Speed is respect
A delayed yes is a no. We treat your time as the scarce resource it is and engineer every step to be measured in hours, not weeks.
Our story
We built the lender we wished existed.
Lúmen Capital exists for one reason: small-business owners move fast, and their funding should too. We replaced branch visits and three-week waits with real-time underwriting and same-day cash.
Our mission
To put fast, fair, and transparent capital in the hands of every business owner — so a great opportunity is never lost to a slow approval. We measure success in deals closed, payrolls met, and doors kept open.
Our vision
A world where access to capital is decided by the health of your business, not the size of your bank relationship. We’re building the funding layer for the 33 million small businesses that power the economy.
Where it started
From a co-working desk to $1B deployed
Lúmen began in a single Austin co-working space in 2018, founded by a banker and an engineer who were tired of watching good businesses lose deals to slow approvals.
Today our team of lenders, engineers, and operators has funded more than 10,000 businesses across 16 industries — and we still answer the phone like we did on day one.
What we stand for
Core values
Four principles guide every decision, every underwrite, and every conversation with an owner.
Radical transparency
No hidden fees, no fine-print traps. You see the full cost of capital before you sign, in plain language, every time.
Owners first
We win when you do. A 90% renewal rate tells us we’re building relationships, not transactions — and we intend to keep it that way.
Security by default
Bank-level encryption, read-only data access, and rigorous compliance protect your business at every step of the journey.
By the numbers
Proof in the metrics
$1B+
Capital deployed
10,000+
Businesses served
22%
Referral rate
95%
Funded within 48 hrs
Leadership
The people behind the platform
A team of lenders, engineers, and operators who have sat on both sides of the funding table.
Elena Vasquez
Co-founder & CEO
Former head of small-business lending at a top-20 bank. Founded Lúmen after watching too many good businesses lose deals to slow underwriting.
Marcus Okafor
Co-founder & CTO
Fintech engineer who built real-time risk systems at two payments unicorns. Architected the underwriting engine that powers same-day decisions.
Sophia Kim
Chief Credit Officer
Two decades in commercial credit. Designs the models that keep approvals fast and responsible, balancing speed with sound risk management.
David Pereira
VP, Customer Success
Leads the advisor team that has earned a 4.9-star rating. Believes every owner deserves a human who actually understands their business.
Our journey
Milestones along the way
2018
Lúmen is founded
Elena and Marcus launch from a co-working space in Austin with a single mission: fund a small business in under 48 hours.
2019
First $50M deployed
Our real-time underwriting engine goes live, cutting average decision time from days to hours and funding 1,000 businesses.
2021
Full product suite
We expand from short-term loans to seven funding products, including lines of credit, factoring, and SBA loans.
2023
$500M milestone
Lúmen crosses half a billion in capital deployed and earns an A+ accredited rating with a 90% renewal rate.
2026
$1B and 10,000 businesses
Today we’ve funded over 10,000 businesses across 16 industries — and we’re just getting started.
Ready to move at the speed of light?
Join thousands of owners who stopped waiting on the bank and started funding their next move.