The Venturus Team

John Handmaker

Co-Founder
Chief Executive Officer

John, a partner and co-founder of Venturus, has more than 33 years of experience in small business finance, small business, and commercial lending. Prior to Venturus, John co-founded Q2 Business Capital in 2015, which he led to become a top 30 SBA volume lender.  As the Head of Q2, in 2019, he started a separate division within the company, focusing on small balance loans less than $150k. Before Q2, he co-founded Quadrant Financial, which over its 14-year history, became the 14th largest small business lender in the country.  Under John’s leadership, Quadrant also appeared on the INC 5000 fastest growing companies list and won the 2012 Business First Louisville Company of the Year Award.

John’s extensive history in finance has included work for Bank United, Liberty National Bank, and The Money Store, where he was one of the company’s all-time top performers.  In 1994, John opened the Louisville market for The Money Store and was appointed to the company’s prestigious “President’s Club” in 1996 and 1997. In 1996, John was also honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration as “Financial Services Advocate of The Year”.

A decorated entrepreneur, in both 2011 and again in 2012, he was recognized as a Finalist in Ernst & Young’s annual Entrepreneur of the Year event.  John’s unique path in the SBA industry includes starting a trend of building SBA programs as bank subsidiaries/joint ventures, which resulted in the successful sale of several SBA divisions and his considerable knowledge of M & A, investment banking and corporate development. Outside of SBA lending, John has also co-founded businesses in the food service, commercial real estate, automotive and training/education industries. 

A native of Louisville, John graduated magna cum laude in 1988 with a degree in economics from Vanderbilt University.  A husband and father of two children, he is passionate about his pursuits – he’s an excellent cook, loves hiking & the mountains, travel and is a huge fan of live music.

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6510 Glenridge Park Place
Suite 8
Louisville, KY 40222
502.741.2403
info@theventurusgroup.com

A Division of Heritage Bank. Member FDIC. Loans are subject to SBA terms and bank approval.

Socialize with Venturus