Small Business Owner, Lender To Participate in Panel at Small Business Lending & Investment Summit

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – BoeFly, the premier online marketplace connecting small business borrowers with lenders and a strategic ally of the International Franchise Association (IFA) to expand credit access within the franchise community, announced today that Co-President Mike Rozman will moderate a working capital panel focused on the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) program at the Small Business Lending and Investment Summit on March 6 in Washington, D.C.

The panel, “Working Capital on Main Street and Beyond: SBA’s 7(a) Program”, will feature a dialogue with Karen Abrams, the new owner of Great Clips in Edgewater, N.J. who secured an SBA 7(a) loan from Conestoga Bank about 100 miles away in Philadelphia, Penn. through the BoeFly platform, as well as Morgan Johns, SBA head of Conestoga Bank, who funded Abrams’s loan.

Abrams will share her story about overcoming the challenge of financing in today’s tight credit market in order to become a first-time franchise owner. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Abrams is an attorney representing small business owners. She learned about BoeFly after Great Clips, the premier hair salon franchise with more than 3,000 salons recommended the platform as an effective financing resource.

“From my experience, BoeFly is the most efficient way for a small business owner to seek and secure bank financing,” said Abrams, who received 13 requests from banks to view her complete loan package on BoeFly and ultimately connected with Conestoga Bank. "I never would have found the bank without BoeFly. The multiple funding options I had in front of me allowed me to secure my loan under the best possible terms."

Johns will share his insight on small business lending and the criteria lenders such as Conestoga Bank look for in loan applications from borrowers.

“It is always challenging when borrowers are uncertain of what kind of information to present to banks in their search for financing, and each bank has its own set of specific criteria that is required for a deal to happen,” Johns said. “Using the BoeFly platform has proven to be instrumental in quickly and efficiently connecting Conestoga Bank with qualified borrowers such as Karen Abrams and numerous others.”

Sharon O'Connor-Clarke, principal consultant for government and small business at FICO, will join Abrams and Johns on the panel. O’Connor-Clarke oversees FICO's SBSS product, the scoring solution that SBA uses as part of its Small Loan Advantage product. Timothy Dixon, senior vice president and head of SBA lending at Citizens Republic Bank, will introduce the panel.

“This panel is not only an opportunity to educate the audience at the Summit about the SBA’s 7(a) loan program, it will also tell a real and current story about success in small business financing made possible through an efficient way of matching borrowers with lenders,” said Rozman, co-president of BoeFly and the panel’s moderator. “Karen’s and Morgan’s story is an important one, and speaks directly to the ways in which small business owners are connecting with the right lenders who can meet their financing needs – even if those lenders happen to be 100 or more miles away.”

“We thank BoeFly for its steadfast support of capital access initiatives including the first Small Business Lending Summits starting in 2011,” said Beth Solomon, president and CEO of the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO), lead organizer of this year’s event. “BoeFly provides technology and innovation that give small businesses an edge in accessing credit, while also offering critical education and training to support our small businesses and the U.S. economic recovery.”

About BoeFly

BoeFly makes it easier to obtain small business loans (http://www.boefly.com/) by reducing the time, cost, complexity, inefficiency and frustration associated with small business lending.  Its online proprietary matching technology connects small business borrowers with multiple lenders from among its more than 3,600 participating banks, based on the lending profiles provided by the banks and the information provided in the borrower’s loan request.

Borrowers build a complete decision-ready loan request online using BoeFly’s exclusive “SmartForm” technology which, when completed, provides the information that more than 3,600 lenders nationwide indicated to BoeFly they want to see before moving forward with a loan request. The SmartForm is easy to use and guides borrowers through the process. Once BoeFly’s matching technology identifies compatible lenders, borrowers then have complete control over which lenders can instantly access their loan request.  Using BoeFly, borrowers can connect with multiple lenders quickly and easily, providing a greater probability of obtaining a loan, as well as more favorable loan terms resulting from the creation of a competitive marketplace.   Lenders benefit by being presented with only those loan requests that fit their lending profile, dramatically lowering their cost and time of origination.   BoeFly is not a broker.  Borrowers pay a small one-time fee and lenders pay an ongoing subscription fee; BoeFly never charges transaction or referral fees.

BoeFly, now a strategic ally of the International Franchise Association to expand credit access within the franchise community (http://www.boefly.com/ifa.cfm), offers a Franchise Solution bringing these benefits to the large and growing small business franchisee community and is the choice of more than 125 brands, including Dunkin’ Donuts, Carl’s Jr., Express Personnel and Kiddie Academy, among many others.

BoeFly’s Affiliate Solution is the financing exchange chosen by the Association of Small Business Development Centers, representing approximately 1,000 centers nationwide, which are funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, to serve small businesses, and Franchise Gator, the leading site for information on franchise opportunities.

BoeFly was founded by small business owners and small business lending experts with extensive small business lending experience. The company is privately-held and is based in New York City. http://www.boefly.com.

Media inquiries:

Bill Fallon/ Keating Co. /212.925.6900/ bfallon@keatingco.com