Dan Daniel
CEO / Co-Founder
Dan Daniel is an entrepreneur, businessman, avid sports fan, a father, and a husband. Dan has always had an aptitude for business strategy and an appetite for success. He has enjoyed a diverse range of professional experiences having worked in a multitude of fields. While his life has taken him on many different paths, he’s cited one commonality that has remain constant from the time he was a child—an insurmountable drive to achieve greatness.
Dan was born and raised in Carlsbad, CA, where he always dreamed of being a member of its bustling business community. Dan studied business in his undergrad at Cal State San Marcos and went on to study corporate law for his postgrad at Emory University. After graduating with his law degree, Dan pursued a career in finance and secured a job at one of the industry’s top firms.
Dan found himself longing for more and was resolute on creating the path he always dreamed of for himself. His passion and conviction led him to wake up on January 1st, 2017 and quit his corporate Job. He cleared out his 401k and savings and set foot on his entrepreneurial journey.
iSoftpull was born from the simple but powerful idea of greatness—something that continues to be a guiding force in the company. Dan founded iSoftpull with his best friend, Justin Fay soon after quitting his job. The two were talking shop, as they often did, when the topic of credit data and reporting practices presented itself. With both Dan and Justin having worked in related fields, they quickly identified a glaring problem that faced both business and consumers alike—the need for a more transparent financing process.
No one in the market exclusively offered soft pulls, a tool that enables businesses to pull a customer’s credit using a name and address, without impacting their score. Dan and Justin couldn’t understand why soft pull credit checks were rarely used and largely unheard of. It was this realization that motivated them to build a company that specialized in soft pulls and quickly worked to carve out a niche within the market.
iSoftpull was built with the vision of making soft pulls a commonplace tool and the first step in any lending decision. Almost five years later, Dan is continuing to work towards this vision and steering the company towards a future in which this is a reality.
The company was offered substantial funding in 2018 but Dan and Justin elected to forgoe this opportunity to ensure they would remain in control of business decisions and maintain the company’s vision. Dan’s stewardship and commitment to quality has enabled the company to not just grow but thrive.
Dan hopes that his experience can shed light on the power of a dream and illustrate what one can achieve with hard work and dedication. Most of all, he hopes to inspire others to strive for greatness and help instill the confidence in them to do so.
