Kickfurther inventory financing review

Our take on Kickfurther

Kickfurther is a unique online inventory financing platform that specializes in helping e-commerce and other retail businesses grow. It’s one of the few providers that allows you to finance inventory before it’s manufactured — most will only fund inventory that’s sitting in a warehouse waiting to be sold.

It also claims to be less expensive than alternatives like accounts receivable factoring or purchase order financing. Companies that work with Kickfurther long-term can often qualify for lower fees.

The way it works might be a little complicated to someone who isn’t familiar with peer-to-peer lending or crowdfunding. However, many customers praise its team for walking them through the initial steps, and generally agree the platform is easy to use.

But it’s not completely transparent about pricing until you set up an account. This is standard for other similar products I’ve reviewed. But this makes it difficult to verify that it is actually less expensive than the alternatives without sharing your information.

How Kickfurther works

The way Kickfurther works is a pretty different from an average business loan — though it’s similar to other types of inventory financing. Your typical rates, terms and fees don’t apply and you’ll generally follow these steps:

1. Create an online account and set up a request for funding to buy inventory that you plan on selling directly to consumers, or leverage fresh inventory for working capital.
2. Outline your production and sale plan to get a custom payment schedule. A portion of your monthly profit will go towards paying off the amount you borrow during the scheduled period.
3. Connect Kickfurther with your manufacturer, which it sends the funds to directly to complete your inventory order. This step can take up to five business days.
4. Post your deal online and wait for members of the Kickfurther community — called “buyers” — to crowdfund your inventory purchase. This step can take anywhere from a few minutes to two business days.
5. Continue selling your inventory as usual while your buyers also sell your products through their private online stores. All products sold through an affiliate store earns your buyers a commission.
6. Submit a sales report at the end of each sales period and pay the predetermined percentage of those toward your balance until your payment schedule is done.

Kickfurther rates, fees and terms

Kickfurther doesn’t charge interest on its advances. Instead, it charges a fixed fee that’s paid back as a percentage of your monthly sales. The fee varies depending on your monthly revenue and the payment schedule — which you determine. I spoke with Kickfurther Founder and CEO Sean De Clercq, who says that the total cost ranged from 1.2% to 2% per month for advances taken out during the last two weeks of March 2021.

Generally, lower costs go toward more established businesses and previous Kickfurther users. “We have a proprietary model that helps us identify risk, and our pricing gets less expensive over time as we can see the sales cycle of our customers,” De Clercq tells Finder. “Our model also learns, opening up greater funding potential for brands at lower costs over time, creating a funding solution that scales alongside a business.”

With Kickfurther, terms are based on your sales period. Kickfurther defines your payment term as how long you have to pay off an invoice once you receive it. While it automatically sets to 14 days, your term can be as long as the longest payment term on your wholesale account.

How Kickfurther compares to other lenders

Here’s how Kickfurther compares to two similar providers. Kickpay is a direct online inventory financing company that specializes in e-commerce businesses. OnDeck offers short-term loans and lines of credit that business owners commonly use to stock up on inventory.

★★★★★

Finder Rating: 3.9 / 5

Check eligibility
Loan amount Up to $2,000,000
APR Not applicable
Loan term Varies
Requirements Varies

★★★★★

Finder Rating: 3.7 / 5

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Loan amount $20,000 to $1,000,000
APR Not applicable
Loan term 16 weeks
Requirements At least $250,000 in the past 12 months of revenue, e-commerce business, use a 3rd party fulfillment center for storing and shipping inventory, at least one US location.

★★★★★

Finder Rating: 4.6 / 5

Check eligibility
Loan amount $5,000 to $250,000
APR Starting at 35%
Loan term 3 to 18 months
Requirements 600+ personal credit score, 1 year in business, $100,000+ annual revenue

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Kickfurther reviews and complaints

Kickfurther gets mostly positive reviews from business owners. Many highlight how helpful the team was with setting up their first campaign and how quickly they were able to receive a large amount of funding.

Some also point out that it’s a great opportunity to connect with potential investors. Several say they plan on using the platform again.

Most negative reviews come from investors. Several warn that the campaigns — which Kickfurther calls “co-ops” — often fail. And many complain about the lack of support for investors.

But generally, Kickfurther gets more positive than negative reviews.

How to qualify

Your business must meet the following criteria at a minimum to qualify for Kickfurther financing:

• Sells physical inventory with a shelf-life of at least 12 months
• Personal credit score of 600 or higher
• At least $150,000 in annual sales
• Completed at least one production run

Kickfurther isn’t for startups or new businesses. “We work with companies that have completed at least one production run and with a track record of sales, typically above $500,000 annually,” De Clercq tells Finder, though you may be eligible with just $150,000 in sales. Your company is evaluated based on sales history, business financials and supply chain information.

While there’s no time in business requirement, it’s better suited for businesses that want to expand than startups. “Our ideal clients are experiencing increased demand and are looking for resources to help them produce inventory and capital to meet trajectory.”

What sets it apart?

Kickfurther’s next-day turnaround on funds as high as $2 million is unique for any lender that I’ve reviewed — let alone a platform that relies on financing from direct lenders. And many of the customers who have written online reviews of Kickfurther agree that this kind of quick financing is hard to come by.

One of the major benefits of high advance amounts is that they help businesses qualify for lower prices from suppliers. “Many of our customers use us to access volume discounts, which many times can lower the cost of goods sold by 50%.” De Clercq says. This can increase the profit margin and help spur an overall increase in sales revenue.

It’s also one of the few inventory financing operations that doesn’t require your inventory to be fully manufactured when you apply. “Most of the marketplace doesn’t get involved until there is a purchase order or the inventory is sitting at a warehouse ready to be sold,” De Clercq tells Finder.

And it has a new app called Snowmelt, which De Clercq describes as “a free resource that streamlines the product sourcing process to lower costs and improve product quality at the same time.”

Is Kickfurther legit?

Yes, Kickfurther is a legitimate inventory financing platform. Founded in 2014, Kickfurther is the first financing platform dedicated specifically to inventory financing.

It has helped businesses raise over $100 million, and is backed by the same investors behind companies like Robinhood, Tesla and Twitter. And its founders have backgrounds in supply chain financing and peer-to-peer lending platforms, like LendingClub.

While not all pages on its website are secure — such as the Kickfurther glossary — pages where you can submit sensitive information are encrypted.

Compare more ways to finance your inventory to see how Kickfurther stacks up to the competition.