Privlo, a non-qualified mortgage lender, has begun operations in its home state of California.
The financial tech startup targets borrowers who fit its own internal credit criteria and tend towards self-employment. Privlo already operates in Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
In its release announcing California operations, Privlo indicated it would target the self-employed and small business owners.
"More than 90% of California's small businesses are sole proprietorships, and it's no secret that many in this group are totally capable of taking on a mortgage but simply can't get approved," Privlo chief credit and product officer Saro Vasudevan said in the release.
"There's pent-up demand in every state we've launched, but we expect California to exceed anything we've seen so far," citing self-employment figures of approximately 22% in Berkeley and Santa Monica.
Privlo bases its operations in Los Angeles and receives funding from the venture capital firms QED Investors and Spark Capital.