Summary
Bob Coleman sits down with Chris Hurn, Lendesca’s Founder and President, and Ray Drew, the company’s newly named Chief Revenue Officer, for a conversation nearly 15 years in the making. Ray started in SBA lending as Chris’s marketing intern, now today he’s one of the most recognized voices in the industry. Back together at Lendesca, the two dig into why they see this as an inflection point for SBA lending, how AI and automation can reshape the process end to end, and what it takes to bring more banks into the market while giving borrowers a faster, better path to capital.
Topics Covered:
- Ray Drew’s return to Chris Hurn’s side nearly 15 years after starting as his marketing intern
- Lendesca’s originating LSP model, and how it helps banks launch and scale SBA lending programs
- AI’s potential to shift SBA lending from manual, repetitive work toward a “review, not do” workflow
- Why Chris and Ray believe the industry’s AI future should be shaped by SBA veterans, not outsiders
- Bringing more banks and credit unions into SBA lending to widen access to affordable capital
- How faster SBA turnaround times could keep business owners out of costlier alternative financing
- The entrepreneurial mindset driving Chris and Ray to rethink what SBA lending can look like
Watch the full conversation below. Originally published by Coleman Report.
