Invests in
Skills
Education
Lists including Derek
Work Experience
2022
Co-Founder, CEO
2022
At Enable, our mission is to democratize access to point-of-sale lending. Whether that be for lenders, borrowers, merchants or partners, our mission is to provide access to point-of-sale financing in new and innovative ways.
2021
Venture Partner
2021
I love to invest in software startups
2019
Founder
2019
Started Enable Growth to help consult with banks, lenders, platforms and merchants on point-of-need financing strategy
2020 - 2022
CEO
2020 - 2022
Was hired as CEO in 2020 to build ClearGage Financing, an installment loan program that had the ability to approve all patients while providing fair and flexible financing for patients, regardless of credit. Built the entire lending program from the ground up, hired top talent across the leadership team, created a diversified capital markets strategy that optimized equity and included both balance sheet and whole loan programs, lead the vision on creating an openapi lending platform with endpoints to easily connect to aggregator platforms and technology ecosystems across different verticals, raised equity at a significant valuation from a strategic who additionally provided forward flow commitments, created a company culture that made ClearGage fun, which can be seen by the company’s Glassdoor reviews during my time as CEO from May 2020 - September 2022.
2018 - 2018
SVP Strategy Business Development
2018 - 2018
In January of 2018, LoanHero was acquired by LendingPoint. Following the acquisition, I worked with LendingPoint for 6 months to help assist with the transition and to create and implement a business development strategy for merchant acquisition. While accomplishing this I additionally created a new loan product that solved for profitability and warehouse-line optimization within the LendingPoint Merchant Solutions business unit. Upon leaving LendingPoint, I enjoyed a year of travel before starting Enable Growth.
2014 - 2018
Co-Founder & President (acquired)
2014 - 2018
LoanHero is a VC backed fintech start-up focused on providing technology at the point of sale to merchants who offer their customers financing. Whether it’s a medical procedure not covered by insurance or a new roof, LoanHero is there to provide financing for the important things in life. Our innovative technology platform empowers merchants to extend instant financing at the point of sale and provides multiple lenders in a single application, ensuring consumers receive the best loan product regardless of their credit. LoanHero is one of the fastest growing players in retail finance, and the only platform partnering with Credit Unions to create better lending options for consumers. LoanHero funded over 100MM in loans with a total investment of only 7MM in equity and a 25MM warehouse line before being acquired by LendingPoint in January 2018. As co-founder of LoanHero, I was involved with all major aspects of building the company from the ground up. I successfully raised 1.7MM in seed capital and 20MM in debt financing to start the business, and was heavily involved with every major decision the company made from that point until its acquisition in January of 2018. Day to day, my primary responsibility and focus was to grow the business. I led all sales efforts, headed up all business development opportunities, created and managed all strategic partnerships, closed major accounts directly, and reported directly to the board of directors. I was heavily involved with equity fundraising (7MM total), key hirings and recruitment, developing the technology platform, creating underwriting guidelines for merchants and consumers, streamlining operating processes and procedures, speaking at industry conferences and helping to increase overall employee moral through my passion and unique leadership style. LoanHero was acquired by LendingPoint in January 2018.
2016 - 2017
Board Member
2016 - 2017
2012 - 2014
Co-Founder & CEO
2012 - 2014
Co-Found First Look Approval in September 2012 after selling out of BounceBack Funding. With BounceBack Funding, we were the actual lender: originating, underwriting, and servicing a portfolio of borrower loans generated through a group of providers in the medical industry. While building BounceBack Funding, it became apparent that providers needed to enroll in more than one financing program to approve all of their patients for financing due to the varying credit worthiness of their patients. Taking this knowledge, First Look Approval was formed to provide merchants in a variety of industries with a one-stop shop that would allow them to enroll in multiple financing programs to achieve their desired approval rate. Partnering with over a dozen consumer finance programs, First Look Approval consulted with merchants on which programs to use and provided guidance and training to their staff on how to effectively use financing as a way to close more business and increase sales. This unique approach gave us a glimpse into the highly fragmented industry that is consumer finance. We found that merchants would enroll in as many as 3-5 different financing programs (each with different systems and processes) to approve their customers for financing. The result was a frustrating process and, often times, a lost sale for those customers who were repeatedly declined by each program. With this discovery, a new business model was formed and First Look Approval began raising money to build a completely custom loan platform that would integrate multiple financing programs into one easy to use platform with just one simple process. In June of 2014, First Look Approval had a talent acquisition by Blackbird Ventures and LoanHero was formed.
2012 - 2012
Managing Partner & COO
2012 - 2012
BounceBack Funding was formed in June 2012 through the merger of BounceBack Finance and First Health Funding. We kept the name First Health Funding for our patient financing product and additionally created First Loan Servicing, a product for doctors who want to finance their patients in-house without the hassle of underwriting, servicing or handling collections. With First Health Funding, we were the lender and handled the entire patient financing process from start to finish, taking on and managing the risk of the borrower repayments and servicing all loans originated. As of September 2012, I sold my interest in BounceBack Funding and resigned from the board to start First Look Approval, Inc.
2011 - 2012
Co-Founder and CEO (acquired)
2011 - 2012
Co-Found BounceBack Finance, a sales and marketing company that focused on partnering with multiple consumer finance lenders. Most lenders we worked with provided credit to underserved borrowers who wouldn't typically qualify for credit with the big banks. We established multiple lending relationships and worked directly with each lender to grow their consumer loan portfolio. One lender we worked with was First Health Funding, a growing patient finance company out of Salt Lake City, UT where we negotiated an exclusive partnership. After 6 short months of this exclusive partnership, First Health Funding acquired BounceBack Finance through an M&A transaction that created BounceBack Funding Inc. This combined entity created a balance sheet focused patient finance company that served patients with FICO scores between 600-850.