May 25, 2021 marks Orion First’s twentieth anniversary. It’s not lost on us that our first twenty years were bookended by catastrophes: the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic … not to mention a Great Recession. The sheer magnitude and human loss of these events is staggering. They’ve also made Orion the company it is today: resilient, nimble, and forward-thinking.

To commemorate this milestone, we present to you this four-part look back at our history.

• After the dot-com bubble bursts, Dave Schaefer leaves Financial Pacific Leasing to form Orion, with investments from family and friends and a team comprised of FinPac connections and his son Mikey.
• It opens its first office in Gig Harbor, Washington, rounds out its team, and takes on its first client, Union Safe Deposit Bank of Stockton, California, for whom Orion finds, underwrites, and services four equipment lease portfolios.
• Orion also launches several new joint venture lease origination companies. As staff grows, Orion develops its first major tech product, the collection management software CMARS.

Following the bursting of the housing bubble, financial markets collapse, heralding the start of the Great Recession. Unemployment rises throughout the year to 10 percent.

Amid the vast economic contraction, Orion sees its own portfolio—and staff—shrink. Yet the leadership team still builds and prepares for future growth. By 2010, with unemployment virtually unchanged, Orion hires two new staff members, its first business development rep, and a new AVP of marketing.

Although the Great Recession will not formally end until 2013, by 2012 there are already signs of recovery and growth. Collection fees shrink due to low delinquencies, and Orion acquires its first loan client.

Soon Orion begins adding once more to its portfolio, and building infrastructure for growth. In 2015 it hosts the first Small Business Lending Forum in Tacoma, Washington. Orion expands its leadership team, moves to its new (current) office location, and launches its immensely popular Client Portal, launches its first client e-booking connectivity, acquires its first daily pay loan client and wins the ELFA technology award in 2017.

In 2018, the same year that Dave Schaefer is elected chair of the ELFA, Orion surpasses $1 billion under management, establishing itself not just as a survivor but an industry winner. It opens its Phoenix office in 2019. The team’s reputation booms; Zack Marsh is elected to ELFF board (and later, secretary/treasurer) and Jenny Wood is elected secretary (and later, VP) of CLFP board.

Then in March 2020 the novel coronavirus outbreak is declared a pandemic, and Orion becomes a remote workplace. Orion performs over 8,000 contract modifications to help its clients and their obligors weather the storm.

By 2021, with vaccinations on the rise and an end to the pandemic in sight, Orion releases Delinquency Manager, the first product in its Insights Suite—supporting Orion’s mission to provide deeper insights, stronger portfolio results, and a highly satisfying borrower experience.

As we mark twenty years in business this May, Orion is proud to boast 50,000 contracts, $2.58 billion under management, and a team of sixty employees. And we’re still growing. All in support of the best clients in the industry.