Provider-side experience.
Platform-side advisory.
Embedded lending programs can be complex to evaluate, intensive to launch, and painful to unwind if they fail. I built the onboarding and partner growth function at Parafin, a leading provider of embedded capital products to platforms and marketplaces like DoorDash, Amazon, Gusto, and Worldpay. I've personally launched and overseen dozens of embedded capital programs — my advisory isn't grounded in second-hand knowledge or consulting-based research, but on direct experience powering some of the largest SMB embedded lending programs in North America.
SMBs accepting embedded lending offers grow ~30% faster vs. those that don't. But this requires the right partner, crisp launch execution, and consistent GTM motions. Engagements are structured to cover these core program elements. If you already have a functioning program that is underperforming, I can work with you to evaluate why.
What is embedded lending?
Embedded lending describes when a platform — a vertical SaaS company, marketplace, or payment processor — offers small business financing directly within their product UI, powered by a third-party capital provider. The platform handles distribution and marketing capital offers to their merchants, while the lender provides critical program administration and infrastructure - underwriting, capital markets, servicing, and compliance. The outcome is an instantly accessible suite of financial products that feels native to the platform. Most platforms choose to go with an embedded lending provider to avoid the time, cost, and risk of building a program in-house and from scratch.
Many embedded programs have expanded beyond sales-based refinancing products like merchant cash advances (MCAs), where repayment is based on a percentage of future sales. Some programs now offer flex loans (loan-based variant of MCA), term loans (fixed periodic repayment for predictable cashflow), revolving credit via physical/virtual cards, and even BNPL / pay-over-time built for SMBs.
Who I work with
My engagements are typically a good fit for:
- Vertical SaaS platforms and marketplaces with 5,000+ SMB merchants who are evaluating, launching, or scaling an embedded lending program
- Platforms that process or have visibility into merchant revenue or transaction data and can share this data with their lending partner
- An executive or product leader has been asked to own the embedded lending decision, but the domain isn't their core expertise
- Embedded lenders outside of North America looking to understand partner and program dynamics to support US expansion