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ApplePie Capital
Franchise financing made simple
About ApplePie Capital
ApplePie Capital operates as a specialized online lender exclusively focused on the franchise industry. Founded in 2014 by Denise Thomas and Steve Pelletier, the San Francisco-based firm aims to provide an efficient source of capital for franchise businesses, a market segment the founders identified as underserved by traditional banks. Thomas, a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in financial services, technology, and healthcare, recognized the potential in creating a data-driven underwriting model for businesses with established blueprints like franchises. Her background includes founding three other companies and holding executive roles at firms backed by prominent venture capitalists.
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The company's business model centers on connecting franchisees with strategic financing solutions to facilitate growth, whether for opening new units, acquiring existing ones, refinancing debt, or remodeling. ApplePie Capital generates revenue by arranging loans and does not extend credit directly from its own balance sheet; instead, it partners with a network of lenders, including Cross River Bank for its proprietary loan products. Its clients range from first-time franchise owners to experienced multi-unit operators across more than 200 franchise brands, such as Jimmy John's, Club Pilates, and Ben & Jerry's. Since its inception, the company has facilitated over $3 billion in loans.
ApplePie Capital offers a suite of loan products tailored to the franchise lifecycle. This includes conventional loans, SBA loans, and equipment financing. The firm's proprietary offerings are the "ApplePie Core Loan" and the "ApplePie Spring Loan," which are designed to offer flexible terms and faster processing than traditional options. A key feature is the "Recap & Grow" program, which allows existing operators to leverage the equity in their current businesses to fund expansion, potentially without any cash out of pocket. The "AcquisitionEdge" program is another specialized offering, built to streamline the process of acquiring franchise units for both new and existing operators. The company emphasizes a consultative approach, with a streamlined online application process and dedicated relationship managers who specialize in franchising.
At a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Employees
- 106
- Open positions
- 2
- Dealroom signal
- 78.7/100
- Industry
- Fintech
- Sub-industry
- Wealth Management
- Sector
- Fintech, Capital Market
- Business model
- Marketplace & ecommerce
- Client focus
- b2b
- Investment activity
- 1 company, latest Mar 2019
- Capital deployed
- —
- Preferred round
- DEBT
Latest news
Press, funding announcements and product moves mentioning ApplePie Capital.
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERIES C✓Equity / VC | Oct 2021 | $6.5M | $48M | Bankers Healthcare | — |
| SERIES B✓Equity / VC | Dec 2017 | $9.6M | $38M | DHVC (Danhua Capital) | — |
Financials
Revenue, earnings and other financial measures where available. Years marked “E” are estimates.
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for ApplePie Capital is 2.2K monthly website visits, down 37.1% over the last three months. ApplePie Capital's team declined 1.9% over the past year.
Open positions
Similar companies
Company identity and context are open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available on the platform.
Investments and acquisitions
Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.
Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Seed4 investors entered at this stage
QED Investors
Freestyle Capital
Camp One Ventures
Signia Venture Partners
Series A5 investors entered at this stage
Ron Suber
Colchis Capital
Fifth Third
Story Ventures
DHVC (Danhua Capital)
Series B and later1 investor entered at this stage
Bankers Healthcare
Other known investors4 additional known investors
DHVC
Doug Hecht
Zaw Thet- ZCZMT Capital
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
team presence
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about ApplePie Capital on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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