Heron Makes Big Splash in Small Business Finance Industry
July 15, 2025
Heron, a startup using AI to automate workflows, just raised a $16M Series A round. Already a well-known brand in the small business finance industry, the funds will be used to grow their presence, expand into adjacent verticals, and grow their go-to market & and engineering teams.
While Heron serves top tier clientele like insurance carriers and FDIC-insured banks, its technology can be utilized at almost any level.
“Our technology is built to serve funders of all sizes from industry leaders like Bitty, Forward, Vox, and CFG to sub-five person shops originating hundreds of thousands of dollars a month,” the company told AltFinanceDaily. “If a team is receiving 25 or more submission documents per day, Heron can deliver immediate value by automating their document intake and reducing manual review time. Our platform scales to meet volume, and we often see smaller, fast-moving teams who want to scale submissions and originations without scaling headcount benefit the most from Heron.”
Heron noticed that small business lenders were employing teams of underwriting analysts that spend hours on repetitive intake work and created a process to streamline it within seconds. Consequently, they’ve seen that improving efficiencies in this market has had a positive impact on the economy overall.
“At Heron, we believe that SMB lending is the backbone of the American economy — it powers everything from local restaurants to trucking fleets,” the company said. “But outdated, document-heavy processes slow things down. Heron helps lenders move faster and smarter, so they can get capital to the businesses that need it most.”
See You at Broker Fair
May 18, 2025REGISTERED FOR BROKER FAIR? HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Broker Fair Preshow tonight at JIMMY at ModernHaus (SoHo) 15 Thompson St, New York, NY. Requires the separate preshow ticket. This event is sponsored by Lendini. All food is Kosher.
Broker Fair conference tomorrow at Tribeca 360 is at 10 Desbrosses St, New York, NY. Checkin starts at 9am.
- Agenda here.
- Lunch is sponsored by Triton Recovery Group who created a curated latin flavored menu. All food is Kosher.
- The post-show reception starting at 3:35 is sponsored by Bitty. All food is Kosher.
See you there!
LEARN FROM THE PROS AT BROKER FAIR
May 14, 2025Here’s some of what you can expect at Broker Fair 2025 on May 19 in NYC! TICKETS WILL NOT LAST
PLUS, hear from:
PLUS, Get dazzled by presentations from:
Read the agenda to see when they’re up!
All food at both the May 18 preshow and full conference on May 19 will be Kosher. |
See You in Las Vegas
September 18, 2024
We’ll be in Las Vegas for the inaugural B2B Finance Expo (a AltFinanceDaily / SBFA collaboration). Tickets are just about sold out so if you haven’t bought one already, check the site to see if registration is still active. It will turn off automatically.
Here’s what you need to know:
Sept 22, Wynn, Las Vegas, 7-10pm: B2B Finance Expo Poker Tournament
- Anyone can attend to watch and network FREE. Cash bar on site.
- Seats to play are limited. Must be done in advance on the registration page. Seats almost sold out. Game is not for cash. $100 entry fee. All entry fees donated to GreenLedger, a new non-profit.
- Winner of the tournament gets a genuine gold B2B engraved championship bracelet.
Sept 23-24, Wynn, Las Vegas: B2B Finance Expo
- See agenda
- LOWER CONVENTION PROMENADE
- Tickets required for entry
Please be sure to stop by the Small Business Finance Association’s booth (SBFA) to learn more about the non-profit organization.
Other trade associations with representatives in attendance include the National Private Lenders Association (NPLA) and the Innovative Lending Platform Association (ILPA).
Trade media in attendance will include: AltFinanceDaily, Coleman Report, and Equipment Finance News.
Please be sure to check out the booths of Kapitus & Rapid Finance (Diamond Sponsors) and Bitty & Lendini (Platinum Sponsors).
For event related questions email events@debanked.com. Event staff will not be able to answer calls after Thursday, 9/19.
Cloudsquare Unveils Game-Changing Lender APIs for Streamlined Submissions
June 6, 2024New out-of-the-box integrations promises to revolutionize the deal submission process, boosting efficiency and cutting costs for alternative lending companies.
Los Angeles, CA – June 6, 2024 – Cloudsquare, a leading LOS/LMS platform and Salesforce consulting partner specializing in alternative lending solutions, announces the launch of 14 new Lender APIs integrated into Cloudsquare Broker, an alternative lending CRM powered by Salesforce. This significant advancement enhances the speed and efficiency submitting deals to lenders who accept portal submissions
The Lender APIs address common challenges in submissions, reducing delays and costs with a streamlined, automated solution. They integrate with the CRM’s Submission Channel, an AI-powered module that matches the right lenders for each deal, increasing approval rates by avoiding unnecessary declines.
Depending on the lender’s API capabilities, brokers gain access to features like real-time status updates, document retrieval, instant offers and decline reasons, further enhancing processing efficiency.
“With our new Lender APIs, users can experience a tenfold increase in submission speed,” said Jeffrey Morgenstein, CEO at Cloudsquare. “This not only saves our clients tens of thousands of dollars in processing payroll but also ensures they stay ahead of their competitors by operating at peak efficiency.”
Supported lenders include Bitty Advance, CAN Capital, Credibly, Expansion Capital Group, Fora Financial, Forward Financing, Headway, Idea Financial, Kapitus, Lendini, Mulligan Funding, OnDeck, PIRS Capital, and Rapid Finance.
“For customers who work with lenders not currently on the list, Cloudsquare offers the flexibility to add any lender to the submission framework, provided they have an API available,” said Paul Albuquerque, Director of Product at Cloudsquare. “It is our mission to elevate the entire industry and drive synergy through technology.”
This development underscores Cloudsquare’s commitment to innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the financial services industry, helping businesses operate more efficiently.
To learn more about how Cloudsquare’s Lender APIs can transform your submission process, visit https://link.cloudsquare.io/RYuO.
About Cloudsquare
Cloudsquare, is a robust LOS/LMS platform and premier Salesforce consulting partner specializing in solutions tailored for alternative lending. We pride ourselves on being the provider of choice for ambitious, forward-thinking organizations aiming to elevate their operations to the next level. Cloudsquare’s excellence has been recognized by industry leaders, is listed on the Inc. 5000 as one of America’s fastest-growing companies and is consistently rated as a top service provider on platforms like Salesforce AppExchange, G2, Clutch and Manifest. For more information, please visit https://link.cloudsquare.io/RYuO.
Broker Fair 2024 Recap
May 21, 2024Broker Fair 2024 in New York City went off with a bang, surpassing attendance of both Broker Fair 2023 and AltFinanceDaily CONNECT MIAMI 2024. The all-Kosher catered event ran a lean format of high impact speakers with an optimized networking atmosphere. The Preshow Party at Somewhere Nowhere NYC sponsored by Triton Recovery Group was also a night to remember! Pictures will go up this week.
Some key highlights
Platinum Sponsors: Triton Recovery Group, Bitty Advance, Lendini
Tech Demonstrations: Ocrolus, Heron Data, Cloudsquare
Featured Speaker: Peter Ribeiro
SBA Lending Speakers: Bob Coleman & Adam Seery
NY Legal and Regulatory Update Attorneys: Scott Pearson, Kate Fisher, Chris Murray, Patrick Siegfried
Broker Battle Finds a Champion
January 14, 2024At the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, thousands of viewers packed a hall to witness the first ever Broker Battle™ at AltFinanceDaily CONNECT. After the rules of the competition were explained, six broker contestants waited eagerly for their turn to face four judges and with that a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000. Their goal? Choose from one of three pre-defined sales scenarios and show off their knowledge and abilities to the judges. Here’s what happened:
The Broker Battle was introduced
Broker Battle judge Daniel Dames (Bitty Advance) held up a Title belt
Irving Betesh (Advance Funds Network) had the distinction of going first. He came prepared!
The contestants continued one by one alphabetically by last name
The conversational role playing on the stage covered the gamut, ranging from explaining APRs and contract terminology to diagnosing customer needs or trying to earn a customer’s business. Below, judges Jared Weitz (United Capital Source) and Cheryl Tibbs (Equipment LeaseCo Inc) listen in to a contestant’s pitch.
Mike Brooks (Best Connect Capital) came in with his own style
Corey Digi (Lexington Capital Group) put up a strong showing
Stanley Mitchell (CLM Financial) goes to work
Danielle Rivelli (United Capital Source) showed off her experience
Anthony Truglia (CapFront) made it known the competition wasn’t over yet
The judges had to add up their scores for each contestant to find out which TWO would make it into the final championship battle
Second from the right is judge Leo Vargas (Triton Recovery Group).
Anthony Truglia and Danielle Rivelli are declared the two finalists after racking up the highest scores
The final sales scenario is revealed!
Both contestants have to compete on stage at the same time! Oh my!
The contestants are sent offstage so the judges can deliberate
And the winner is…
Anthony Truglia!
All photos from the Broker Battle here
All photos from the rest of AltFinanceDaily CONNECT MIAMI here
AltFinanceDaily would like to thank all of the amazing broker contestants for participating in something bold and brand new. Thank you to Anthony Truglia, Danielle Rivelli, Corey Digi, Irving Betesh, Stanley Mitchell, and Mike Brooks. Gratitude is also directed towards the judges for their efforts, Cheryl Tibbs, Daniel Dames, Jared Weitz, and Leo Vargas.
AltFinanceDaily hopes that this competition inspires all brokers to become better, to further master their knowledge of available products, legal compliance, style, and confidence. A video highlight reel of the competition is in post-production.
Interested in more from AltFinanceDaily? Contact us at info@debanked.com or call 212-220-9084.
Hundreds of Brokers Registered for AltFinanceDaily CONNECT MIAMI
January 9, 2024
MIAMI BEACH – Hundreds of small business finance brokers are registered for this year’s AltFinanceDaily CONNECT MIAMI. Taking place on Thursday, January 11 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the event’s modified format includes the first-ever Broker Battle™ with a $5,000 grand prize to the winning broker, on top of an all-kosher food experience. That’s in addition to a featured presentation from David Goldin, the first-of-its-kind Broker Brilliance education session, tech demos, networking, and cocktails. Bitty Advance is the Title Sponsor.
“This is our sixth event in Miami,” said conference founder and AltFinanceDaily President Sean Murray. “I think kicking off a new year is as good a time as ever to reinvent yourself and change things up. I’m really excited for this show and I think 2024 is going to be a truly unique year.”
Registration opens at 1pm on Thursday and the event culminates with the Broker Battle at 5:10pm. That will lead right into the cocktail networking reception.
About AltFinanceDaily CONNECT Miami
AltFinanceDaily CONNECT events are operated by Foinse, LLC. Foinse, LLC is an events company based in Brooklyn, NY. To learn more visit: http://www.debankedmiami.com. For inquiries, email events@debanked.com.
