With so many venture capitalists throwing money at alternative lenders in recent days, is it any surprise that they’ve begun hurling credit cards at these innovators, as well?
LendUp announced today that it has raised a $50 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital. This comes just a few months after picking up $14 million from Google Ventures and QED Investors in November.
LendUp co-founder Sasha Orloff credits rapid growth for the fresh funding needs of his company. He points to month-over-month growth between 10-20%, as well as expansion into Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee as evidence that LendUp will make good on its goal of launching in a new state every two weeks, and originating 300,000 loans this year.
A pioneer in socially responsible lending, LendUp provides a source of money for those typically unable to borrow through banks and credit unions. LendUp combines financial education, gamification, and better loan terms than those typically offered by traditional non-bank lenders to build a business that serves rather than avoids non-prime borrowers.
LendUp was founded in 2011, and launched its platform a year later. The company was part of FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose, California, where they demoed their technology. Video of LendUp’s demo will be available soon.