Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 6, 2025 13 Bensonoff, who is now 47 and lives in Massachusetts, doesn't recall if they met at Hall HIgh School or before that, but said they hit it off from the start. "What brought us together is our similar background, both immigrants from the USSR, and also our passion for doing things — whether it was working out together or starting a business," he said. "We both loved similar things and got along well, and our skills and personalities complete each other." Following high school, Shvayetsky, now 51, studied math and economics at Brandeis University in Massachu- setts but did not graduate; he later earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Connecticut. He spent more than 22 years working as a controller for Udolf Enterprises, one of the largest property owners, developers and managers in Greater Hartford. He also has served as a limited partner with Gideon GP, a Delaware-based private investment firm that special- izes in real estate loans. Bensonoff earned a bachelor's degree in information tech- nology from Central Connecticut State University. Following a two-year appren- ticeship as a data analyst at Intex Solutions Inc., and a year as a systems consultant at IBM Global Services, Bensonoff says he started or co-founded several tech-related businesses, including Unigma, a cloud management company that helped IT organizations manage and secure their systems. Unigma was acquired by Kaseya in 2017. With Shvayetsky's background in real estate and Bensonoff's expe- rience as an entrepreneur in the IT industry, it set the foundation for establishing a real estate fintech like New Silver. "We're basically just a lender," Bensonoff said. "We do not own prop- erty. We don't want to own property. We want to use technology to make the process easy for people who need the financing." Financing terms New Silver provides financing for a variety of developers and real estate investors: • Fix-and-flip: Loans for buyers looking to renovate and resell properties, covering up to 90% loan- to-cost (LTC). Amounts range from $100,000 to $5 million, with terms up to 18 months and interest rates between 9.25% and 11.25%. • Ground-up construction: Financing for residential builders, also up to 90% LTC. Loans range from $100,000 to $5 million with 18-month terms and rates from 10.25% to 11.25%. • Rental properties: Thirty-year fixed-rate loans starting at 5.875% for properties owned by the borrower, from $150,000 up to $3 million. New Silver also recently added financing for commercial real estate investors seeking short-term loans for acquiring, rehabilitating or refinancing properties. While there is no application fee and using the software on the website is free, the company makes its revenue from origination fees and interest payments. And although it operates in about 40 states, it's licensed and regu- lated only in Arizona and California. Connecticut doesn't require a license for the type of lending it does, Bensonoff said. A spokesman for the state Depart- ment of Banking confirmed that. New Silver's pivot into commer- cial lending is aimed at driving continued business growth, Shvayetsky said, adding that while the commercial office market has struggled since the pandemic, other property types remain busy. "We see ourselves as a fintech lender that will fill a specific niche in the market," Shvayetsky said. "I think a lot of local banks are pulling out of the space. And there is definitely a need in this up-to-$15 million (commercial real estate) sector. … There's a lot more demand for the capital." Chief Risk Officer Alex Shvayetsky (left) and CEO Kirill Bensonoff sitting in New Silver's West Hartford boardroom. www.borghesibuilding.com 2155 East Main Street Torrington, Connecticut 06790 860.482.7613 Check out our new website! Creating Creating "Building Ideas "Building Ideas That Work" That Work" for you. for you. A new day, another A new day, another new project. new project. © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc.

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