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12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 6, 2025 New Silver co-founders Kirill Bensonoff (left) and Alex Shvayetsky both immigrated to the United States with their families from the former Soviet Union when they were youths. HBJ Photos | Steve Laschever Market Opportunity West Hartford fintech New Silver pivots from software startup to fast-growing real estate lender growth since 2020, and 135th this year with two-year growth of 34%. Though the co-founders declined to disclose revenue for the privately held company, they said New Silver now employs about 30 people, finances projects in 40 states and has closed more than $300 million in loans. The firm also manages a $10 million income fund that raises capital from accredited investors to finance loans, part of the $50 million it has raised overall. Not bad for a couple of guys whose families escaped the former Soviet Union. Out of the USSR Bensonoff and Shvayetsky have been friends since they first met in West Hartford years ago. The fact they connected at all was serendipitous. "I was born in Belarus; back then it was still (part of) the Soviet Union," Bensonoff said. "We left right before it fell apart." He was 11 years old at the time. His family settled in an apartment on Loomis Drive near West Hartford Center, coincidentally just around the corner from where New Silver would eventually have its office at 28 North Main St. Similarly, Shvayestky and his family left Ukraine, which also was part of the Soviet Union at the time, and settled in West Hartford. He was 15. By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com N ew Silver isn't in the metals-trading business — though its name might suggest otherwise. "I recently got a call asking what the price of silver is," said Kirill Bensonoff, co-founder and CEO of the West Hartford-based company. "That's not what we do." While that's true, the company Bensonoff and his friend, Chief Risk Officer Alex Shvayetsky, founded in 2018 has changed focus over the years. What began as a fintech startup offering software as a service has since pivoted into a lending plat- form that provides capital to real estate developers. "Basically, we were testing different ideas," Bensonoff said. "And one of them was this software for valuing single-family or small multifamily assets, and it tested really well." The software, Bensonoff said, could value a property, both in its existing condition and as renovated, and "almost instantly" issue prelimi- nary loan terms, including pricing, the interest rate, maximum loan amount and more. The software — which internally the company calls "HQ" — uses data to provide online loan approvals, term sheets and proof of funds within minutes, allowing developers to make an offer on a property and then return to New Silver to close a loan. "We were testing it, it was very, very high accuracy," Bensonoff said, noting that since the software has been in use, the loan terms it has initially provided to developers have not had to be altered. Even so, the New Silver co-founders found that market demand in the construction lending industry was too limited to make the product sustain profitability. What New Silver did have was a lot of people who fix and flip houses using its technology. That led them to shift their focus to originating loans for real estate investors as the company's core business. That decision came about six years ago. Since then, New Silver has expanded rapidly, earning spots on Inc. magazine's list of the fast- est-growing companies in the North- east in back-to-back years. It ranked 56th in 2024 with 335% revenue AT A GLANCE New Silver Industries: Fintech & Construction Lending Top Executives: Co-Founders Kirill Bensonoff, CEO, and Alex Shvayetsky, Chief Risk Officer HQ: 28 North Main St., West Hartford Employees: About 30 Loans: $300 million closed Contact: newsilver.com