The agency's new platform can reach a decision on Paycheck Protection Program loan reimbursement in minutes and has handled hundreds of thousands of applications since its Aug. 4 debut. The original process required a lengthy form.
Source: Analysis of data from the Small Business Administration
But reaching out to borrowers and collecting their paperwork were still challenging or, for Blueacorn and Womply, a light-bulb moment.
Blueacorn, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., was founded in April 2020 to help small businesses find P.P.P. lenders. After Congress made the fee change, the group of entrepreneurial coders who founded the start-up decided to build a system to simplify the paperwork, betting that it would encourage more lenders to make loans to the smallest businesses.
In San Francisco, Toby Scammell, the chief executive of Womply, had a similar idea. Founded in 2011 by Mr. Scammell and backed by venture capitalists, Womply provides restaurants, retailers and other small enterprises with tools to manage their customer lists, marketing campaigns and payments. Mr. Scammell had earlier discovered that banks didn’t want to bother with P.P.P. loans for many of Womply’s clients.
More than six weeks after the long-delayed program started taking applications, 14,000 businesses have applied for a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Only 90 have been awarded one.