What the Company Is

Credibly is a small business financing platform that acts as both a direct lender and a marketplace broker. Instead of making business owners jump through the rigid hoops of a traditional bank, Credibly focuses on connecting small and medium-sized businesses with accessible funding options. Whether providing capital directly or routing a business to one of its network partners, the company's main goal is to bridge the gap between growing businesses and the money they need to succeed.

Background and Scale

Founded in 2010, Credibly emerged to address a common problem: small businesses often struggle to secure traditional bank loans due to strict requirements or lengthy waiting periods. By leveraging a data-driven approach to assess risk, the company has grown significantly over the last decade and a half. To date, Credibly has helped navigate the funding landscape for over 35,000 small and medium businesses across the United States, facilitating more than $2 billion in cumulative financing.

Business Model

Credibly operates a flexible business model that mixes direct alternative lending with a broader partner marketplace. The company primarily makes money through financing fees — such as factor rates or interest — and upfront origination fees on the capital it provides or facilitates.

From a customer's perspective, the process is designed to be quick and straightforward: prequalification with a brief online application and a soft credit check that doesn't impact your credit score; matching and review, where Credibly looks primarily at monthly revenue and either funds directly or routes the request to a partner lender; and funding, which often takes under four hours to approve, with funds deposited as quickly as the same day and repayments automated daily, weekly, or monthly depending on the product.

Who It Helps

Credibly specializes in helping established small to medium-sized business owners who have solid revenue but might be turned away by traditional financial institutions due to lower personal credit scores. Because they accept credit scores as low as 500, they assist business owners who need speed and flexibility over perfect credit histories.

Businesses across countless industries — including retail, restaurants, healthcare, and professional services — use Credibly to solve everyday operational issues and fund future growth. Common use cases include covering short-term cash flow gaps, buying inventory before a peak season, purchasing or leasing vital equipment, managing payroll, or refinancing existing short-term debt.