This piece was originally published on Business Wire.
PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bluevine, a leading online provider of working capital financing to small businesses, today announced the general availability of Flex Credit to offer small businesses a revolving business line of credit. Launched from beta, Flex Credit marks the expansion of Bluevine’s cloud-based working capital financing platform beyond invoice factoring.
Flex Credit offers companies a business line of credit between $5,000 and $30,000 with simple, transparent fees and pricing. Using Flex Credit, businesses’ available credit replenishes as they repay their outstanding funds, allowing business to draw additional funds anytime, on-demand. New customers can get approval and funding in as fast as 24 hours. Businesses repay in fixed weekly installments over six months.
“We’re excited to bring the Bluevine experience of simplicity, ease of use and transparency to a new segment of the market,” said Eyal Lifshitz, CEO and founder of Bluevine. “Since pioneering online invoice factoring, we’ve gained remarkable traction and are currently on track to fund more than $200 million in working capital in 2016. This platform expansion will continue to fuel that growth by allowing us to serve both B2B and B2C businesses. Businesses can now draw funds from our fast and flexible line of credit whenever the need arises.”
Since launching in March 2014, Bluevine’s online invoice factoring solution has helped thousands of small businesses obtain quick, easy access to funds they need to purchase inventory, cover expenses or expand operations. Through Bluevine’s online platform, businesses can get paid within 24 hours instead of waiting for Net 15, Net 30, Net 60 or Net 90 payment cycles.
“I love Bluevine because it’s easy and I know exactly what I’m paying,” said Jonathon Nelson of Modern Promos, a strategic engagement and experiential marketing agency that used Flex Credit in beta. “Flex Credit is a perfect addition to invoice factoring. The ability to draw exactly the amount I need exactly when I need it means I can focus on my business instead of worrying about my up-and-down bank balance.”
Bluevine Welcomes Google Capital’s Ana Sirbu
Bluevine also announced the appointment of private equity executive Ana Sirbu to vice president of finance and strategy. In her role, Sirbu will oversee all financial management and growth strategy, including debt capital financing activity, as the company continues to scale.
A growth tech investor, Sirbu joined Bluevine from Google Capital, Google’s growth equity investment fund, where she served as a manager and led the team’s efforts in the FinTech sector. Prior to Google Capital, she was senior manager of business and corporate development at Skrill, a London-based online payments company. In this role, she focused on global partnerships and strategy projects, and later moved to the Bay Area to work on establishing the company’s presence in the U.S. Previously, she spent several years with Silver Lake Partners as an investment associate, focusing on technology private equity investments and portfolio company management. Sirbu started her career in investment banking at UBS.
“I am thrilled to join Bluevine at this time of rapid expansion and continued product innovation,” said Sirbu. “Bluevine has brought an intuitive technology platform, accessibility and transparency to an underserved small business market. I am excited to work with the team to bring our products to many more customers and contribute to Bluevine’s next stage of growth.”