Zazma raises $10M to float small businesses with short term loans

Zazma has raised $10 million for its portal that helps fund small businesses.

The startup has built a platform that provides small business owners with more immediate, flexible financing options than traditional financial institutions and suppliers.

They go to Zazma and request a specific amount of money for specific purchases. For example, $2,500 to pay a supplier for equipment to be paid back in six months. Zazma uses data analytics to assess loan risk and claims to make instantaneous approvals. The company then pays suppliers directly for the goods you need, and you set your own repayment timeline.

Zazma’s goal is to make business financing as simple and efficient as possible. This approach also serves suppliers who can offer credit to their customers through Zazma.

Zazma cofounder and CEO Benjy Feinberg said in a statement that financial markets are inefficient and that “the traditional modes of financing are needlessly arduous and time-consuming.”

Zazma has doubled the number of partner suppliers in the past six months, and it claims these say they have seen a 33 percent increase in purchases. This funding should expand and add more customers and suppliers.

Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital led this first round of investment. Sequoia led Zazma’s seed round in 2011. Zazma has offices in New York and Israel.