[March 23, 2016]

LendIt Announces 2016 PitchIt Finalists

LendIt, the largest conference series dedicated to connecting the global online lending community, announced today the eight finalists for its second annual PitchIt @ LendIt event. PitchIt is the leading competition for startups innovating within the online lending and fintech space. This year's diverse group of finalists have launched companies that are disrupting everything from fixed-income investing to cash flow for fresh-produce farmers. They will each have the opportunity to present on the main stage at LendIt USA on April 11, 2016, from 3:55pm-5:45pm PDT.

PitchIt @ LendIt attracts thousands of investors, asset managers, funds, and entrepreneurs, bringing together a community of influencers in the lending marketplace. The finalists will be pitching to LendIt's esteemed panel of judges from the venture capital community: Frank Rotman, Founding Partner, QED Investors; David Weiden, Partner, Khosla Ventures; Nick Shalek, Partner, Ribbit (News - Alert) Capital; Chris Bishko, Partner, Omidyar Technology Ventures; and Joe Chen, CEO, Renren.

Ahead of the April 11th competition, each company will be matched with mentors who will help the finalists refine their pitch, prepare for the competition, as well as provide ongoing support thereafter. The mentors represent a variety of leaders in the industry, including Kabbage, BBVA, Funding Circle and Realty Mogul.

LendIt is delighted to announce the following companies are the 2016 PitchIt finalists:

• AkoubaCredit
• AutoFi
• Citrus Credit
• Income&
• LogicFi
• ProducePay
• StreamLoan
• Ziero

"The new ideas that emerge from our annual PithIt program are truly innovative. We at LendIt love to support entrepreneurs and discover the new ideas that continually push our industry forward," said Jason Jones, Co-Founder of LendIt. "Dedicating time on the main stage reinforces the significance and value our organization and partners place on the startup community."

The startups selected for PitchIt @ Lendit gain exposure to the top influencers in the lending industry and have the opportunity to meet with potential investors and partners. Many of the PitchIt alumni companies have gone on to gain significant traction, including:

• Sharestates had $2.6M in origination at the time of LendIt USA in April 2015 and announced this week that they surpassed $100m in funding, noting "The tables turned for Sharestates soon after LendIt USA 2015."
• Kickfurther has crowdfunded $4M in inventory, is gearing up for a Series A raise, and was recently selected to present at Sir Richard Branson's Extreme Tech Challenge.
• Able Lending landed $6M in venture capital funding from Blumberg Capital and RPM Ventures.
• LoanHero completed a $4.2M Seed Financing backed by Alsop Louie Partners and Mucker Capital.
• Crediyo established itself as the first mover in non-elective deductible financing and secured financing.
• Ascend Consumer Finance was selected into the Financial Solutions Lab, sponsored by JP Morgan (News - Alert) Chase and CFSI, closed a follow on seed round, secured a debt financing source and is actively originating loans in multiple states.
• Cashforce completed the Barclays Techstars Accelerator, has 150 users across 30 countries and has just raised a $1.1M seed round.

"Pitching [at PitchIt @ LendIt] generated many new inbound requests and helped us secure a great group of investors and advisors," said PitchIt alumnus Leonard Hinton, CEO & Co-Founder of Crediyo.

PitchIt @ LendIt was open to all high-growth startups focused on lending-related innovation that were founded between 2014 and 2016. Applicants had to have a working prototype with customer interaction, have secured less than $5 million in funding, and have at least two full-time founders. LendIt received 92 applications for this year's PitchIt@LendIt competition.

About LendIt

LendIt is the largest conference series dedicated to connecting the global online lending community. Our conferences bring together the leading lending platforms, investors, and service providers in our industry for unparalleled educational, networking, and business development opportunities.

LendIt hosts three conferences annually: our flagship conference LendIt USA as well as LendIt Europe in London and LendIt China in Shanghai. This year LendIt USA 2016 will be held in San Francisco from April 11-12, 2016, at the Marriott Marquis. Learn more at http://www.lendit.com/usa/2016.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160323005923/en/

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