Fintech Startup, CollateralEdge, Raises an Oversubscribed Seed Round of $3.5M to Give Regional and Community Banks a Competitive Advantage in Financing Middle Market Businesses, Fueling the Future of the American Economy

DALLAS, Oct. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CollateralEdge, a Texas-based fintech company providing banks with a risk-mitigation tool to efficiently increase lending capacity without compromising credit quality, emerges from stealth mode with an oversubscribed $3.5M seed round. In addition to prominent Dallas venture firm Perot Jain, the round includes some of the most well-known business names in Texas, such as Kneeland Youngblood, founding partner of Pharos Capital Group, Sheldon Stein, president of Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, Derek Alley, CEO of VCC Construction, and Capital Factory CEO, Josh Baer. 

CollateralEdge has developed an innovative technology solution to help regional and community banks safely extend debt capital to more businesses, ultimately boosting local economic growth. The company will use its announced funding to expand its team and product capabilities and accelerate its go-forward strategy and partnerships with community and regional banks.

CollateralEdge is on a mission to reduce the barriers for small and mid-sized businesses to access lower-cost bank financing, while enabling community and regional banks to better address their customers' lending needs. The sophisticated solution mitigates risk in lending opportunities for banks, providing the ability to attract new business customers while also increasing their capacity to support and grow with current customers. 

"The problem we are solving at CollateralEdge is vast, ongoing, and has plagued the middle market lending industry for decades," said Joe Beard, CEO and co-founder of CollateralEdge. "The beauty of our solution is that it solves a problem for all stakeholders. The business owner has more efficient access to lower cost debt, and the community or regional bank has an opportunity to win and retain more long-term business customers. CollateralEdge not only gives banks an opportunity to yield a greater profit, but it also facilitates the bank's ability to help the businesses in their communities thrive."

"Where many fintech companies have found success by going around the bank, we are taking a different approach by partnering directly with banks to help them offer more competitive solutions," said Joel Radtke, president, COO and co-founder of CollateralEdge. "Our solution complements the bank's workflow and is integrated into the day-to-day underwriting process. It will also enhance the menu of financing options a relationship officer can deliver to a client, all while mitigating the risk to the bank."

"I am proud to back CollateralEdge because the founders bring extraordinary experience and industry know-how to middle-market lending," said Sheldon Stein, president of Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits and a former vice chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "Their creative approach is going to transform debt capital delivery and fuel economies in communities across the country." 

"CollateralEdge has carefully assembled a very impressive group of investors and advisors with the experience, contacts and resources to support the company in addressing such an enormous opportunity in the banking market," said Dallas investor Derek Alley, CEO of VCC Construction.  "Joe and Joel understand the value of experience and are building the company the right way to prepare for growth and scale."

In announcing the funding round, CollateralEdge is also pleased to announce its Advisory Board, comprised of investment, technology and banking industry leaders:

• Darcy Anderson is the vice chairman of Hillwood Management, where he works closely with Ross Perot, Jr. on the Perot family oil, real estate, and investment businesses. Mr. Anderson graduated from West Point and completed five years of active duty. He is also the Texas co-chairman for Spirit of America, a non-profit which raises funds for special projects in support of U.S. special forces deployed around the world. 
• R. David Kelly, managing director and co-founder of Serra Real Estate Capital, has over 35 years of real estate and capital markets experience. Mr. Kelly also has significant governance and strategic planning experience, particularly in the public sector. He is the former Chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority and the Teacher's Retirement System of Texas. 
• James Watkins is a senior managing director at Isaac | Milstein, a global financial sector advisory group. Prior to joining the advisory firm, Mr. Watkins spent nearly four decades at the FDIC, most recently serving as the Senior Deputy Director of Supervisory Examinations where he led all safety and soundness programs at a national level. Mr. Watkins is a recognized expert in credit risk assessment, complex regulatory application, and community banking. 
• Josh Baer is the founder and CEO of Capital Factory, a coworking community and mentorship-based accelerator designed to help startups find their first investors, customers, and employees. Capital Factory is recognized as the most active early-stage investment group in the state of Texas. Mr. Baer founded his first startup in 1996 in his college dormitory at Carnegie Mellon University and now teaches a class at the University of Texas for student entrepreneurs.

About CollateralEdge
CollateralEdge is an innovative fintech company that has developed a technology platform that provides community and regional banks with a flexible, automated risk management solution to efficiently increase lending capacity without compromising credit quality. The platform creates risk-mitigated lending opportunities for banks while reducing friction and borrowing costs for small and mid-market businesses. For more information on CollateralEdge, visit www.collateraledge.com. 

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SOURCE CollateralEdge