A Broker Diversifies With Suite of Value-Adds
August 8, 2024
Like many broker shops these days, Connecticut-based Sharpe Capital is offering more than just a revenue-based financing product. Owned by CEO Brendan Lynch who has been funding deals and boarding credit card processing accounts for more than 15 years, the company is now looking much deeper into business owners’ needs through a whole new set of diagnostic questions like whether or not they have a written will, access to a lawyer, possession of a firearm, or ownership in real estate.
The latter on that list, real estate, is becoming more familiar in the small business finance community. Sharpe Capital, for example, added mortgages to its product set about 18 months ago.
“When we talk to anybody on the phone and they start asking questions, ‘oh, what kind of programs do you have? What are the rates?’ now we’ll always say, ‘well, the cheapest way and the most affordable way to get money is, even though rates are higher on mortgages and that stuff right now than they were in the past few years, it’s still the cheapest way.'” Lynch said. “And then what we’ll try to do is explain that it’s going to take a while. ‘How much do you need to get through the next two months while we work this up for you,’ right? Try to get the long term funding going for them and the short term solution all in one.”
More recently, however, the company has added a bundle of services that include things like identity theft protection, legal consultations, will writing, and more. In one example, Lynch said that a merchant disclosed that an IRS audit had slowed down their ability to continue the application process with them and he realized they actually had a solution for that.
“One of the things [this partnered service] covers here is audit services,” Lynch said. “They’ll give you up to 25 hours and walk you through an audit from the IRS. So it was easy. I was like, ‘hey, yeah, let me help you out right now. We signed him up right away.'”
Lynch says that for now, since it’s all still new for them, these value-adds are typically being proposed after the customer onboards for funding but that he’s open to switching it around.
“We’re definitely trying to figure out a way to approach it as the frontend as well,” he said. “The way these leads are being bought and sold so fast and rapidly, you’re fighting with 50-60 different brokers on every deal, you know? … So, we’re really just trying to find something that separates us.”
Lynch argued that in a market where a lot of brokers are essentially offering the same thing, just being personally remembered later on when it comes time for funding again can make all the difference and that being the guy who helped them draft a will for sixty bucks will probably stay fresh in their mind.
“It definitely stands out,” Lynch said. “It definitely opens up conversations where you’re going to get a little more personal with them and build a closer relationship because you’re going to start asking, ‘Are you married?’ Yeah, I know maybe that’s part of people’s sales pitch, but a lot of times we’re just so focused on getting you an offer fast and getting you funded fast, you kind of don’t have time to get into all that, so that afterwards getting to really build the relationship seems to really be working.”
Rapid Finance a Diamond Sponsor of B2B Finance Expo
August 8, 2024
Rapid Finance is a Diamond Sponsor at the inaugural B2B Finance Expo taking place at Wynn Las Vegas from September 23-24. The conference will bring together the leading lenders, funders, and brokers from across the spectrum of commercial finance, leasing, mortgage, and revenue-based capital products.
The Small Business Finance Association (SBFA), of which Rapid Finance is a founding board member, will play an important role at the event. The SBFA is a group of technology-driven financial service companies specifically focused on providing efficient and responsible capital to small and medium businesses – independent businesses – across America. Rapid Finance was founded in 2005.
“At Rapid Finance, we are deeply committed to empowering small business owners with the capital they need to thrive,” said Will Tumulty, CEO of Rapid Finance. “As a founding board member of the SBFA, we proudly support independent businesses across America. Events like the B2B Finance Expo are crucial in bringing together industry leaders and fostering collaboration and innovation, and we are excited to play a role in launching this event and contributing to the commercial finance sector’s growth.”
The B2B Finance Expo is powered by AltFinanceDaily which has produced nearly two dozen commercial finance related conferences since 2017. To register CLICK HERE.
North Mill Sets New Monthly Origination Records in July
August 5, 2024August 5, 2024, NORWALK, CT – North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“NMEF”), a leading independent commercial equipment lessor headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced today that the company had a record-breaking month in July as funded volume surged to more than $56 million, an increase in loan and lease originations of 33% from the same period last year.
“We are firing on all cylinders and well poised to continue our growth trajectory,” said David C. Lee, Chairman and CEO, North Mill. “We have a strong capital base, a loyal and ever-expanding group of referral partners who consider NMEF their primary lender, and a diversified portfolio that helps us mitigate the economic woes that plague specific industries like the trucking sector.”
According to Lee, NMEF has been steadily rebalancing its book of business, providing its referral partners with more opportunities to finance a variety of equipment. “Historically, trucking related collateral, both local and long-haul, represented an average of 40% of our originations whereas today it embodies just 15% of what we finance,” he said. “Medical, franchise, and construction collectively now represent almost 60% of our funding volume.” In another pivotal move to diversify, NMEF has grown its vendor program in partnership with referral partners, including banks, captives and other funding sources. In addition to the high watermark in originations, the company’s weighted average FICO reached 735, weighted average yields are north of 13%, and submission approval rates are approaching 60%.
While many equipment lenders have reduced or even ceased funding operations over the past year, NMEF has been selectively adding to its team. Joining the company as an Assistant Vice President, Relationship Manager, is Mary E. Armstrong, CLFP who brings over twenty years of referral partner relationships while holding similar roles at Financial Pacific, Marlin, and Canon. “We are very excited to welcome Mary to the NMEF family of companies,” said Paul Cheslock, VP of Customer Relations, NMEF. “Her reputation is stellar. Brokers, customers, and colleagues alike have commented on her talent, innate sales ability, and professionalism.” Ms. Armstrong reported “making the decision to join NMEF was not difficult. For quite some time, I’ve been aware of NMEF’s reputation as a progressive leader and trailblazer.”
Also joining NMEF is Zacchary Lee, Sr. Analyst, Corporate Development, who will assist the finance team with budgeting, portfolio analytics, and the execution of strategic initiatives. An honors graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lee brings 5 years of experience in financial services.
About North Mill Equipment Finance
NMEF originates and services small to mid-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $2,500,000 in value. A broker-centric private lender, the company accepts A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for many asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, medical, manufacturing, technology, franchise, renovation, janitorial and material handling equipment. NMEF is majority owned by an affiliate of InterVest Capital Partners. The company’s headquarters are in Norwalk, CT, with regional offices in Irvine, CA, and Voorhees NJ. For more information, visit www.nmef.com. One of NMEF’s controlled affiliates, BriteCap Financial LLC, is a leading non-bank lender providing small businesses with fast, convenient financing alternatives such as working capital loans since 2003 from its main office in Las Vegas, NV. For more information, visit www.britecap.com.
What’s Challenging in the Broker World
July 24, 2024Are you a small business finance broker? Here are some of the most common challenges that they report to AltFinanceDaily.
The lender I was working with was not a lender
This is a preventable mistake. Instead of falling for a cold call, check the appropriate state registries, ask for feedback from your peers online (or in person), and conduct extensive due diligence. If you’re not willing to conduct due diligence as a broker, you will inevitably be fooled.
The deal was intercepted by a third party
Whether it’s through backdooring, big data, or a customer lying about shopping around, brokers often report the sudden appearance of a mysterious competitor right as their deal was approaching the finish line. Since there seems to be virtually no remedy on the horizon for this, brokers should speak candidly with their clients upfront about what to expect and lock in their loyalty well in advance so that this mysterious competition is shut down.
The available lead quality in the public marketplace is low or good exclusive leads are non-existent
If the business was easy as buying the same leads as everyone else and using them to earn huge profits on the deals closed without much hassle, then every single person in the country would be a broker. Being a broker is hard work and a significant part of the gig is marketing. You’ll have to decide if you or someone you hire is up to the task of generating the deals for you or your closers to close. If you can’t figure out how to market, you will eventually fail.
I didn’t get paid on a funded deal
While relationships do count for a lot, broker agreements count for just as much. As much as smaller shops roll their eyes at the prospect of having to shell out funds for attorneys to review contracts, it is a necessary cost to operate. If a lending company believes it doesn’t have to pay you, it won’t. Don’t be surprised when it happens to you. Instead be ready with your agreement, the facts, and your attorney to remedy the issue. Brokers unable to afford legal representation are much more likely to be bullied by a lender than everyone else. So do all the boring but necessary due diligence before signing up and if they ultimately breach the agreement with you, be ready to stand up for yourself in a way they will have no choice but to respect.
New Lender Designed to Support Underserved SMEs
July 23, 2024A new specialist lender has today been launched in response to evolving SME funding needs.
Rapital is set to transform the financial landscape to support both brokers and SME businesses facing difficulty in securing funding from existing lenders and banks.
Rapital will focus on offering a direct route for clients with challenging credit situations, such as poor credit, existing loans, CCJs and defaults with loans ranging between £5,000 and £250,000. With a focus on offering fast funding, Rapital aims to make decisions in as little as three hours so SMEs can access the cash boost they need quickly.
Access to funding is an evergreen issue for the UK’s vital SME community, with many struggling to get approval from traditional lenders. Indeed, according to the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers’ (NACFB) annual lender and broker survey, 32% of new clients successfully funded by its members last year had been previously denied funding elsewhere – a 3% increase from 2022. Rapital has been launched to help close the gap and enable SMEs who might have been denied financing from traditional lenders to get the cash boost they need to succeed.
Rapital’s ambition is to help turn a “no” into a “yes” for SMEs needing rapid and flexible financing solutions. The service promises an easy, transparent process and same-day funding, empowering businesses to thrive and grow. In these challenging operating conditions, it is vital that smaller businesses have access to rapid and flexible capital. Rapital will offer a much-needed financial lifeline to the business profiles and industries that are often rejected by banks and other SME lenders.
About Rapital
Rapital’s mission is to empower businesses of all sizes, credit backgrounds and industries by providing brokers and SMEs with funding solutions tailored to meet the real-world challenges they encounter.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Rapital Media Team
Email: info@rapital.co.uk
Phone: 0161 884 0767
Website: rapital.co.uk
When the Bank Gets Hacked
July 1, 2024Before you point your finger at someone for backdooring your deals, consider another possibility, that some technology in the deal flow chain could be compromised, whether it’s yours, theirs, or some backend that nobody suspects could be hacked. One such modern example is Evolve Bank and Trust, which had 33 terabytes of data stolen and then leaked on the internet.
Evolve is big in the fintech world to the point where Fintech reporter Jason Mikula determined that customers at more than a dozen onboarded fintechs also had their info stolen, including at Yotta, Copper, Yieldstreet, Juno, Dave, BrightSide, SoLo Funds, ChangEd, Mercury, MainVest, Fund That Flip, Nomad, Bitfinex, Rho, and more. Other firms like Mercury, Bilt, Affirm, and Wise notified its users that their info may have also been breached in connection with the hack.
Via Mikula’s Fintech Business Weekly:
“Info security professionals who have accessed and begun examining the data in order to take necessary steps to mitigate risk have suggested that Evolve’s Azure tenant was compromised, allowing the hackers to make copies of most or all of the bank’s virtual machines, including those running its website, SFTP, SQL server, as well as information from its core banking system, which is said to be Jack Henry’s jXchange — which potentially could include Evolve’s credentials for accessing Federal Reserve systems.”
Evolve was hit with an enforcement action by the Federal Reserve last month, before revealing that it had been hacked.
“This was a ransomware attack by the criminal organization, LockBit,” Evolve said in a statement on its website. “They appear to have gained access to our systems when an employee inadvertently clicked on a malicious internet link. There is no evidence that the criminals accessed any customer funds, but it appears they did access and download customer information from our databases and a file share during periods in February and May.”
Evolve has 26 offices across 10 states, though its full service brick and mortar branches are only located in Arkansas and Tennessee.
Underwriters and brokers should be extra vigilant in verifying that apps and bank statements, particularly those that are customers of Evolve, originated from the applicant and through the means that they remembered.
B2B Finance Expo: Las Vegas, September 23-24
June 18, 2024
The inaugural B2B Finance Expo will debut in Las Vegas this Fall from September 23-24 at The Wynn. Powered by AltFinanceDaily in collaboration with the Small Business Finance Association (SBFA), the conference will bring together the leading lenders, funders, and brokers from across the spectrum of commercial finance, leasing, mortgage, and revenue-based capital products.
“The goal is to bring together leaders in commercial finance at an upscale event focused on delivering value to participants,” said Steve Denis, Executive Director of the SBFA. “Our content will gather industry leaders’ perspectives on partnerships, capital markets, diversifying income streams, and compliance in an environment that balances education, growth, and relationship building.”
“We’ve produced nearly 20 commercial finance related conferences since 2018,” said AltFinanceDaily founder Sean Murray. “Brokers from all segments of commercial finance looking for a valuable conference to expand their network, learn, and grow their business should attend B2B Finance Expo in Las Vegas this year. It’ll be the biggest one of its kind this Fall.”
The SBFA is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring Main Street small businesses have access to the capital they need to grow and strengthen the economy. The SBFA’s mission is to educate policymakers and regulators about the technology-driven platforms emerging in the small business lending market and how their member companies bridge the small business capital gap using innovative financing solutions. Attendees of the conference will have the opportunity to support this initiative.
To register, visit b2bfinexpo.com. To inquire about sponsorship, complete this form here.
Cloudsquare Unveils Game-Changing Lender APIs for Streamlined Submissions
June 6, 2024New out-of-the-box integrations promises to revolutionize the deal submission process, boosting efficiency and cutting costs for alternative lending companies.
Los Angeles, CA – June 6, 2024 – Cloudsquare, a leading LOS/LMS platform and Salesforce consulting partner specializing in alternative lending solutions, announces the launch of 14 new Lender APIs integrated into Cloudsquare Broker, an alternative lending CRM powered by Salesforce. This significant advancement enhances the speed and efficiency submitting deals to lenders who accept portal submissions
The Lender APIs address common challenges in submissions, reducing delays and costs with a streamlined, automated solution. They integrate with the CRM’s Submission Channel, an AI-powered module that matches the right lenders for each deal, increasing approval rates by avoiding unnecessary declines.
Depending on the lender’s API capabilities, brokers gain access to features like real-time status updates, document retrieval, instant offers and decline reasons, further enhancing processing efficiency.
“With our new Lender APIs, users can experience a tenfold increase in submission speed,” said Jeffrey Morgenstein, CEO at Cloudsquare. “This not only saves our clients tens of thousands of dollars in processing payroll but also ensures they stay ahead of their competitors by operating at peak efficiency.”
Supported lenders include Bitty Advance, CAN Capital, Credibly, Expansion Capital Group, Fora Financial, Forward Financing, Headway, Idea Financial, Kapitus, Lendini, Mulligan Funding, OnDeck, PIRS Capital, and Rapid Finance.
“For customers who work with lenders not currently on the list, Cloudsquare offers the flexibility to add any lender to the submission framework, provided they have an API available,” said Paul Albuquerque, Director of Product at Cloudsquare. “It is our mission to elevate the entire industry and drive synergy through technology.”
This development underscores Cloudsquare’s commitment to innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the financial services industry, helping businesses operate more efficiently.
To learn more about how Cloudsquare’s Lender APIs can transform your submission process, visit https://link.cloudsquare.io/RYuO.
About Cloudsquare
Cloudsquare, is a robust LOS/LMS platform and premier Salesforce consulting partner specializing in solutions tailored for alternative lending. We pride ourselves on being the provider of choice for ambitious, forward-thinking organizations aiming to elevate their operations to the next level. Cloudsquare’s excellence has been recognized by industry leaders, is listed on the Inc. 5000 as one of America’s fastest-growing companies and is consistently rated as a top service provider on platforms like Salesforce AppExchange, G2, Clutch and Manifest. For more information, please visit https://link.cloudsquare.io/RYuO.
