Jared Hecht

Jared Hecht is an American entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of Fundera, an online small business lending aggregator as well as group messaging app GroupMe.[2]

Jared Hecht
Bornc. 1987, March 11th[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of Fundera, Co-founder of GroupMe

Early life

Hecht studied political science at Columbia University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 2009.[3]While a student at Columbia, he was the managing director and publisher for the university's student-written guidebook, Inside New York.[3][4]

Career

Hecht was an early employee at Tumblr and led business development.[5][6]In 2010, Hecht co-founded group messaging app, GroupMe, which allows users to create a private group to which they can send text messages or make conference calls, with his friend Steve Martocci, founder of Blade and Splice who was then a software engineer with Gilt Groupe.[6]They won the South by Southwest breakout ward in 2011.[6]The two raised $11 million from Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst in 2011.[7]After being live for 370 days, Microsoft purchased GroupMe for $80 million.[8]

Hecht later became an angel investor and invested in companies such as Sweetgreen, TransferWise, and Flatiron Health.[9][10]In October 2013, he launched Fundera, an online broker that helps small businesses get loans from non-bank lenders, after seeing a family member struggle with bank loans, and raised a total of $18.9 million for his platform from investors such as Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, David Tisch, and more.[11][12] A year since it was launched, the company has secured more than $60 million in credit for 1,200 small-business owners.[13]

In 2015, he was named in Forbes' "30 under 30" list for the Consumer Tech category.[14]

Personal life

He is married to Carrie Weprin, a film producer, and the couple live in Brooklyn with their two children.[3][15][16]

References
  1. GroupMe founder on his $80M exit (and why he's building his new company differently), Published: Dec 6, 2017, Mixergy
  2. D'Onfro, Jillian. "How 20-Something Serial Entrepreneur Jared Hecht Boosted His Startup's Success By Over 5X". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  3. "Jared Hecht '09 - Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  4. "An Angel in New York: Jared Hecht". AlleyWatch. 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  5. "Jared Hecht, Co-Founder & CEO of Fundera". ventureforamerica.org. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  6. Zimmerman, Eilene (27 June 2011). "Jared Hecht and Steve Martocci, Founders of GroupMe". Inc.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  7. "GroupMe Scores $10.6 Million From Khosla Ventures And Others". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  8. Shontell, Alyson (Feb 6, 2014). "26-Year-Old Jared Hecht Sold His First Startup For ~ $80 Million In 370 Days, And He Has Raised $3.4 Million For A New Venture". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  9. "How Jared Hecht's Fundera is transforming how small businesses find financial solutions". Built In NYC. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  10. Ewan (2017-06-21). "Jared Hecht of Fundera". FinTech Profile. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  11. Michael, del Castillo (Oct 16, 2015). "The importance of not being an arrogant jerk when raising capital". New York Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  12. "Jared Hecht '09CC, Founder of Fundera". Columbia Entrepreneurship. 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  13. Kosoff, Maya. "A 20-something sold his first company for $80 million in 370 days — now he's raising $11 million for his new startup". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  14. "CONSUMER TECH". Forbes.
  15. "Carrie Weprin, Jared Hecht". The New York Times. 2011-09-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  16. "Bios". Once in a Blue. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
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