Online Microlenders Offer Capital to Young BusinessesAn eBay merchant quadruples his revenue with help from an online microlender.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In 2008 Chris Byrne opened The Gear Geeks, an eBay store that sells musical equipment, with $2,800 in cash. To purchase inventory, the Huntington Beach, Calif., 'trep relied on a business line of credit from his bank. When the recession caused his credit line to dry up, Byrne turned to Atlanta-based Kabbage, one of several online microlenders that offer short-term capital to young businesses.
The $5,000 credit line Byrne received from Kabbage in August 2011 soon grew to $38,500--nearly three times the amount of his former bank line of $13,500. With the ability to purchase more inventory, he saw his revenue quadruple from $10,000 to $15,000 a month to $40,000 to $60,000.
Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+
Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community! With your subscription you’ll get:
- Unlimited access, including premium content
- No ads
- Subscription to狗万官方magazine
- Four free e-books a year
- Subscriber-only events with our experts