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Founder / Operator·Specialty Finance

Jack Smith

Founder & CEO at Lovey

Birmingham, UK

JS
Why they matter

Bootstrapped founder who scaled a UK SME lender to £400m funded and 900% revenue growth without VC money, now adding institutional debt capital and lender-API partnerships.

Background

Jack Smith founded Love Finance (now Lovey) in 2016 after working in his father's finance company, where he saw how slow, paper-heavy processes hurt small businesses seeking funding. He bootstrapped the company with no VC money, growing it into one of the UK's fastest-growing SME lenders and brokers, with roughly £400 million funded to over 8,000 SMEs and revenue up over 900% in four years to £19.1m in FY2025.

Notable deals

  • 2025
    Secured Lovey's (then Love Finance) first debt financing arrangement: a £35m revolving credit facility from Paragon Bank plus a £10m junior MTN from LGB Capital Markets, enabling direct on-book lending
  • 2025
    Partnered with iwoca, integrating its API directly into Love Finance's platform to speed up SME lending decisions
  • 2026
    Led rebrand of Love Finance to Lovey, marking the company's next growth phase amid rapid revenue and headcount expansion
  • 2026
    Integrated Funding Circle's API into Lovey's platform, making it one of the few UK brokers with direct connectivity to both iwoca and Funding Circle

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Founder & CEO of Lovey (formerly Love Finance), a Birmingham-based UK SME lender/broker founded 2016
  • Entered fintech via his father's finance company; frustrated by slow, paper-based SME lending
  • Fully bootstrapped — no VC funding taken to date

Current focus

  • Scaling direct, on-book lending following Lovey's first institutional debt facility (£45m from Paragon Bank + LGB Capital Markets, Oct 2025)
  • Building an embedded lending ecosystem via API integrations with iwoca (Dec 2025) and Funding Circle (Apr 2026)
  • Just completed a corporate rebrand (Love Finance → Lovey, Jan 2026) positioning for the next growth phase

What he cares about

  • Speed and simplicity for SME borrowers ("simple, fast, and beautiful" lending)
  • Maintaining profitability and founder control while scaling (explicitly bootstrap-proud)
  • Team growth has been aggressive: 10 staff (2021) → 110+ (2025)

Sensitivities

  • Company has never taken outside equity — approach any investment conversation carefully; he may be protective of control/independence
  • Recent rebrand and new debt facility suggest he's mid-transition from bootstrapped to institutionally-backed — timing and framing matter

Questions to ask

  1. Now that Lovey has its first debt facility, is he open to equity capital, or does he intend to stay fully independent?
  2. How is the Paragon/LGB facility performing, and what's the roadmap for scaling the on-book loan portfolio?
  3. With both iwoca and Funding Circle API integrations live, what's the long-term vision — broker, direct lender, or lending marketplace?

Outreach draft

Subject
Following Lovey's growth and new lending partnerships
Hi Jack, I've been following Lovey's momentum — the rebrand, the new Paragon Bank/LGB debt facility, and the iwoca and Funding Circle integrations all point to a business entering a new phase of scale. It's a rare story: bootstrapped, profitable, and still growing at triple-digit rates. I work with a firm that partners with founder-led fintech and specialty lending businesses, and would value 20 minutes to hear directly how you're thinking about the next stage of growth — and whether outside capital or strategic partnerships could accelerate it. Would you be open to a short call in the coming weeks? Best, [Name]

Linked companies

Sources