SAN DIEGO—National Funding, one of the country's largest private lenders of small business loans, participated in a recent discussion at the 53rd Annual Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Convention on the topic of the evolution of the equipment leasing industry.

Focusing on the changing landscape of alternative lending, founder and CEO David Gilbert; along with co-panelists Ben Gold, president of Quick Bridge Funding, and Brad Peterson, managing member at Channel Partners LLC; discussed the shifting landscape of the market from the perspective of delivery channels, changing products and changes in customer behavior; best practices and how to avoid common mistakes for marketing effectively to different types of businesses; and how to embrace the evolving technology and offer more than one product.

“Since the recession of 2008, the lending and leasing industry has seen a large impact in both the landscape as a whole and customer behaviors; many new players have joined the alternative lending space and are driving change for small ticket lending,” said Gilbert. “It is important to understand how the business has evolved from purely equipment leasing to that of offering working capital as another option.”