Small business is the American Dream, and we’re fighting to keep it fundable. BuildUp Capital is a private bridge lender built by people who have built, bought, run, and sold businesses — so we read a deal the way an owner does, and we put our own money in every loan.
The American Dream wasn’t built in boardrooms — it was built by small business owners. When banks walked away from them, we didn’t. BuildUp Capital exists to fight for the businesses that built this country, with honest capital and skin in the game.
We’re the disciplined middle path between the bank that says “not yet” and the predatory lender that says “yes” too fast: private-capital speed, bank-grade underwriting, operator judgment, and our own capital alongside our investors’ in every deal.
Built by operators
Our investment team has built, run, bought, and sold businesses across the industries we lend into — operator experience we underwrite with, not just talk about.
Our co-founder and Chief Investment Officer, Donna Cangelosi, is a former federal trustee and one of the nation’s specialists in complex real estate workouts.
A loan-to-own lender profits when you fail. Our model is the opposite — our own capital is in every deal, and we plan your exit on day one.
What we believe
Rule one of investing: don't lose money. We only lend against assets we'd be comfortable owning.
We invest at least 10% of our own capital in every loan we make.
Simple terms, no fine print. What we quote is what we close.
We read a deal as a business plan, not just a collateral file.
The model only works when it works for the borrower, the investor, and us.