p/paintbrush-2
$50k funding at the idea stage—yes, really.
Stephen Walter
Same-Day Startup Funding by Paintbrush — Apply, get approved, and get a $50k startup loan in one day
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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
Replies
Stephen Walter
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.
Sam Stoddard
Very cool! What happens if I change what I'm working on after I receive funding?
Stephen Walter
@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.
Scott Wessman 🇺🇸
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.
Stephen Walter
@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.
Gregory Schulz
@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 Evanson
How does taking a Paintbrush loan impact my ability to raise money from Angels or VC’s in the future?
Stephen Walter
@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.
Himanshu
Congratulations on launch! How does repayment of loan work?
Stephen Walter
@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?
Trent Mano
Congrats on the launch! What did you guys do between the first launch and now to go from multiple day approval timeframe to just a few hours?
Stephen Walter
@trentmano Thank you! It took a ton of work, but we overhauled our entire process, including decisioning and payment rails, but also launched our API which allowed us to more directly connect with our bank partners.
Levi King
Pretty impressive! Definitely filling a big hole in the supply of financing to startups.
Stephen Walter
@leviking1 Thank you!
Erkin Bek
looks nice! Really a need for startups! Good luck with your launch
Stephen Walter
@erkin_bek Thank you!
Daniel Barnett - WORKetc
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."
Stephen Walter
@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...
André J
@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.
Stephen Walter
@daniel_barnett @sentry_co That's so cool! Something that should exist in every country.
Arjun Mahadevan
Lets goooo huge for SMBs globally
Stephen Walter
@arjunmahadevan Thanks Arjun!
SOURABH UPRETI
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
Stephen Walter
@kaela_worthen @sourabh_upreti We'd love to be available outside the US, hopefully soon.
Gentry Davies
This is awesome. Any cool companies you can share that are already using Paintbrush to get off the ground?
Stephen Walter
@gentry_davies I'm a little biased but Paintbrush was the first Paintbrush Loan recipient :)
Referr
Wow I love this idea, fast capital for my start-up. I really like your friendly quiz FYI. QQ Is the loan technically a personal loan because of the guarantee? Do you offer loans outside of the US?
Stephen Walter
@referr_app Thanks! No, the Paintbrush Loan is a commercial loan with an income-driven guarantee from the founder. The startup receives the funds and pays back the loan. Unfortunately no, right now we can only work with US-based startups and founders. Hopefully soon!
Tanner Hawkes Potter
First, I love the spin on the video. Second, this is really cool. Third, is this just in the US today?
Stephen Walter
@tannerhp Ha, thank you. Yes, that's correct. US-based businesses and founders only. Hoping to change that at some point.
André J
What's the catch?
Stephen Walter
@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.
Vlad Zivkovic
Great idea to help startups! Congratulations on your launch! 🚀🚀🚀
Mohammad Abu Ajamieh
It looks interesting, the questionnaire is easy and gives you legit results quickly. Congrats, this can be really helpful to a ton of founders. Note for other founders: it's for your US only.
Stephen Walter
@ajami Thank you! Yes, right now we can only work with US-based founders, but hopefully soon we'll be able to expand.
Brandon B.
This is really cool. I'm not aware of anything else like it out on the market. Do you have a rough estimate of how long it takes to fill out the application?
Stephen Walter
@tx1031 Thank you! I once filled out an application in under 4 minutes, but I think the average application will take about 10 minutes. You'll need your EIN, address, and income information, but I think our software makes it pretty easy.
Scott Rafferty
So excited for the team on the launch! What types of businesses best fit your model?
Stephen Walter
@_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.
Ken Frei
If I need less than $50k, is there still a way to work with you guys? Love this idea. Congrats on the launch guys!
Stephen Walter
@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!