Bridging the Capital Gap: Empowering Underserved Businesses to Thrive.
Join us in transforming communities by providing equitable access to capital. Together, we can create opportunity and drive change.
PROUD GRANT RECIPIENT 2024
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Black-owned businesses generated $141 billion in revenue in 2020, yet they remain disproportionately underserved by traditional financing systems.
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Existing models often limit access to fair, affordable capital, leaving mission-driven lenders, like CDFIs,* with insufficient resources to meet the demand.
*CDFI stands for: Community Development Financial Institution.
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Mission-driven lenders like CDFIs play a critical role in funding underserved businesses but face constraints due to reliance on government funding.
The Gap That Holds Businesses Back
“As a woman, even with all of my money that I had at the time, I could not get a bank loan…. I had to use my own money.”
Comments about challenges accessing financing after selling Black Entertainment Television (BET) to Viacom for $3 billion, making her a near billionaire. Source: The David Rubinstein Show
73% of loans go to men-owned businesses; only 27% to women.
Evolving the Capital Markets for Underserved Businesses.
How We Fund Underserved Businesses:
We Reduce Interest Rates - So business owners can afford to grow.
We Offer Cash Collateral - So lenders can better manage their risk and say “yes” more often.
We Buy loans from lenders - So lenders can free up money to lend to more businesses.
The broader capital markets have found ways to provide borrowers with lower interest rates and longer-maturity debt by using creative transaction structures.
Why should your business not benefit from these tried and true innovations?
Making a Difference, One Loan at a Time.
Issue
“With the help of Half Step, I got the loan at a lower interest rate than what the bank was offering.” - Chicago Store Owner
A jewelry, clothing and novelties retail business on the south side of Chicago needed a short-term loan to support purchasing merchandise to sell during the holiday season. The business is an important part of its local community, often opening its space to local community members to hold community-enriching programs and to display their artwork. The business has a long track record of successful revenue generation and history of previous debt repayment. However, the business’s previous lending experience included loan offers at significantly higher interest rates, limiting the amount of operating income the business can use to grow.
Solution
Half Step helped the business get access to a short-term loan at rates less than what a credit card would charge.
Issue
“Half Step helped us get our product on shelves faster by helping us access a loan with more favorable terms.” - Hair Care Brand Owner
A small hair care brand works with a small contract manufacturer in the south suburbs of Chicago to produce and package the brand’s product. The brand needed a loan to support the manufacturing cost of its product lot. Without Half Step’s collateral, the lender would be unwilling to provide the loan with terms that would allow the hair care brand to comfortably repay the debt.
Solution:
Half Step’s participation enabled the hair care brand to secure a loan for five months instead of three months (which was the lender’s original maturity limit), at an interest rate more economical for the brand. The contract manufacturer also benefited from the revenue that the manufacturing order generated, demonstrating the catalytic nature of Half Step’s assistance.
Join Us in Changing Lives and Building Equity.
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Invest & Change Lives
Are you an underserved business looking for funding?
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Led by Passion, Backed by Expertise.
Lahari Goud, Co-Founder/Partner
“I’ve spent my career making sure underserved communities get access to educational opportunities. Now I’m making sure they get access to capital.”
Lahari Goud most recently was the President for Civitas Education Partners (CEP), a multimillion-dollar charter school network where she oversaw the operations and lead critical initiatives. Prior to this role, she was the Interim CEO and Chief Strategy Officer for CEP, where she focused on CEP’s growth strategy, as well as improving the operational and academic systems of both the network and the schools. Her role was critical in ensuring that CEP schools were designed for ALL students to learn. Lahari’s academic and professional pursuits reflect her passion for creating more high-quality opportunities for marginalized groups, regardless of origin. While at CEP, she launched and lead the Civitas Community Impact Experience - a program that re-imagined the high school learning process, better preparing students to independently author their own career pathways.
She has her AM in Social Work Policy from University of Chicago, MAT from Johns Hopkins University and her BA in Psychology from Ohio State University. Lahari is a Pahara fellow.
Dr. Marshall Lindsey, Co-Founder/Partner
“I saw firsthand how unfair financing keeps communities and businesses from flourishing. That’s why Half Step was created.”
Marshall Lindsey’s financial services experience has passionately motivated his desire to help credit-worthy enterprises expand their capital sources to support growth. He currently is an advisor to U.S. State agencies, national non-profits, funds, and corporates servicing the Development Finance Institution community on integrating transaction structures that help borrowers efficiently achieve their financing goals. This work typically includes creatively utilizing various forms of credit enhancement.
He is a capital markets professional and engineer with industry experience in energy infrastructure, investment banking and consulting. Currently a Vice President at Regiment Securities, an investment bank and broker dealer headquartered in Chicago, Marshall leads deal execution of a variety of credit and equity transactions.
Marshall holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Case Western University, a MBA and MS in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon, and a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University.
