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Jared Hecht knows how to be successful. He was just 23 when he started his first start-up – a year later he sold it to Skype for $ 80 million. Money that he reinvested directly: Fundera is the name of his second company, a credit marketplace for small businesses.
If you want to visit Hecht, you have to go to Silicon Alley. This is what the area south of the Flatiron District is called. Hundreds of fintechs have settled there. It looks different than in Silicon Valley: between delis and retailers there are high-rise after high-rise, the financial start-ups are hiding behind high facades. There are no big company logos anywhere. Fundera is not too thick either. A few chairs and plants, otherwise a lot of light. Construction lamps on the ceiling, concrete on the floor. “Check your ego at the door” is written in red on the wall between the windows. Including the motto: “Elevate the Game.”
So far, this has worked very well with Fundera: More than 1 billion dollars were brokered via the platform. The success, says the 31-year-old, is also related to the location. “Any company that wants to tap into the capital market ends up in New York sooner or later.” Actually, Hecht was originally from San Francisco. So it would have been a home game for him to found one on the west coast. Nevertheless, he decided on New York. On the one hand because his wife lives here – but on the other hand mainly because “it is smart to found your company where your own industry has its main market”. Hecht is not alone in choosing New York.
You can read today which prominent startups are still betting on New York and how the shift came about Finance Forward, the new finance portal from Capital and OMR. For the daily newsletter you can here Sign in.
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