A Coleman Conversation: Lendesca
August 26, 2026
Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher
A Coleman Conversation: Lendesca
In this week’s episode of A Coleman Conversation, Bob Coleman sits down with Lendesca Founder and President Chris Hurn and newly appointed Chief Revenue Officer Ray Drew for a full-circle conversation nearly 15 years in the making. Ray began his SBA career as a marketing intern working for Chris and has since become one of the industry’s most recognizable voices. Now reunited at Lendesca, Chris and Ray discuss why they believe SBA lending is ready for its next major transformation, how AI and automation can dramatically improve the lending process, and their vision for helping more banks enter the SBA market, giving borrowers a faster and better experience, and ultimately expanding access to capital for entrepreneurs nationwide.
Read transcript here (Coleman Premium Members only)
Topics Covered:
✓ The full-circle story of Ray Drew rejoining Chris Hurn nearly 15 years after beginning his career as Chris’s marketing intern
✓ Lendesca’s new originating LSP model and its vision for helping banks launch and scale SBA lending programs
✓ How AI could transform SBA lending from hours of repetitive manual work into a process focused on “reviewing, not doing”
✓ Why Chris and Ray believe SBA veterans, not technology outsiders, should help shape the industry’s AI-driven future
✓ The opportunity to bring more banks and credit unions into SBA lending and expand entrepreneurs’ access to affordable capital
✓ How faster SBA lending could help business owners avoid expensive alternative financing with significantly higher rates and shorter terms
✓ Chris and Ray’s shared entrepreneurial approach to challenging the status quo and building what they believe could be a new model for SBA lending