139: Marti Hoffer - Small Business Lending For All Minority Firms (CDFI)

This week we are excited to bring to you a different type of episode with Marti Hoffer, the Founder and CEO of Lumenomics whom I met at the WBENC conference. I met Marti at WBENC as she was one of the guests on stage speaking discussing financing her small business. Part of her conversation was centered around CDFIs and how they were the first organization to provide her small business with capital. If you are wondering what a CDFI is, let me explain further. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are specialized community based financial institutions with a primary mission to promote economic development by providing financial products and services to people and communities underserved by traditional financial institutions, particularly in low income communities. That is what is said on the website. The bottom line is these places have money for people who cannot otherwise get access to capital. They also include community development banks and credit unions, and non-regulated institutions such as non-profit loan funds or venture capital funds. So in this episode Marti shares briefly what she did and how she did it. So who is Marti Hoffer and what does Lumenomics do? Lumenomics is a natural daylighting company designing, installing, and servicing integrated performance illumination systems for commercial buildings. After over 25 years of experience in the window treatment and lighting control industry, Marti Hoffer, founder and CEO of lumenomics, noticed a problem: customers purchase window treatments to increase the use of electric light, not decrease it. With her vision to increase the use of natural light by decreasing reliance on the electric light in spaces through integrated shade and lighting systems. So that’s the premise of their business and that’s what they do. Tune in to this short but sweet episode with our next giant, Marti Hoffer.