Crain’s Chicago Business: Not enough small companies are tapping into low-cost federal loans

From Crain's Chicago Business - A chat with the co-founder of NEWITY, a Chicago-based adviser to small businesses and an administrator of government-backed loan programs.

A chat with the co-founder of Newity, a Chicago-based adviser to small businesses and an administrator of government-backed loan programs.

July 18, 2022 | H. Lee Murphy – Staff Writer

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s 7(a) loan program has helped small companies raise money for decades. But Luke LaHaie says not enough private companies are taking advantage of the government support.

LaHaie is co-founder and co-CEO of Newity, a Chicago-based adviser to small businesses and an administrator of government-backed loan programs. The firm was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic in summer 2020 as a facilitator of the Paycheck Protection Program sponsored by the SBA. It ended more than a year ago, and since then Newity has switched gears to matching clients with 7(a) assistance.

The 37-year-old LaHaie is a native of northern Michigan with an undergraduate degree in finance from Michigan State University and a master’s in accounting from Notre Dame. He’s a certified public accountant (he also has a Chartered Financial Analyst certification) who has worked with big-company clients as an accountant at Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers as well as RedRidge of Chicago, a due-diligence specialist. His partner at Newity is David Cody, 53, a former asset manager in New York.

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