Parlay, which helps small businesses qualify for bank loans, has raised $1.3 million in pre-seed financing led by Fenway Summer, and including Hivers and Strivers Capital, both of Washington, D.C.
Other participants in the round included Service Provider Capital (Golden, Colo.), Capacity Capital(Chattanooga, Tenn.), and Alumni Ventures (Manchester, N.H.), while Techstars (Boulder, Colo.) made a follow-on investment. Alexandria, Va.-based Parlay previously raised $100,000.
Military Ties
The trio of Alex McLeod, a military spouse, and West Point graduates Jay Long and James Cho co-founded Parlay in 2022. Long was previously an innovation officer with the U.S. Special Operations Command. Cho served as an Army Ranger. Last fall, Parlay was selected to participate in the PenFed Foundation Veteran Entrepreneur Program, which exclusively backs startups by veterans and military spouse entrepreneurs.
Parlay calls itself a “first-of-its kind small business loan readiness platform.” It works with community banks and credit unions to enable small businesses, estimated at over 33 million, access capital.
‘White Label’ Product
“This pre-seed funding enables us to continue fulfilling our mission: partnering with community banks and credit unions to extend more loans to the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy,” said Parlay CEO Alex McLeod, a former Deloitte executive. “We’re excited to continue this important work with strategic champions like Fenway Summer by our side.”
Commercial Real Estate
MacKenzie Companies
Law
Nemphos Braue
Financial Services / Investment Firms
Chesapeake Corporate Advisors
Commercial Real Estate
Monday Properties
Venture Capital
Blue Delta Capital Partners
Internet / Technology
Foxtrot Media
Parlay’s SaaS platform, called Protocol, builds unique alternative creditworthiness scores for small businesses. It helps banks and credit unions access the data and take lending decisions. Parlay markets Protocol as a white label product to lenders.
“Small businesses drive the American economy; access to capital drives small businesses. Parlay’s loan readiness platform is an innovative approach to helping banks and credit unions better access and underwrite those critical small business customers,” said Raj Date, managing partner of Fenway Summer, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage fintech investing.
McLeod holds an MBA from the University at Buffalo, and an MPhil and BA from the University of Cambridge. She is a volunteer at Refugee Upskilling Program, or ReUP, for immigrants. At Deloitte, McLeod launched the consulting firm’s first blockchain-based SaaS product — Close As You Go — to help financial compliance for firms.
