Lighter Capital

{{Infobox company

| name = Lighter Capital

| logo =

| foundation = 2010

| location = Seattle

| industry = Revenue-based financing

| assets =

| homepage = {{URL|https://lightercapital.com/}}

| num_employees = 20

}}

Lighter Capital is a revenue-based financing lender that specializes in providing financial capital to small technology companies.

Founded by Andy Sack,{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/01/04/pulp-funding-an-alternative-way-to-finance-startups/#66721c4038c9 |title=Pulp Funding: An Alternative Way To Finance Startups |last=Savitz |first=Eric |website=Forbes |date=4 January 2012 |accessdate=4 December 2018}} a Seattle-area entrepreneur, Lighter Capital was one of the first lenders to use revenue-based financing to fund tech startups. Lighter Capital typically provides growth capital as royalty-based financing to early-stage tech companies based in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.inc.com/aleanna-siacon/2018-inc5000-seattle-10-fastest-growing-companies.html |title=Forget Amazon: These Are the 10 Fastest-Growing Companies in Seattle |last=Siacon |first=Aleanna |date=17 August 2018 |accessdate=}}{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-financing-lightercap/lighter-capital-raises-100-million-fund-to-back-tech-startups-idUSKBN0TG19220151127 |title=Lighter Capital raises $100 million fund to back tech startups |last=Somerville |first=Heather |newspaper=Reuters |date=27 November 2015 |accessdate=}} It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Unlike private equity, venture capital and angel investors, Lighter Capital's revenue-based financing process provides growth capital to tech companies in the form of debt.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/20/lighter-capital-takes-a-different-approach-to-startup-financing/ |title=Lighter Capital takes a different approach to startup financing |last=Mannes |first=John |date=7 July 2016 |accessdate=}} The company tranches financing across an investment period and looks for general revenue growth.

In 2017, the lender partnered with Intuit to launch a $15 million fund for developers who design apps for QuickBooks.{{cite web |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/lighter-capital-partners-intuit-launch-15m-fund-quickbooks-developers/ |title=Lighter Capital partners with Intuit to launch $15M fund for QuickBooks developers |last=Soper |first=Taylor |date=13 November 2017 |accessdate=}}

Since 2010, Lighter Capital has backed more than 270 startup companies with more than 450 rounds of financing, totaling more than $200 million.{{cite web |url=https://finovate.com/lighter-capital-launches-capital-client-perks-program/ |title=Lighter Capital Launches Capital Client Perks Program |last=Muhn |first=Julie |date=4 October 2018 |accessdate=}}

In June 2019 Lighter Capital announced it was offering two more forms of debt: term loans and lines of credit. In January 2020, the firm secured access to $100 million in additional capital for lending to startups. As of 2020, Lighter Capital has provided over $200 million of financing to more than 350 companies.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/23/lighter-capital-secures-100m-to-grow-its-equity-free-financing-business/ |title=Lighter Capital secures $100M to grow its equity-free financing business |last=Wilhelm |first=Alex |date=23 January 2020 |website=TechCrunch |access-date=7 May 2021}}

Lighter Capital opened operations in Canada and entered into collaboration with the National Australia Bank in 2020.{{Cite web|date=2020-07-17|title=Seattle-based 'alternative VC' firm Lighter Capital lays off more employees|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/seattle-based-alternative-vc-firm-lighter-capital-lays-off-employees/|access-date=2021-06-16|website=GeekWire|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Tacadena|first=Gerv|title=Major strikes deal with fintech lender|url=https://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/major-strikes-deal-with-fintech-lender-274206.aspx|access-date=2021-06-16|website=www.brokernews.com.au}}

In September 2020, Melissa Widner was appointed Chief Executive Officer.{{Cite web|date=2020-09-21|title=Tech Moves: Lighter Capital names new CEO; Amazon exec joins Uber as CTO; and more|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/tech-moves-lighter-capital-names-new-ceo-amazon-exec-joins-uber-new-cto/|access-date=2021-06-16|website=GeekWire|language=en-US}}