Are the operating capital needs of certain types of small businesses unduly underserved? This session reveals new research that identifies the most untapped opportunities in small business financing. Indeed, methods for lending to SMBs have remained virtually unchanged since the 1950s. Traditional measurements of assessing personal credit scores, debt utilization and collateral may have worked well in the past, but there are still countless numbers of small businesses not considered creditworthy by traditional underwriting methods. Our experts explore how big data and more flexible underwriting models can provide a clearer picture of financial health (or risk) and help lenders close the gap for the most neglected SMBs.
23rd Administrator of the Small Business Administration & Senior Fellow, Harvard Business School
Karen Mills is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School, focusing on U.S. competitiveness, small business and entrepreneurship, and innovation. She served in President Barack Obama's Cabinet as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2009 to 2013. Karen’s... Read More →
SVP & GM, Global Commercial Financing, American Express
Gina Taylor is the General Manager of Global Commercial Financing for Global Commercial Payments. Gina has amassed tremendous experience in her more than 20 years with American Express, specializing in areas such as customer acquisition, product management, risk management and strategy... Read More →
Eyal Lifshitz is the founder and CEO of BlueVine, a fintech startup that offers working capital financing to small and medium-sized businesses. As a third generation small-business entrepreneur, he is passionate about helping small businesses grow and prosper. Before BlueVine, Eyal... Read More →
Sebastian Rymarz, Chief Business Officer As the Chief Business Officer, Sebastian oversees sales, marketing, business and corporate development. An early U.S. hire, he brings rich experience in financial services and credit risk management. Prior to Fundbox, he was VP at TPG Special... Read More →
Shivani Siroya is the founder and CEO of Tala, a leading mobile technology and data science company committed to expanding financial access, choice, and control for underserved consumers. Tala’s smartphone app provides instant credit scoring, lending, and other personalized financial... Read More →