The earliest funding for startups is now also the fastest...
The Paintbrush Loan is now available with same-day funding.* Apply, get approved, and get funded all in the space of a few hours.
*Available for loans accepted before 2:50 EDT, business days
Hey PH community, we are so excited to announce same-day financing! We announced the official launch of Paintbrush a few months ago and the support from the Product Hunt community was incredible, so of course we had to come back to tell you we just launched a major update.
We have always been the earliest startup funding platform on the internet, now with same-day financing, we are also the FASTEST.
Startups and founders deserve better options than credit cards and VCs. That’s why we created Paintbrush. If you are ready to expand your side-hustle, start a small business, or grow your startup, there is now a new option with Paintbrush.
Looking forward to your questions and support.
Hey Stephen, long time listener, first time caller. What’s the difference between doing this kind of loan and just going to a bank or something? Thanks and I will take my answer off the air.
@scottew Thanks Scott, I think the biggest difference isn't even the ease of use, it's the availability. As far as I know, no bank offers a commercial term loan to pre-launch startups. I've told this story to our daily listeners many times, but I personally walked into a number of banks looking for a true startup loan, to no success.
@scottew Stephen is absolutely correct, and I think people generally don't have a clear picture of what role bank debt plays in the economy. As Stephen rightly points out, bank debt doesn't function to capitalize new ventures. Rather, bank debt functions to: (1) help with the acquisition or hard assets (e.g., equipment, buildings), (2) help smooth cashflow for business with longer collection cycles, and (3) increase return on equity for profitable businesses by reducing working capital that the business's owners must commit.
Capitalizing new ventures has been dominated by VCs in the last 40 years, but Paintbrush seems to be opening up a new mechanism.
@_scott_raff Thanks! The Paintbrush Loan works for high-growth startups, but also side-hustles and small businesses. We have customers who are building in LLMs, but also customers who are making custom cakes.
@kenfrei There is no pre-payment penalty, so if you need less than $50k, I suggest repaying the amount you don't need immediately.
Thanks for the support!
@scott_evanson We think that the Paintbrush Loan is additive to VC. In fact, my startup was the first Paintbrush Loan customer and we've raised over $5m in venture capital.
@sentry_co Thanks Andre. The catch is that you have to repay the loan! Unlike venture capital, Paintbrush doesn't take any ownership or control of your company, in return startups need to pay back their loan over the 5 year term.
Kudos to Paintbrush for having relatively straightforward and transparent T&C's.
This ain't advice but founders should be fully cognisant that they will (likely) be personal guarantors for the loan - meaning that if the business can't repay the loan, or is late to pay the loan, the guarantor *may* be immediately liable for outstanding loan plus interest and other fees. And once in receipt of notice of default, will have 5 days to repay in full.
Notably - the T&C's suggest that missing a single repayment will put the loan into default. As with any financial product always go in with eyes-wide-open and if even the slightest bit uncertain, seek professional advice.
" -1: Number of missed payments before you are in default"
"If you are in default of this Agreement, we may add all accrued and unpaid interest and other amounts you owe us to your Balance, accelerate payment of your Balance, and demand immediate payment of your Balance and any other outstanding obligations under this Agreement, which you must pay within five days of our demand."
@daniel_barnett Thanks Daniel, we worked really hard to make sure the Paintbrush Loan's terms were transparent. Yes, you are absolutely correct. The Paintbrush Loan contains a personal guarantee, with a unique income-driven repayment, which we believe will balance out the risk for a new founder.
You can read more about it here, and of course, I'm happy to answer more questions.
https://support.getpaintbrush.co...
@daniel_barnett Thanks for the analysis. In Norway you can get 4x the loan with zero collateral, zero interest, payback starts after 4 years. If you cant pay you just close the company. Other countries might not have as favourable conditions but it's worth looking into.
@gigapotential Thank you!
The Paintbrush Loan is a 5 year, fully amortized commercial term loan. Repayment is made in flat, monthly, amounts over the whole life of the loan.
There is no variable interest, prepayment penalty, or origination fee.
Any specifics that I missed?
@kat_kennedy1 You can reapply as soon and often as you want. There is no application fee, and we only use a soft credit check, so it shouldn't negatively effect your credit.
Walk me through the worst-case scenario. I borrow $50K, quit my day job, but my new venture never gets going. I finally run out of cash in the middle of a recession, and have trouble landing a new job, and when I do, it doesn't pay as well as my old one. Does Paintbrush garnish my wages? Try to take my house? Sell the debt to a collection agency?
@gregory_schulz I love this question, because not everything always works out the way a founder wants. Luckily, the Paintbrush Loan has a unique work out program under a default situation like you described. If a founder shuts down their business and is having trouble finding new work, repayments are paused. This pause lasts until they start making over $50k a year, or the 5 year anniversary of the loan origination date at which time unpaid amounts are waived. We hope people will consider starting a new company with a Paintbrush Loan, but I don't think founders should be forced into collections or lose their house just because they want to start a new business.
@samstoddard1 Paintbrush founders can absolutely change what they are working on post funding. The only limitations on the loan are gambling companies, content creation, and a few other no-go areas. But a product pivot is totally fine and even expected in some cases.
Fast capital for amazing ideas. Do you offer credits outside the US? I believe India could be another huge market as we have so many budding entrepreneurs here. @kaela_worthen
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