A Coleman Conversation: Brock Blake
November 19, 2025
Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher, Coleman Report
A Coleman Conversation: Brock Blake
In this week’s episode of A Coleman Conversation, Bob Coleman sits down with Brock Blake, CEO and co-founder of Lendio, to explore his journey from scrappy BYU soccer standout to building one of the nation’s leading small business financing platforms. Brock shares how his first venture—helping entrepreneurs raise equity capital—ultimately evolved into Lendio, a marketplace designed to give Main Street businesses easier access to loans. He reflects on how Lendio scaled during the Paycheck Protection Program, facilitating hundreds of thousands of PPP loans totaling nearly $10 billion, and how that experience accelerated the company’s move into SBA lending. Brock explains how Lendio’s technology and data-driven underwriting match borrowers with more than 100 lenders nationwide, with a strong focus on underserved small-dollar loans under $250,000. He also offers his outlook for SBA lending in 2026, why smarter cash-flow underwriting is essential for sub-$150,000 loans, and how owning multiple Crumbl franchises keeps him grounded in the day-to-day realities of Main Street business operations.
✓ The evolution of Lendio from an equity matchmaking concept into a leading small business loan marketplace, including lessons learned from processing nearly $10 billion in PPP loans
✓ How Lendio’s dynamic online application matches borrowers to SBA, conventional, equipment, and other loan products across more than 100 lending partners
✓ Lendio’s collaboration with SBA lenders to define credit policies, assemble complete loan packages, and deliver qualified deals “on a silver platter”
✓ Why loans under $250,000 remain underserved and how banks can profitably meet this demand without relying solely on the SBA guarantee
✓ How operating four Crumbl franchise locations gives Brock firsthand insight into the cash-flow, staffing, and financing challenges Main Street business owners face