A city of second attempts
Sunnyvale is one of the core cities of Silicon Valley and is known as the birthplace of the video game industry, once home to Atari's headquarters. Many technology companies are headquartered or operate here, including Fortinet, Intuitive Surgical, Juniper Networks, LinkedIn and Trimble, as well as several aerospace and defense firms. Before that, from the 1950s to the 1970s, the land held chrysanthemum farms.
That background produces a particular kind of borrower: someone who tried a venture, put personal credit behind it, and is now running a services business, a consulting shop, a restaurant or a contractor crew that serves the larger companies. The score reflects the last attempt. The bank account reflects this one.
Score, history and deposits
We consider FICO 500 and above, and the pull at application is soft. The main document is about three months of business bank statements. No tax returns are required, and sole proprietors can apply.
For a lower-score Sunnyvale file, a reviewer generally wants to see:
- Current revenue coming in from real customers, not transfers from savings or a partner
- Balances that hold between deposits
- A limited number of existing financing debits
- An honest one-paragraph note on what went wrong before and what is different now
Contract work and invoice timing
Many local service businesses bill larger clients on 30, 45 or 60-day terms. A firm can win solid work and still run short while it waits for the first invoices to clear, especially when it must hire before getting paid. Working capital covers that gap. For illustration: a staffing firm that places contractors on a $60,000 monthly engagement pays them every two weeks but collects from the client after 45 days. Funding the first two payrolls keeps the engagement alive. These numbers are illustrative only, not our terms.
Keep the old venture out of the new account
One practical point for founders: if the previous business still has debts or open accounts, keep them separate from the current one. Payments to old obligations running through the new business account make it look more burdened than it is and can confuse a reviewer. Open a clean business account, run current sales through it, and mention any personal obligations left over from the old venture in your explanation so nothing on the credit report comes as a surprise.
Range and fine print
Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, and approved files can be funded in as little as 24 hours. The application takes about 5 minutes. We cannot promise approval, and weaker credit may lead to a smaller offer or higher cost. If the money will fund a client engagement, make sure the payment from that client arrives before the bulk of the repayment does.
Read more about local options at Sunnyvale business funding, or start the application.