| Jared Hecht | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1987, March 11th |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder of Fundera, Co-founder of GroupMe |
Jared Hecht is an American entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of Fundera, an online small business lending aggregator as well as group messaging app GroupMe.
Early life
Hecht studied political science at Columbia University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 2009. While a student at Columbia, he was the managing director and publisher for the university's student-written guidebook, Inside New York.
Career
Hecht was an early employee at Tumblr and led business development. In 2010, Hecht co-founded group messaging app, GroupMe, which allows users to create a private group to which they can send text messages or make conference calls, with his friend Steve Martocci, founder of Blade and Splice who was then a software engineer with Gilt Groupe. They won the South by Southwest breakout ward in 2011. The two raised $11 million from Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst in 2011. After being live for 370 days, Microsoft purchased GroupMe for $80 million.
One of Hecht's early hires at GroupMe, Zach Sims, also a Columbia alumnus, went on to found the online code-learning platform Codecademy.
Hecht later became an angel investor and invested in companies such as Sweetgreen, TransferWise, and Flatiron Health. In October 2013, he launched Fundera, an online broker that helps small businesses get loans from non-bank lenders, after seeing a family member struggle with bank loans, and raised a total of $18.9 million for his platform from investors such as Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, David Tisch, and more. A year since it was launched, the company has secured more than $60 million in credit for 1,200 small-business owners.
In 2015, he was named in Forbes' "30 under 30" list for the Consumer Tech category.
Personal life
He is married to Carrie Weprin, a film producer, and the couple live in Brooklyn with their two children.
References
- GroupMe founder on his $80M exit (and why he's building his new company differently), Published: Dec 6, 2017, Mixergy
- D'Onfro, Jillian. "How 20-Something Serial Entrepreneur Jared Hecht Boosted His Startup's Success By Over 5X". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ^ "Jared Hecht '09 - Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- "An Angel in New York: Jared Hecht". AlleyWatch. 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- "Jared Hecht, Co-Founder & CEO of Fundera". ventureforamerica.org. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Zimmerman, Eilene (27 June 2011). "Jared Hecht and Steve Martocci, Founders of GroupMe". Inc.com. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- "GroupMe Scores $10.6 Million From Khosla Ventures And Others". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- Shontell, Alyson (Feb 6, 2014). "26-Year-Old Jared Hecht Sold His First Startup For ~ $80 Million In 370 Days, And He Has Raised $3.4 Million For A New Venture". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- Zhang, Maggie. "9 Startup Lessons From The Founder Of Codecademy". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- "How Jared Hecht's Fundera is transforming how small businesses find financial solutions". Built In NYC. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- Ewan (2017-06-21). "Jared Hecht of Fundera". FinTech Profile. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- Michael, del Castillo (Oct 16, 2015). "The importance of not being an arrogant jerk when raising capital". New York Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- "Jared Hecht '09CC, Founder of Fundera". Columbia Entrepreneurship. 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- Kosoff, Maya. "A 20-something sold his first company for $80 million in 370 days — now he's raising $11 million for his new startup". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- "CONSUMER TECH". Forbes.
- "Carrie Weprin, Jared Hecht". The New York Times. 2011-09-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- "Bios". Once in a Blue. Retrieved 2020-06-09.