Grasshopper Bank
At a Glance
Worth a call for a deal around a million of EBITDA with investors behind it, and read its FAQ on who it partners with before assuming a first search qualifies.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Loan products; terms by term sheet. The sponsor page publishes the EBITDA, revenue and loan-size floors and no rates; the 7(a) page publishes a $150,000 floor, a $5 million ceiling and an as-low-as rate of prime plus 2% (per grasshopper.bank, September 2026).
- Best For
- A searcher with a committed investor group whose deal clears a million of EBITDA and who wants a lender with a published floor at that size and a stated willingness to work with unfunded sponsors
- Track Record
- A digital Preferred Lender whose 7(a) is applied for online, with a sponsor finance desk from a million of EBITDA.
- Type
- Bank (lends directly)
- Footprint
- A digital bank whose SBA pages say apply online and whose sponsor page says throughout the U.S..
- Approval Authority
- Says it holds SBA Preferred Lender status, so it can approve the loan itself rather than sending the file to the agency for a second look.
- The 7(a) page's title carries SBA Preferred Lender, and its body says the status lets it expedite approvals; the SBA lending hub calls it PLP status beside the digital application.
- Deal Size
- $500k and up, past the single-loan 7(a) cap.
- Lends conventionally on this product, so no 7(a) cap applies.
- States a floor: the smallest loan it publishes is $150k.
- The 7(a) page's questions say preapprovals start at $150,000 and up, and its apply form says it does not offer 7(a) loans under $150,000; the ceiling is $5 million. The floors on its SBA hub from $1,000 and from $10,000 belong to partner products the hub places beside its own loan.
- Searcher Practice
- A general SBA lending desk, handled remotely.
- Apply online in minutes, get qualified in as little as ten minutes, a streamlined digital application: the 7(a) page and the SBA hub both say it in their own words, a first-party remote claim rather than an inference from a contact path.
- The site names no page for a search fund, a searcher or acquisition entrepreneurship. The SBA hub's intake form lists Search Fund among its industries, which is a form option and not a practice, and the 7(a) page names buying an existing business as a use of proceeds.
- Published Terms
- 7(a) from $150,000 to $5 million with terms to 25 years, applied for online, at an as-low-as rate its page puts at prime plus 2%.
- Past the SBA Cap
- Sponsor Finance: EBITDA starting at approximately $1 million. Capital needs starting at $1 million, a minimum funded debt of about $2 million at closing and a maximum commitment of about $10 million per borrower, with a network of investment partners past that.
- Who the Desk Says It Lends To
- Funded and unfunded private equity firms, family offices, independent sponsors, and subordinate debt lenders.
- Sponsors throughout the U.S.
- Roadmap Stages
- 5. Diligence & Close the Deal
Pros and Cons
Pros
- A published floor of about $1 million of EBITDA and $1 million of capital, the second-lowest on this shelf
- Says in its own FAQ that it works with funded and unfunded private equity firms, family offices and independent sponsors
- Names a network of investment partners for a deal larger than the bank lends directly
- Sponsors throughout the U.S., by its own page
- An SBA Preferred Lender whose 7(a) is applied for online from $150,000 to $5 million with terms to 25 years, and a published as-low-as rate of prime plus 2%
Cons
- Its stated criteria are approximate and the page asks for a track record of deal execution, which a first-time buyer does not have
- No searcher or search fund is named on the sponsor page; the SBA hub's intake form lists Search Fund among its industries and nothing else on the site does
What Searchers Say
The page carries partner testimonials from sponsors it has closed with. No searcher-forum discussion of the desk was found.
How to Approach
Grasshopper Bank is a bank, so this is how that kind of lender comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A prequalification on you and the target, often from the first email.
- A full application and the bank's own underwrite of the deal.
- A term sheet, then closing on the SBA's timeline, commonly two to four months.
What It Weighs
- Whether the business's cash flow covers the debt with room to spare.
- Your experience relative to the business you are buying.
- Your equity injection and how clean the financials are.
How to Prepare
- Model the payment and coverage before you call. SBA Acquisition Calculator
- Underwrite the specific deal end to end. Underwrite a Deal
- Show where every dollar comes from and goes. Sources & Uses Builder