Purpose-driven business financing
Our vision
What began as a singular focus to bring accessible working capital to our nation’s small businesses has evolved into a full suite of financial products and the ability to cater to every business need.
Individualized service for every business, every step of the way
The right financing can transform a business. We’re re-imagining the lending landscape through our commitment to innovative, transparent, and trusted solutions.
Tech-forward
FairSquare was founded with a goal to disrupt the traditional lending industry.
Purpose-driven
Integrity, transparency, and quality service are at the center of everything we do.
meet the Team
Our leadership
Get to know the experts behind FairSquare’s success.
- Dave Gilbert
- Franck Fatras
- Trent Ziegler
- Chris Panebianco
- Ashish Gupta
- Sandra Otero
- Walt Levengood
- Danny Almazan
- Kurt Gering
- Dave Haley
- Greg McLaughlin
Dave Gilbert
Dave Gilbert founded National Funding 27 years ago on a simple conviction: small businesses deserve access to the capital they need to grow. Since then, he has been one of the most consistent voices in SMB lending, leading companies that have provided more than $7 billion in funding to small and medium-sized businesses across virtually every industry in the country.
Building on that foundation, Dave founded FairSquare, a holding company bringing together National Funding, QuickBridge, SmallBusinessLoans.com, and Finova Capital to create a broader ecosystem of solutions for the small business community.
As Founder and CEO, Dave remains committed to the mission that has defined his career — giving small business owners the financial solutions and guidance they need to compete and grow. That same care extends to his people. Dave is passionate about his employees, invested in their development, and genuinely attentive to the well-being of their families.
Franck Fatras
Franck Fatras brings more than 20 years of executive experience, leading strategic initiatives across finance and technology. Throughout his career, he has built a track record of driving innovation, scaling operations, and developing high-performing teams in complex, fast-moving environments.
As President of FairSquare, Franck is focused on advancing the company’s next phase of growth by strengthening the team, accelerating technology adoption, and ensuring small business owners have access to the financial solutions they need to succeed. He leads with a collaborative approach, one that breaks silos between departments, raises expectations across the organization, and creates an environment where innovation is not just encouraged but expected.
Trent Ziegler
Trent Ziegler is a seasoned financial executive whose career reflects a consistent ability to build strong, efficient organizations in the consumer lending and financial services space. He began his career at Ally Financial, where he developed a foundational expertise in consumer lending and deposit products before bringing those skills to LendingTree.
Over nearly 12 years at LendingTree, Trent steadily advanced through the organization from Senior Financial Analyst to Chief Financial Officer, earning a reputation as a results-driven leader who delivered meaningful improvements in profitability, built a nationally recognized Investor Relations program, and played a central role in the company’s growth through acquisitions.
Trent joined FairSquare as Chief Financial Officer in 2024, bringing that same rigor and strategic discipline to an organization built around serving American small businesses. His focus is on building the capital structure, cost framework, and financial infrastructure that allows FairSquare to grow responsibly and deliver on its mission for years to come.
Chris Panebianco
Chris Panebianco has spent decades at the intersection of customer experience, growth marketing, and financial services, developing a deep understanding of the challenges small business owners face and what it truly takes to serve them well.
Before joining FairSquare, Chris spent more than 12 years as Chief Marketing Officer at BHG Financial, one of the country’s leading fintechs, where he was a key contributor to funding more than $9 billion to business owners and helping build an institutional network of over 1,400 community banks. His work there spanned brand building, performance marketing, and customer experience, giving him a comprehensive view of what drives growth in complex, multi-product financial services organizations.
As Chief Customer Officer at FairSquare, Chris leads strategy across customer experience, performance marketing, brand, and product. His focus is on building a cohesive, customer-centric organization where every touchpoint reflects the quality and care that small business owners deserve from a financial partner.
Ashish Gupta
Ashish Gupta brings more than 19 years of experience in fintech and global banking to his role as Chief Risk Officer at FairSquare. Over the course of his career, he has built and led best-in-class data science, credit risk, and analytics teams at some of the most respected names in financial services, including Citi, Prosper, and LendingPoint.
That breadth of experience across both global banking and consumer fintech gives Ashish a distinctive perspective on how to build risk frameworks that are rigorous without being restrictive, enabling sustainable, profitable growth rather than simply guarding against it. Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated that smart risk management and strong business performance are not competing priorities but complementary ones.
At FairSquare, Ashish partners closely with executive leadership to ensure the company’s family of brands can grow responsibly and serve as a trusted, long-term lending partner for small businesses nationwide. His focus is on empowering SMB owners with access to credit on reasonable terms, backed by the analytics infrastructure and risk discipline to support that mission for years to come.
Sandra Otero
Sandra doesn’t just understand how FairSquare operates, she helped build it. Otero joined FairSquare in 2002, before the company entered working capital lending, and has had a hand in its growth ever since. When the company launched its portfolio management function in the mid-2010s, she took the helm and helped grow it from the ground up as part of a platform that has now deployed over $7 billion to more than 120,000 small businesses. She has since served as EVP of Portfolio & Legal Services and Chief Credit Officer before being named Chief Operating Officer, a progression that reflects the trust the organization places in her judgment across its most consequential functions.
Sandra’s leadership is defined by how she thinks, not just what she has done. She approaches complex operational problems with rigor and an instinct for how systems connect, shaped by years of working across credit, collections, legal, and risk in a high-volume lending environment. Her completion of the Chief Operating Officer Program at MIT Emeritus reflects the same standard she has held throughout her career: that the best leaders never stop building their expertise. Few people in financial services can claim her combination of institutional depth and forward momentum.
Walt Levengood
With more than 25 years of experience across fintech, payments, embedded finance, and small-business lending, Walt Levengood has built his career scaling SMB-focused organizations through technology, strategic partnerships, and disciplined revenue execution.
Most recently serving as COO of SmallBusinessLoans.com, Walt helped evolve the platform into a technology-enabled SMB financing platform, advancing its lender ecosystem, portal initiatives, and embedded finance capabilities. Prior to joining FairSquare, he held executive leadership roles at Nav Technologies and The Bancorp Bank.
As Chief Revenue Officer, Walt leads enterprise revenue strategy across the FairSquare portfolio, overseeing growth across direct, partner, and broker channels — with a focus on helping establish FairSquare as the premier technology-enabled financing partner for small businesses nationwide.
Danny Almazan
Danny Almazan brings more than 25 years of technology leadership to his role as Chief Technology Officer at FairSquare. Throughout his career, he has had a consistent ability to transform technology from a perceived obstacle into a genuine driver of business growth, building systems and teams that allow organizations to move faster, scale smarter, and compete more effectively.
Before joining FairSquare, Danny served as SVP of Technology and Architecture at LendingPoint, where he led a global development team in integrating software, network, and telephony platforms across the organization. That work helped power more than $8 billion in consumer loan funding, with the technology capable of delivering offers to customers in under six seconds — a standard that speaks to both the ambition and the execution behind it.
At FairSquare, Danny is focused on building a unified technology roadmap that connects and elevates the company’s family of brands. He approaches that challenge with the same mindset that has defined his career: staying ahead of where technology is going, and making sure the business is positioned to take full advantage when it gets there.
Kurt Gering
Kurt Gering has spent his career building organizations from the inside out. Across human resources leadership roles at several high-growth startups and the San Diego International Airport, he has developed a deep expertise in putting the right people in the right roles at the right time, and creating the kind of culture that brings out the best in them once they are there.
Kurt understands that today’s workplace is more complex than ever, with remote, hybrid, and on-site teams that need to function as one cohesive unit. He approaches that challenge not just as a structural problem but a human one, focused on building environments where people feel connected to the mission, comfortable with change, and motivated to grow both professionally and personally.
As Chief Human Resources Officer at FairSquare, Kurt brings that same mindset to an organization with ambitious goals and a genuine belief that its people are its greatest asset. His focus is on developing the talent, culture, and organizational health that will carry FairSquare forward.
Dave Haley
Dave Haley serves as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at FairSquare, bringing more than 25 years of dedicated experience in Information and Cyber security to the role. He most recently served as CISO at LendingPoint, a consumer lending fintech, and has held CISO roles at both Fidelity Bank and Ameris Bank, giving him deep expertise across both fintech and traditional banking environments.
Dave’s approach to security is grounded in three priorities: raising awareness at every level of an organization, building the relationships that make security a shared responsibility, and implementing the controls necessary to defend against an ever-evolving threat landscape. His cross-industry background enables him to bring both rigor and adaptability to FairSquare’s security strategy as the company continues to grow.
Dave holds three of the industry’s most respected credentials, the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC).
Greg McLaughlin
As Chief Legal Officer at FairSquare, Greg McLaughlin leads legal, compliance, and regulatory strategy across the company’s portfolio of financial services brands. Working in close partnership with executive leadership and teams throughout the organization, he builds the legal frameworks that allow FairSquare to grow with integrity and confidence.
Greg brings more than 34 years of experience spanning financial services and commercial litigation, including over a decade as Chief Legal Officer at a national financing company. Throughout that career, he has built and led high-performing legal teams, overseen regulatory and compliance functions, and guided complex, multi-brand enterprises through the legal and operational challenges that come with scale. His focus at FairSquare is on strong legal foundations that support the business, protect the enterprise, and position the company for sustainable, long-term growth.
frequently asked questions
FairSquare oversees its four subsidiary brands, all serving America’s small businesses and their financial needs.
FairSquare subsidiary brands include National Funding, QuickBridge, SmallBusinessLoans, and Finova.
Visit our careers page to learn how to join one of our growing teams and see what open positions are available.
We’d love to hear from you. Please fill out the contact form to get in touch with us.
Please contact us so we can get more acquainted and tell you more about the exciting opportunities at FairSquare.
our company timeline
Discover how we came to be
CEO and founder Dave Gilbert was a recent USC graduate when he launched Five Point Capital, an equipment leasing and financing firm for small- and medium-sized businesses.
The financial crisis spurred Five Point Capital to offer its first loan product to address the working capital needs of small- and medium-sized businesses.
QuickBridge launches to provide fast and accessible financing solutions.
National Funding, now rebranded from Five Point Capital, is recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing private companies.
To better leverage the synergies of two brands in the marketplace and continue portfolio growth, QuickBridge was wholly acquired.
National Funding closed its first asset-backed securitization, allowing for continued scalability of our products.
Adapting to an evolving financial marketplace, National Funding and QuickBridge developed a Future Revenue Sale & Purchase Agreement (FRSPA) to assure SMBs have continued access to capital.
Finova Capital joins the family of brands with a majority investment stake and ensures our customers have access to point-of-sale equipment financing.
We launch SmallBusinessLoans as a one-stop shop for business financing and services.
FairSquare launches to revolutionize the lending experience for U.S. SMBs.
We launch National Funding XPRS, a fully digital lending experience, to offer business owners a fast lane to the funds they need.
what we do
Fostering positive change together
Our company was founded with a vision to make a difference, so we strive to enhance our communities outside the office. The FairSquare family of brands has a long tradition of investing in the communities where our employees work and thrive.
Supporting local communities
We contribute to Feeding San Diego and Feeding Orange County annually.
Building strong partnerships
We sponsor causes like Big Brothers Big Sisters, San Diego Food Bank, and more through company sponsorships.
Pioneering new solutions
We apply our technologies to address community challenges and create sustainable solutions.
fairsquare opportunities
Invest in the future of financing
Join us in shaping tomorrow’s lending landscape, where innovation meets individualized service. Together, we can create a better future for America’s small businesses.