E024 - Tim Li, CEO at LendAPI

LendAPI lets you create application flows, credit decision engines, and complete lending products through simple drag-and-drop tools—all without hiring engineers or spending millions.

You can build and launch lending products quickly and efficiently, then use a working product to raise venture capital. Even non-financial businesses like boat dealerships are using it to replace clunky Excel-based applications.

Tim in unsually transparent as an early stage founder. He shared:

• $3.5 million in seed funding raised just four months ago
• How many applications they process daily
• How many lenders use the platform
• The company’s ARR and target before raising more capital

LendAPI connects with all three credit bureaus, loan servicing systems, and identity verification providers that you work with daily. Tim's vision is to become the "WordPress of lending"—making it easy for your clients to launch financial products without technical expertise.

Where to find Tim:

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytli/

Substack (Tim’s build-in-public blog)

https://substack.com/@lendapi

LendAPI https://www.lendapi.com/

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A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:

 

Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo!

https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mar

A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:

 

New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others. Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators. If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [e-mail]

 

Subscribe to the Free Toaster Newsletter: www.thefreetoaster.com/

 

Want to chat with Carlos Caro, our host? Find him at [e-mail]

 

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Tim Lee's Journey (01:38) Marketing and Lending Technology (03:15) Credit Underwriting and Pricing (07:24) Customer Base and Use Cases (14:31) Go-to-Market Strategy and SEO (28:06) Revenue Model and Pricing (34:56) Expanding into Venture and Community Support (46:20) Building in Public and Transparency (52:44) Social Media Strategy and Content Creation (59:01) Conclusion and Contact Information