Become raises $12.5 mln

Become said Oct. 29 that it raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Benson Oak Ventures and Magenta Venture. RIO Ventures Holdings, iAngels, and Entrée Capital participated. Become also secured $2.5 million in venture debt from Viola Credit. Become, formerly known as Lending Express, is an online platform for SMBs to find funding solutions.

PRESS RELEASE

Become Secures $12.5 Million to Upend the SMB Lending Landscape

Led by Benson Oak Ventures and Magenta Venture, the Series A funding furthers Become’s mission to empower and inspire small businesses to become more.

[Tel Aviv, Israel, October 29, 2019] – Become, the leading online platform for SMBs to find and optimize their funding solutions, today announced the closing of a $10 million Series A investment round led by Benson Oak Ventures and Magenta Venture, supported by RIO Ventures Holdings, iAngels, and Entrée Capital. The company has also secured an additional $2.5 million in venture debt from Viola Credit, bringing the total to $12.5 million. The funds will be used to scale up operations in the United States and Australia in order to execute Become’s mission to remove ecosystem friction and enable more SMBs to “become” the businesses they aspire to be.

The current small business lending landscape is fundamentally flawed, with 58% SMBs denied access to funding with no recourse or guidance on how to solve it. Become offers a new model, wherein both lenders and SMBs benefit. Its automated nurturing process, powered by patent-pending LendingScore™ technology, creates visibility into fundability and then creates a personalized plan and monitoring system to help SMBs become more viable and attractive to lenders. Become’s new marketplace feature allows multiple lenders to offer tailored loan offers, encouraging them to compete for SMBs. This gives each SMB the power to compare and choose the loan that’s right for them, directly from Become’s platform

“We strongly believe it is time to disrupt conventional and ‘alternative’ lending practices.  Become’s technology provides SMBs with the transparency and insights they need to improve their unique financial profiles to attract legitimate funders. This creates a new market for alternative lenders and opens opportunities for formerly ‘unfundable’ SMBs to become bigger, better and more successful,” said Eden Amirav, CEO and co-founder of Become. “This funding will allow us to expand our global reach and change the industry for the better, as we ensure that every business that deserves funding has the tools to make it happen.”

“We’ve known the team at Become for years, and have witnessed their agility in meeting new demands as the market has shifted,” said Robert Cohen, Managing Partner of Benson Oak Ventures. “We are thrilled to be part of Become’s journey as they develop into a global business that is setting new industry standards, upending everything we know about lending and having a real impact on SMBs around the world.”

About Become

Become, formerly known as Lending Express, is the leading online platform for SMBs to find and optimize their funding solutions. The company uses its proprietary technology to nurture each business throughout the funding cycle. Become is rapidly growing with near 200,000 loyal business owners registered through its platform. The company has built an ecosystem of more than 50 leading lenders and partners including Paypal, OnDeck and Kabbage and has facilitated over $165 million in tailored business loans to date.

Become is backed by Benson Oak Ventures, Magenta Venture, Viola Credit, RIO Ventures Holdings, Entrée Capital and iAngels. The company has offices in San Francisco and Tel Aviv.