Harvard Partners is seeking to invest in, or purchase, small innovative U.S.-based commercial finance firms. According to CEO Bill Verhelle, Interest is not limited to companies already in the equipment leasing and finance industry.

Harvard Partners is specifically interested in companies with demonstrated experience and capable management teams employing new business models. Harvard Partners’ first equity investment this year, along with another private equity investor, involved a West Coast business lending and equipment finance firm with advanced financial technology (fintech) capabilities.

“We believe there has never been a more exciting time for small, independent finance companies,” Verhelle said. He noted that many nimble, technology-savvy companies are developing new business models, while many larger firms continue to be hamstrung by legacy operations and bureaucracy.

For decades, the prevailing business strategy in commercial finance was “cost leadership,” “That strategy drove acquisition, consolidation and cost-control, effectively favoring the largest firms with the lowest costs,” Verhelle said, adding that it has become increasingly clear in the past five years that new technology and changing customer-buying preferences are transforming the industry, while also favoring smaller, more nimble, technology savvy commercial finance firms.

“We want to support ambitious, talented management teams building new solutions that will be the future of commercial finance,” Verhelle said.