LenderLogix has steadily added products to its offerings, and now it has an infusion of funds to continue that trajectory.
The Buffalo startup, which provides digital tools for point-of-sale and automation for credit unions, banks, independent mortgage banks and brokers, recently received a $500,000 investment from the Western New York Impact Investment Fund.
“We tend to take a pretty conservative approach to fundraising,” said Patrick O’Brien, LenderLogix CEO. “It just so happened that relative to some products we were selling and had in development aligned with the mission of the impact fund.”
The business, founded in 2016, also raised some angel funding early on in its history. O’Brien declined to disclose the total amount the startup has raised to date.
The investment will help LenderLogix, headquartered at 760 Seneca St., Buffalo, accelerate the development of CRA Analytics, a platform that uses home-buying incentives and demographic information in each census tract across the country. The goal is to drive investments in low-income neighborhoods.
“LenderLogix has become an expert in using deep demographic data to give mortgage bankers a leg up on their competition,” said Tom Quinn, impact fund CEO, in a news release. “Now the company is raising its hand and saying it can use its expertise to solve a deep societal issue. This is exactly the kind of mission-oriented project our fund is seeking to support.”
The impact fund, which aims to put money into startups with commercial potential that are also making a positive impact on the community, has raised $12.55 million in its second fund.
LenderLogix already has early versions of CRA Analytics in front of customers and initially created the product based on client asks. LenderLogix, which employs about 15, has more than 100 financial institutions as customers, according to O’Brien, a former M&T mortgage officer.
With upward of 10,000 lending institutions across the country, the business is “in growth mode” and wants to continue to bring in new customers and products to the marketplace. Since LenderLogix began, the startup has brought new products to market about every 18 months.
In order to grow, the business is currently looking to add two or three sales staff.
Despite a challenging mortgage market with higher interest rates, O’Brien said LenderLogix is on offense, not defense.
“We can demonstrate we have solutions that let you deliver experiences, save you money, increase conversation rates,” he said. “The market’s ripe for it. … We’re in a position to solve a lot of issues lenders are facing now given the current market.”
LenderLogix is the tenth local company to acknowledge a private, growth-oriented round of funding this year. The list includes Azuna ($3 million), Immunaeon ($600,000), Latte ($100,000), Aerovec ($178,000), CleanFiber ($6.7 million), HELIXintel ($11 million), Arbol ($350,000), CaHill Tech ($250,000), FoodNerd ($1 million) and LenderLogix ($500,000).
