Using dating technology to hook up entrepreneurs with funding

Tech entrepreneur Ashley Warmington, the first and only female entrepreneur to win the City University of New York’s annual SmartPitch business plan competition, says she wouldn’t have been able to secure her financing from 87 funders at a 0% interest rate without the assistance of SourceFunding.org.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (February 8, 2018) - The nation's first and only universal business funding application, SourceFunding.org, announced the successful completion of its national expansion thanks to the support of university and foundation partners.

For the first time, entrepreneurs and small businesses in the U.S. can match with, and apply to, every single low-cost community bank and non-profit lender in the country using a single university and foundation backed platform.

Building on the matching algorithms of a dating software, the proprietary platform provides a unique way to access 14,000 community lending institutions while simplifying the small business loan application process. SourceFunding.org is successfully assisting entrepreneurs in all 50 states by providing a free Funding Profile that helps them match with low-cost financing thanks to the generous support of university and foundation partners.

Brooklyn-based tech entrepreneur Ashley Warmington, founder of MWBE certified AirBnB property management company Cozy Oasis and a recent graduate of the Medgar Evers College (MEC) School of Business, successfully secured funding to grow her business with the help of SourceFunding.org, which she is using to create several jobs in her local community and to expand her business internationally.

“When I lost my home during a difficult time in my life, I was blessed with the opportunity to provide cleaning services in exchange for a place to live,” Ms. Warmington explained. “I humbled myself and gave my all to starting my company focused on property management, which has grown to serve 25 clients, and is now expanding further with the help of SourceFunding.org.”

Although Ms. Warmington is no longer a student, as a Brooklyn resident she receives support from MEC and W. Michael Short, who founded SourceFunding.org, and serves as MEC's Entrepreneur in Residence assisting student-run businesses and managing the International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC) with the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

“Searching for financing to grow my company took a lot of time away from running my business and each lender handed me a big stack of application forms,” explained Ms. Warmington. “SourceFunding.org on the other hand was able to match me with the right funding from the most trusted source and on the first attempt — saving significant time and money — all with the assistance of a personal Funding Advocate looking out for my best interests and assisting throughout the process and when I ran into issues with the lender.”

Without the assistance of SourceFunding.org, businesses spend 33 hours on average completing each loan application without ever knowing in advance if they are applying to a lender that matches their particular circumstances. As a result, roughly 8,000 business loan applications are declined in the U.S. every single day, which experts view as a “massive market failure.”

“Our mission is to provide a private sector solution for this market failure,” said Sara Brainard, VP at SourceFunding.org formerly of the Weinstein Company. “Although women operate over 40% of U.S. businesses, they only received 4% of the business financing last year, and it’s rewarding to build a company that’s not only working to support women in business but leveling the playing field for ALL entrepreneurs.”

Ms. Warmington, the first and only female entrepreneur to win the City University of New York’s annual SmartPitch business plan competition, says she wouldn’t have been able to secure her financing at a 0% interest rate without the assistance of SourceFunding.org.

The national expansion of SourceFunding.org builds on a successful pilot by founder W. Michael Short’s award-winning consultancy and was planned by the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI) in the Ashoka U Commons accelerator as part of an economic development initiative supporting socially responsible businesses, highlighted in “What’s Working: Small Business” by Huffington Post.

Selected as a 2016 Clinton Foundation sponsored initiative known as a “Commitment to Action,” the platform was featured for socially responsible “FinTech Innovation,” and highlighted at the Obama White House.

First housed by Le Moyne College, with the platform’s founder serving as the College’s inaugural social entrepreneur in residence, SourceFunding.org opened its national headquarters in NYC in 2017 with a field office at MEC School of Business.

"Entrepreneurship is an important career pathway for our students but many face significant challenges when seeking financing to grow their companies and create jobs,” said Dr. JoAnn Rolle, dean of MEC’s School of Business. “Our public/private partnership with SourceFunding.org is strengthening our ability to support our entrepreneurs and the communities that we serve.”

The prestigious Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University is also among the institutions involved in the development and implementation of the platform’s social enterprise business model. SU’s #1 ranked S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is also playing an “instrumental” role along with the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

“SourceFunding.org is proving that a low-cost, inclusive, sustainable, transparent, and socially responsible approach to business is more profitable in the long-run and in the best interests of not only our company, but most importantly our business clients, our nation’s community banking system, and our economy as a whole,” said founder W. Michael Short. “This is how you reignite the American Dream.”

SourceFunding.org National Launch Planned in Ashoka U Commons Accelerator

Photo Credit: Ashoka U Commons

ARLINGTON, VA (March 1, 2016) - The SourceFunding.org national expansion and announcement at the Clinton Global Initiative was planned in collaboration with university and foundation partners in the Ashoka U Commons Accelerator.

SourceFunding.org Founder W. Michael Short, president of the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI) who at the time was serving as Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Le Moyne College, was specifically focused during the Commons on student entrepreneurial pathways and inadequate access to small business funding throughout GSEI's global network of 250+ collaborating universities and institutions. 

The Ashoka U Commons, described as a "virtual accelerator for changemaking education," is an online professional development program for universities engaged in social innovation education initiatives. Over the course of a semester, accelerator participants are grouped into university cohorts as they work to advance a core component of social innovation education such as creating a new course, curriculum, or mapping student pathways at their institution.

Ceremony at Le Moyne College Highlights Launch of SourceFunding.org

SYRACUSE, NY (November 11, 2015) - The Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI), founded at the Madden School of Business by Le Moyne College's inaugural Social Entrepreneur in Residence W. Michael Short, will highlight at Wednesday’s ceremony the launch of SourceFunding.org - the nation's first socially responsible, transparent, and low-cost financing platform for businesses and community organizations.

Photo: Jim Joseph is the Dean of the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne College.

The online financing platform uses advanced technologies to streamline the small business loan application process and match entrepreneurs of all backgrounds with the qualified community banks and loan programs that are most likely to provide financing. The platform will be working to empower veterans and other underserved entrepreneurs in particular.

SourceFunding.org Founder W. Michael Short

What sets SourceFunding.org apart existing online financing platforms, viewed by many to be "predatory lenders," is that it utilizes an innovative process tapping into the complete national network of 14,000+ community banks, CDFIs, & credit unions in the U.S., which typically offer lower and more competitive interest rates that save applicants money. Additional benefits include pursuing multiple financing opportunities simultaneously, saving considerable time, and also protecting the credit scores of entrepreneur applicants.

IN THE NEWS: SourceFunding.org Partners with Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management

SYRACUSE, NY (April 23, 2015) - SourceFunding.org was developed through a rewarding partnership between entrepreneur W. Michael Short, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, & top MBA students collaborating to build the platform.

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Work on Global Entrepreneurship Platform Practically Prepares Whitman MBAs

Via Whitman Magazine (Spring 2015) - The objective of the Whitman Consulting club is to develop and enhance the skills of members interested in a consulting career. There are many avenues for achieving that outcome, including the shared perspective of accomplished speakers like Dennis Huggins of Bain & Company, who is actively engaged in Syracuse University’s Fast Forward initiative, and career exploration opportunities, such as visiting Deloitte Consulting.

Another benefit of membership is the practical preparation gained through working on real life projects like the Startup Insider Initiative, a new cloud-based incubator platform developed through a partnership between Short Enterprises and the Clinton Global Initiative.

The goal of the initiative, which has a growing network of over 250 collaborators, is to provide entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses with tools, resources and support to help them thrive. Whitman’s Alejandro Amezcua, assistant professor of entrepreneurship, recently joined the initiative’s Leadership Council.

The connection between Whitman and Short Enterprises, founded by SU alumnus W. Michael Short, was first made last summer when Aishik Barua, a second year MBA student, joined the company as a communications intern. Barua felt the firm’s small size would afford him significant work experience. That assumption came to fruition.

“Not only were there opportunities to learn new things, I was able to witness the results of my plans and actions in real time,” shared Barua.

Upon completing his internship, Barua connected Short with the Whitman Consulting Club. Since last August, six MBA students have worked closely with the Short Enterprises team.

“In order for our global initiative to empower businesses to be successful, we needed to ensure our own business had a solid foundation for growth,” said Short. “The collaboration with Whitman students has been mutually rewarding, as it is providing the students with real-world experiences while helping us evaluate and strengthen our core communications consultancy business.”

Having worked on the initiative as an intern and now overseeing the student team as a Consulting Club officer, Barua fully recognizes the value of this experience. “This project provides unique opportunities to engage with budding entrepreneurs across the world,” added Barua. “Mr. Short is a wonderful mentor who gives insightful feedback, generous encouragement and meaningful learning opportunities to help prepare students for future success."