holdings: Service Finance offers consumer financing for home improvements including HVAC, roofing, and windows through a contractor-dealer network with multiple credit-tier programs — directly comparable in product mix and B2B2C distribution to Service 1st Financial.

Others

• EnergySage: EnergySage is an online marketplace that connects homeowners with solar, HVAC, and other home-energy installers and aggregates financing options. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant that overlaps with the homeowner-facing side of Service 1st Financial's comfortconnect.com portal.

Emerging players

• Mosaic (Solar Mosaic): Mosaic provides home improvement and solar financing through contractor channels with structured loan products. While its core focus is solar, its embedded contractor lending model and credit-decisioned workflow are structurally similar to Comfort Connect.
• Ygrene Energy Fund: Ygrene offers PACE-based financing for residential energy efficiency and home improvement upgrades, including HVAC. It overlaps with Service 1st Financial's energy-efficiency angle but uses property-assessed financing rather than consumer credit.
• Dividend Finance: Dividend Finance provides financing solutions for residential renewable energy and energy-efficiency upgrades, including HVAC, with both loan and PACE products — an emerging player with overlapping product and channel dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Synchrony Financial: Synchrony operates one of the largest home improvement and HVAC financing programs (Synchrony HOME) through retailer and contractor networks. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping credit products and far greater scale, but its HVAC offering is one of many verticals rather than a specialized focus.
• Bryant Heating & Cooling (Carrier Finance): Carrier and other HVAC OEMs operate branded financing programs for their dealer networks (e.g., Carrier Financing, Trane). These OEM-captive finance programs compete directly for the same contractor financing wallet and represent the most direct substitute risk to Comfort Connect's OEM channel.
• GreenSky (Goldman Sachs): GreenSky, now part of Goldman Sachs, provides point-of-sale consumer financing for home improvement via contractor networks including HVAC — a broad incumbent offering loan products comparable to Comfort Connect's traditional loan tiers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@premierprogram
• Facebookfacebook.com/PremierProgramHVAC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-premier-program
• Instagraminstagram.com/premierprogram

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

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 Service 1st Financial