Lendesca acquires SBA Collective, hires industry veteran Ray Drew as revenue chief
What's the deal? LendescaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an AI-native lender service provider (LSP), has acquired SBA CollectiveDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the firm founded by SBA industry veteran Ray Drew. Drew joins Lendesca as chief revenue officer, bringing his team and a network of community and regional bank and credit union relationships built over more than a decade.
The hire: As chief revenue officer, Drew will lead Lendesca's lender partnerships, referral channels, and business development, focused on helping community and regional institutions launch and expand government-guaranteed lending programs. He founded SBA Collective in early 2025 and hosts "The Art of SBA Lending," a six-year-old podcast that spawned two spinoff shows and two industry gatherings.
Why now? A shrinking number of institutions originate a growing share of SBA 7(a) volume. As that concentration accelerates, small business owners lose the local lending relationships that made the program work.
What's the endgame? Lendesca operates as an LSP under each lender's credit policy, carrying the full lending lifecycle — sourcing, packaging, underwriting, closing, secondary market execution, and servicing across SBA 7(a), USDA Business & Industry, USDA Community Facilities, and commercial term loans. The model lets partner institutions grow SBA volume without adding business development or loan operations headcount.
Full circle: Drew got his start in SBA lending working for Lendesca CEO Chris Hurn. "We arrived at the same conclusion from different directions," Hurn said. "Lenders are exiting the SBA because the operational burden often no longer justifies the return, and the borrowers who need the program most are the ones who lose out."
Drew framed the opportunity around low participation. "Only about 13% of eligible lenders participate in 7(a) lending, despite it being one of the most attractive asset classes available to them," he said, adding that using Lendesca's loan intelligence system "was like looking into the future."
The signal: The deal reflects a wider bet that technology can reverse consolidation in SBA lending by letting smaller institutions rejoin the program without the fixed costs that pushed them out. It also unites two of the sector's most recognisable voices behind a single infrastructure play.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
