Source: Driven
Thinking Capital, Canada’s leading fintech provider of credit and insights to small businesses and a member of the Purpose Unlimited family of companies today announced its new name: Driven, by Purpose.
The name <> celebrates the drive and the generative energy of small businesses and their vital importance to communities across the country.
“Giant corporations and global brands do not connect and humanize our local communities. People feel a far more personal connection to small businesses, their owners, and the people working with them,” said Stéphane Marceau, CEO of Driven. “Whether they are e-commerce-focused or brick-and-mortar, are based in Shawinigan, Kelowna or downtown Toronto, small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities across the country. That is why we have made it our mission to empower small businesses to grow, to succeed financially, and to enhance Canadian’s lives in a way that matters on a human level.”
The recent Driven™ small business survey, conducted by Angus Reid Forum, highlights how despite the struggles of small businesses in recent months, most of them feel optimistic about the next six months when it comes to the financial health of their business, with 37 percent of owners anticipating real improvement in their financial situation in that time and 47 percent expecting stability.
Other key highlights from the survey included:
Credit remains an essential need for small businesses, with 40 percent of respondents having relied on some form of debt in recent times.
There is interest in cryptocurrency, with one-in-eight small or micro businesses interested in learning about cryptocurrency, but unsure of how to leverage it.
To help small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) overcome the challenges of managing cash flow, forecasting when they will need capital, and knowing where there are cash flow gaps, Driven developed Driven Insights™, a quick and easy-to-use solution powered by data science to make cash flow predictions for small businesses. It also automatically generates visual comparisons of its sales trends versus similar businesses on an aggregate and anonymized basis. Together with the Driven Small Business Loan Solution™, SMBs can access credit to support their growth initiatives in as little as 24 hours.
Driven also today launched a limited-time promotion introducing the exciting world of crypto to small business owners by allowing them to earn crypto rewards. As noted in the survey findings above, a growing small business market segment wants to engage with crypto. For the promotion, Driven will be leveraging Purpose Unlimited, a global leader in crypto innovation and asset management, to design a safe and secure way for small businesses to dip their toes into crypto waters.
"Canadian business owners today need a different kind of support and a different kind of partner than they did when Driven first launched as Thinking Capital over 15 years ago. Access to credit has always been essential to small businesses, and we will continue to take the important risk of supporting them," said Som Seif, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Unlimited. "During the pandemic, we've witnessed the challenges they've faced, the likes of which they could never have anticipated or planned for. With the right resources and partners in their corner, they can accomplish almost anything. That belief is what caused us at Purpose Unlimited to enter the SMB fintech market a few years ago. No small business owner should miss out on the opportunities ahead in the Canadian market because they're too busy working hard keeping the lights on."
To further support the future success of small businesses, Driven created a new resource center to provide access to financial knowledge and tools to help small businesses navigate the complex world of finance. Driven also launched today a free video masterclass series to help small business owners navigate the often-opaque world of financing and capital and build more financial and business agility.
Small business owners have embodied fitness in business and demonstrated their resilience and ability to innovate over the past two years. However, the road ahead will not be easy. They will continue to face challenges as they set their sights on returning to growth, with new macroeconomics emerging and adding further complexity. Yet, their proven resiliency, ability to leverage and develop new technologies, and fitness in business indicate they will find ways to navigate through these and any other challenges thrown their way and Driven will be in their corner through them all.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted by Kaiser & Partners, on behalf of Driven (previously Thinking Capital), from February 9-14, 2022, among a sample of n=205 owners, executive leaders, and senior decision-makers at companies with less than 100 employees. All respondents were members of the online Angus Reid Forum. A sample of this size would yield a +/-6.8 percentage points margin error at a 95% confidence level for comparison purposes only. The survey was offered in both English and French.