Home Equity Is Becoming Small Business Owners’ Express Lane to Capital
Entrepreneurs are turning home equity into fuel, powering their growth at a pace that rivals the SBA’s largest programs.1
Kevin, an accomplished marketing and events professional, was already considering striking out on his own when he spotted a recession-resistant franchise opportunity.
The catch was timing — and funding. While an SBA loan was an option, the process was slow, complex, and, as Kevin recalls, discouraging. With a narrow window, he needed to move fast.
As a homeowner, Kevin had accumulated meaningful equity, and chose a home equity line of credit (HELOC)2 powered by Figure after evaluating his options. “It’s meant everything,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to purchase the franchise if not for a HELOC.”
Today, Kevin and his wife run Wed Society St. Louis alongside an expanding team, turning the operation into the fastest-moving franchise in the network while building an enterprise and a community they are proud of.
Record Numbers of New Founders Meet a Capital Roadblock
Kevin is part of a recent surge of post-pandemic entrepreneurs. Americans filed roughly 27 million applications to launch a business from 2021 through 2025, about 53% more than the roughly 17.6 million filed in the previous five years. Small businesses already provide almost half of all U.S. jobs and a similar share of gross domestic product, and AI tools are making it easier to get started and succeed long-term.
Traditional capital, however, hasn’t kept pace. Fewer than half of small business applicants receive the level of credit they seek. Conventional small business lending relies heavily on operating history and steady revenue. These underwriting benchmarks are often difficult for early-stage ventures, seasonal businesses, and owners navigating tricky macroeconomic conditions to satisfy.
“If it’s not interest rates, it’s tariffs, inflation, or the price of gas. A lot of our SMB customers are affected by those things,” says Jeff Sachs, co-founder of SBG Lending, a Figure partner.
Unlocking Home Equity as Fuel for Business Growth
Nearly seven in 10 small business owners own their homes. As collective home equity doubled over the past decade, reaching $35 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, entrepreneurs have increasingly recognized that their homes can be untapped reservoirs of capital, when used thoughtfully.
“We’re seeing a huge population of small business owners who are well-qualified borrowers with significant assets who don’t fit the traditional underwriting box, making them an underserved segment,” says Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure.
Historically, home equity lending’s reputation as a sluggish, multiple-week process has limited how both borrowers and small business lenders think about it. The SBG Funding team assumed Figure’s HELOC would be “slow and glacial,” notes Sachs, yet their first loan closed in just two days.
A business-purpose HELOC allows financially savvy owners to protect their low-rate first mortgages while unlocking capital to jumpstart their companies. With a HELOC powered by Figure, approval can come in as few as five minutes and fund in as few as five days.3 For an entrepreneur facing a tight deal deadline, like Kevin, that agility can make all the difference.
A Growing Lender Ecosystem Built Around Business Owners’ Needs
Business owners don’t have to leave their existing relationships behind to access this liquidity. Rather than forcing entrepreneurs to navigate a new maze of websites and lenders, small business brokers are integrating modern home equity products into their offerings. In just 16 months, more than 150 partners have embedded Figure’s home equity technology to fund $135 million in business-purpose HELOCs in the third quarter of 2026 alone, making it even easier for small businesses to get working capital.
“Small business owners need capital that moves at the speed of their business, and we’re always looking for better ways to get it to them,” says Luke LaHaie, co-CEO of Newity, a Figure partner. “Figure’s ecosystem lets us pair strong origination support with direct access to capital markets, and we’re excited to put it to work for the owners we serve.”
These partnerships create a more seamless experience across the board: entrepreneurs secure fast, flexible capital through their trusted financing advisors, while lenders retain and deepen their valuable relationships.
A Faster Way to “Yes” for Lenders and Entrepreneurs
With friction-causing macroeconomic conditions like inflation and elevated interest rates likely to persist, business-purpose HELOCs provide owners with a reliable funding source.
“We’ve taken a core strength — speed and efficiency in home equity — and through a rapidly growing network of brokers, meet owners’ critical needs,” Figure’s Tannenbaum adds.
For owners like Kevin, speed dictates whether an ambitious venture succeeds or stalls out. And for the lenders who support them, it provides a dependable, asset-backed way to say yes.
Fund your business. Ask your financial partner about a Figure HELOC.
Accelerate your pipeline. Become a Figure broker partner.
This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice, nor does it constitute an offer or commitment to extend credit. Consult a qualified financial advisor, tax professional, or legal counsel regarding your specific situation.
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Figure Business-Purpose Home Equity Line is available in AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY,
Figure’s ability to pay a broker fee on a Figure Business-Purpose Home Equity Line may be limited based on broker licensure.
1. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a)/504 Lender Report, accessed Oct. 1, 2026. SBA ranks lenders by loans approved, not funded; Figure does not make SBA loans, and its figures reflect funded volume. At a $500 million annualized rate, Figure’s funded volume would rank among the top 25 SBA 7(a) lenders by approved dollar volume for fiscal year 2026.
2. A HELOC is secured by your home as collateral. You could lose your home if you fail to repay.
3. Approval may be granted in five minutes but is ultimately subject to verification of income and employment, as well as verification that your property is in at least average condition with a property condition report. Five business day funding timeline assumes closing the loan with our remote online notary, and where loan amounts are under $400,000 which would not require an appraisal. Funding timelines may be longer for loans secured by properties located in counties that do not permit recording of e-signatures or that otherwise require an in-person closing, or that require a waiting period prior to closing, or where loan amounts exceed $400,000.