Founder teams up with former colleague in new SBA lending venture.

Two familiar names in the Louisville-area U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) lending scene have recently reunited on a new business opportunity.

The company, Venturus, is the latest partnership between John Handmaker and Christian Bowles, as two longtime colleagues look to specialize as a direct small business lender to clients across the country as the SBA arm of Atlanta area-based Tandem Bank.

Founded in August, Venturus provides SBA 7(a) loans between $25,000 to $5 million to small businesses for a variety of purposes, such as growth capital, owner-occupied commercial real estate, debt refinancing, franchise financing and business acquisitions.