Orchard Platform is an investment and analytics platform that has quickly become the place where institutional investors and loan originators connect and transact. Orchard helps those investors assess loan performance data and supports technology solutions that automate investment, back office procedures, and portfolio management in marketplace lending.
And they link them with dozens of peer-to-peer platforms, like Lending Club and Prosper.
These guys certainly know how to be at the center of things. First off, their investors are practically a who’s who of the financial world. And cofounder and CEO Matt Burton also runs the the monthly Marketplace Lending Meetup here in the city.
Which didn’t prevent him from telling us about his company’s funding and plans going forward.
Who were your investors?
The lead investors for our series A were Spark Capital and Canaan Partners, but we were also joined by additional veteran investors John Mack, former chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley; Hans Morris, former president of Visa and managing partner at Nyca Partners; Nigel Morris, managing partner at QED Investors and co-founder of Capital One Financial Services; Anthony Abenante, former CEO of Instinet and senior adviser at KCG Holdings; Max Levchin, founder & CEO of Affirm, and former co-founder and CTO of Paypal; and existing investors Tom Glocer, former CEO of Thomson Reuters; and Vikram Pandit, Former CEO of Citigroup.
Tell us about your product.
Orchard helps institutional investors deploy capital in marketplace lending at scale while providing operational efficiency, advanced analytics, and strategic access to supply. We offer investors automated, data-driven loan acquisition in milliseconds.
Our offering to investors includes investment strategy, operational automation, customized web-based reporting and analytics, and access to supply. We also help loan originators automate their investor marketplace through access to diversified funding sources, streamlined distribution, and market-ready technology.
How is it different?
Orchard is applying insight to marketplace lending. We are different in terms of the capabilities we provide to both investors and originators. Marketplace lending has benefitted from institutional investors looking to grow their portfolios beyond consumer loans, and we have seen radical changes take place, as investors have recognized this market’s potential. This type of diversification will certainly continue, and Orchard will continue to provide the technical infrastructure to help marketplace lending grow.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We’re targeting marketplace lending. According to Foundation Capital, it’s an $870B+ industry.
What’s your business model?
We charge a fee that is based on outstanding principal to investors using our platform.
What was the funding process like?
Since this was our Series A, we knew that we would have the support of our existing VCs and were excited to see the influx of interest from our additional investors.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
I believe they recognized that Orchard Platform is doing something different in terms of how credit is being democratized and that’s why they chose to participate.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
In the next six months, we’ll focus on growing the team and accelerating the evolution of our technology platform.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
In the near term, we have our sights set on expanding into Europe, where we plan to open an office in London. We’ll also be focused on doing the legal and regulatory work necessary to prepare for the secondary market, and help create new financial products such as a closed end fund or an ETF.
Where’s your favorite spot to go and relax with your peers?
I love heading out to Montauk. At Orchard, we typically rent a house out there for the entire summer and have work off-sites and team building activities.
