Finding the ‘Best Athletes’: InterNext Capital goes the Extra Mile for DE&I
InterNex Capital, a digital and direct lender that provides innovative and flexible working capital financing to lower middle-market businesses, might be a smaller organization in terms of staff size, but it is making a major impact on the specialty finance world, both in terms of its efficient financing solutions as well as its dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion. One of the primary catalysts for InterNex’s success on the DE&I front in particular is its organizational belief in transparent dialogue across its entire workforce.
“We’re a very open business. That’s something that we train and reinforce with our people,” Lin Chua, co-founder and president of InterNex Capital, says. “It’s very much a ‘bringing your diverse perspectives to the table’ type of organization. If you ever had a chance to walk into one of our meetings, it would be quite amusing to hear internally how vibrant and dynamic the group is.”
“Embracing the challenge of communicating our vision across a diverse team pushes me to transcend personal biases, ensuring our message resonates clearly with everyone,” Jasraj M’hajan, vice president of technology at InterNex Capital, says.
Creating such a culture starts with recruiting, and as Chua explains, InterNex has found success building a diverse team by always trying to hire “the best athlete.” Oftentimes, this means thinking outside of the narrow structure of the specific skills listed on a job description and considering how adaptable a candidate’s talents may be in the context of the role and the greater organization.
“[It’s] not just their ability to handle that role,” Chua says. “Being a small organization, the roles that we can all play in the organization are so broad that hiring someone that has the ability to bounce in a different situation [and] to bring different perspectives to the table is critical.”
By avoiding narrow and constricting job requirements, InterNex is able to recruit from a much wider range of candidates, improving not only representation but its depth of talent overall. As currently constituted, 75% of InterNex’s workforce, from the executive team to entry-level associates, are from historically underrepresented groups, including more than 65% of the company’s decision-makers on the risk side. It is critically important to the company to ensure that the team making the decisions about lending transactions is diverse, Chua says.
With a talented and diverse team fueling its growth, InterNex is able to pursue external initiatives focused on DE&I as well. At present, more than 50% of the firms in its client portfolio are owned by members of historically under-represented groups, illustrating the long-term effectiveness of the funding program it launched for such businesses in 2021. Much of its success comes from its technology-focused approach to lending.
“By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we not only streamline business lending but also champion diversity and inclusion, ensuring our innovative solutions empower every client across varied business landscapes,” M’hajan says.
Chua admits that pursuing DE&I goals on the client side is not always easy. However, that doesn’t serve as a deterrent as much as motivation for the company, with InterNex taking a long-term approach to its DE&I aspirations.
“It’s really looking at the business wholistically — the business model, the executives, the employees, their client base, the owners, how long have they all been involved and, of course, the additional insight that our
technology and analytics tell us,” Chua says. “It does take that extra mile to say: ‘Hey, let us look beyond the standard metrics to figure out the ‘why yes’.” •
