The Underwriters – How A Small Team Is Turning Underwriting Into Big Business
March 13, 2018
A keen eye can spot a good deal. And for New York-based Central Diligence Group, an underwriting-focused company founded in 2015 by four partners, it has been a boon for business. The company has lately been providing its underwriting expertise to a wider variety of clients, including some outside the MCA space.
“We started to gear towards a more underwriting-centric model [where] a deal would come in, we underwrite it once, we assess the risk, we determine what box it would fall under and where it would qualify, and depending on what that pedigree of information [was], we would essentially [fulfill] the full underwriting [job,]” said Nick Gregory, one of the founding partners at Central Diligence.
Initially, the company provided underwriting services mostly to smaller funders, syndication brokers and ISO clients that service MCA merchants in the construction and trucking businesses, among others. But close to three years later, its roster of clients is far more diverse.
Over the past six to eight months, Central Diligence has been working with a west coast-based credit card processing company with a portfolio of over 100,000 clients, according to Andrew Hernandez, another Central Diligence partner. The credit card processing company has just built out its own MCA product, but they don’t have an underwriting team, which is where Central Diligence comes in. Hernandez said that this company, the identity of whom he could not disclose, just renewed its contract with them.
Another unique client is an institutional investor, with offices in New York and Dallas, that just formalized a new working relationship with Central Diligence over the last week to go beyond just underwriting and into the realm of funding and servicing. According to Hernandez, this client is looking to make investments in MCA at the higher end of the market.
“In our space, $50,000 to $250,000 is pretty easy to come by, but $250,000 to $1 million, not so much,” Hernandez said. “So they see that there’s a gap with small businesses…and they’re using us to do [due] diligence [on companies.]”
Finally, Central Diligence is finishing an agreement with another unconventional client, an overseas mortgage company with interest in MCA. According to Hernandez, it is looking to execute a kind of beta test in the U.S. and then take the business model to Europe if it works.
In addition to the four founding partners, who work as underwriters, there are four additional underwriters and two junior underwriters for a total of ten on staff.
Hernandez attributes these new opportunities to the reputation they have built in the MCA space, including the 10+ years of experience that each of the founding partners have.
“Because of our experience and history in the space, a lot of our relationships have been built because of our credibility,” Hernandez said. “That’s the most important.”
What’s a Broker To Do? Industry Execs Offer Their Insight
March 12, 2018
Below are excerpts from separate interviews with four industry executives when asked for tips or advice for brokers:
“I would just say to be in it for the long haul. Play the long game. Be the kind of quality partner that you would want in return. There are some brokers and referral sources in this space who see merchants only as a commission check, not as the going concern and business entities that they are. Some brokers are playing the short game, which is unfortunate, because brokers can be in a very powerful position with their clients (merchants) – they need to use that power wisely. If one were to carefully look at a business and its working capital challenges, and then tried to do what was in the best interest of that business in the long run, a broker could be creating a revenue stream for a longer period of time – on a healthier business – and in return creating a more sustainable brokerage platform for themselves. Be open and transparent – sometimes losing a deal due to full transparency can lead to many multiples of that volume with a loyal funding partner.”
– Bill Gallagher, President and Managing Partner, CFG Merchant Solutions | Read full interview
“Choose industries that you excel in—and own them.
Concentrate your marketing efforts on your core customers and target those that meet a lender’s criteria. It’s not the quantity of leads you deliver, it’s the quality—and that will save you time and money. Look for customers in growth stages, not those that are desperate for funds to stay afloat. This will also result in more renewals.
And find a lending partner with a strong brand, as this opens doors to new customers.”
– Michael Marrache, CEO, BFS Capital | Read full interview
“It is not an easy business and not for everyone. It takes quite some time – years – to either build an organization or to become a seasoned pro that truly understands the space. It is also very fast paced and ever changing, so you have to really commit and take the space seriously if you want to be successful.”
– James Webster, CEO, National Business Capital | Read full interview
“Brokering is a tough marketplace right now. I don’t want to say [it’s] saturated, but it’s getting pretty close…Everyone’s getting a million phone calls and mailings and the marketing is going crazy, and the expense is going up. So you really have to find a way to differentiate yourself.
That’s really the biggest thing about being a broker, besides quality service. It’s more: What kind of niche can I get into? How can I break into the market without having to spend like a million dollars a month on marketing? The biggest thing is: What can you do differently?”
– Evan Marmott, CEO, CanaCap | Read full interview
Greenbox Capital Renegotiates Its Credit Facility
February 27, 2018
Miami, FL – Greenbox Capital is happy to announce that they have recently renegotiated their credit facility, lowering their interest rate and doubling their funding capacity in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
The journey to this success has not been a straight shot. Just over one year ago, Greenbox Capital suffered internal theft. Some individuals on their staff were back-dooring deals, looking to make a quick buck, and leaving Greenbox to suffer the consequences.
In March of 2017, AltFinanceDaily reported this internal theft that had dated back to October of 2016. Greenbox launched an investigation, hiring a private investigator and bringing these offenders to justice.
In the midst of this unfortunate circumstance, Greenbox resolved to take a stand for deal security, striving to become the safest funding company to do business with. They’ve executed a strategic network security assessment and have transitioned their controls to that of a banking institution. This assessment was completed in conjunction with the release of their proprietary software, “The Box,” which reduces human interaction with deals, increasing security of merchant sensitive information and security of broker deals.
With the release of The Box in February of 2017, Greenbox has been funding deals faster (and more safely) than ever before, with funding in as little as 24 hours. With some strategic restructuring of the company, i.e., being particularly selective in their hiring process, terminating brokers who create disadvantages for others by manipulating the system, and the release of The Box, Greenbox’s performance has improved exponentially and their credit facility has increased their limits to allow for them to reach their potential in the industry.
Greenbox CEO, Jordan Fein, asserts, “When you reach your potential, you naturally become more attractive and we’re becoming more attractive every day!” With so many positive changes made at every level of the business, 2018 looks bright for Greenbox Capital.
Breakout Capital Hires New Chief Marketing Officer
February 14, 2018Small business lender Breakout Capital announced that it has hired James Mendelsohn to be its Chief Marketing Officer. Mendelsohn spent three years working as Chief Marketing Officer at CAN Capital.
“It’s an exciting time to be in the alternative lending space,” Mendelsohn said. “One of the biggest messages that the industry as a whole has to [communicate] is that this is still an underserved market. And that’s part of where Breakout is trying to make a difference – by introducing new products and services so that more small businesses can get access to credit and capital.”
The McLean, VA-based company was founded in 2015 by Carl Fairbank, a former investment banker. The company now has 40 employees.
“James was the perfect fit for where we are in the lifecycle of our business,” Fairbank said. “It’s an enormous addition to the team and sets us up even more favorably for success at faster and safer terms than our peers.”
Breakout Capital offers loans of up to $250,000 to be paid within two years or less. It also provides a product called FactorAdvantage, which helps factoring companies take on new clients. For instance, according to Mendelsohn, if a factor wants to take on a factoring client, but the client has existing MCAs or other loans, Breakout Capital can replace these with a new loan that makes it easier for the factor to advance against the invoices.
“As we continue to emphasize de-risking via a variety of methods, we’ve positioned our most attractive products to scale quickly, such as FactorAdvantage,” Fairbank said, “and James’ arrival couldn’t have come at a more ideal time.”
The majority of Breakout Capital’s leads come from partners including brokers, ISOs and factoring companies, according to Mendelsohn.
Mendelsohn told AltFinanceDaily that he’s enthusiastic about Breakout Capital’s commitment to innovation.
“The team is very oriented to this mission of how to bring great innovation to the marketplace,” Mendelsohn said. “And I’m excited to get our core products, and new products, into more people’s hands.”
6th Avenue Capital Builds Business Development Team with Veteran Hires
February 6, 20186th Avenue Capital has hired three seasoned employees to its business development team: Mitch Levy, Gary Lockwood and Marc Seidel.
Chief Operating Officer
“We’re putting together a team that I wanted to put together,” said Chief Operating Officer Darren Schulman. “They didn’t come knocking on my door, I knocked on theirs.”
This is part of an expansion of the New York-based company, which launched formally in 2016 and was reorganized in April 2017 with the hiring of Schulman.
Strategy Officer
Mitch Levy, who used to work with Schulman at AmeriMerchant (now known as Capify), will oversee the company’s business origination strategy. Levy joins the company with more than three decades of alternative financing experience across multiple disciplines including origination, underwriting, investing, operations and legal.
“6th Avenue Capital has quickly established itself as a major force in the Merchant Cash Advance business,” Levy said. “In this role, I have a great opportunity to work closely with the leadership team and our strategic partners to help small businesses across the country gain fast and efficient access to capital in times of immediate need.”
Business Development Manager
Gary Lockwood, who also worked with Schulman at Capify, joins 6th Avenue Capital as Business Development Manager. He built and led a successful consulting business where he opened several business financing sales offices. Lockwood was a Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Fundation and worked at Capify as Director of Business Development with responsibility for onboarding, managing and training broker and partner groups.
VP Business Development
Schulman has never worked with Marc Seidel, but told AltFinanceDaily that he knew of him and came highly recommended by Levy. Seidel will be 6th Avenue Capital’s Vice President of Business Development. Previously, Seidel spent more than 10 years working at Bizfi, where he started his career in the alternative financing industry as a Risk Analyst. He then worked his way up to a Senior Underwriter position and landed a business development role where he was responsible for managing relationships with brokers and driving deal demand.
Chief Executive Officer
“Adding these industry veterans in business development will undoubtedly advance our mission to expand our existing network of ISOs and other strategic partners to ensure small businesses have access to capital in hours,” said 6th Avenue Capital CEO Christine Chang.
Schulman takes pride in assembling a veteran team that does the right thing by clients, he said.
“We don’t want to give merchants more money than they can afford,” he said.
He said the the company now employs 20 and is growing.
“We’re looking to form long-term relationships with brokers and merchants and we’ve been successful at getting merchants to refer us to other merchants.”
AltFinanceDaily Connect – Miami (Recap)
January 30, 2018Thank you to everyone who attended our cocktail networking event in South Beach last week. It was a great opportunity for funders, lenders, brokers and others in the industry to connect with each other (many for the first time ever). Thank you again to Everest Business Funding, National Funding, Knight Capital Funding, NISO, Grand Capital Funding, and Venture Credit Solutions for sponsoring.
Below is a sample of our photos from the evening. If you attach any of your own on social media, please use #altfinancedailyconnect so that we can find them.
READY FOR AN EVEN BIGGER & MORE COMPREHENSIVE ALTFINANCEDAILY INDUSTRY EVENT?
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Business Loan Broker Shamed on TV by Investigative Reporter
January 5, 2018A business loan broker found himself on the wrong end of Television fame this week when award-winning investigative reporter Arnold Diaz showed up at his office to question him about fees charged to merchants for loans he did not procure. The exchange, which was captured on camera and broadcast on WPIX-11 in New York, shows Bridgehampton Funding managing director Anthony Kline of Long Island, initially running away when confronted about the allegations.
Kline and Bridgehampton are accused of charging merchants upfront fees to get them loans, failing to get the loans, and then keeping the fees. Bridgehampton also allegedly used LOIs of a real commercial lender’s letterhead to lure merchants into believing that a loan would be forthcoming. But the LOIs are forged, according to one commercial lender that has filed a lawsuit for fraud against Kline and his firm, swearing that they have no business relationship. Trevor Cole Commercial Co of CT, the plaintiff, is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
The alleged scheme is similar to other forged LOI scams that have been reported to AltFinanceDaily by lenders hesitant to go on the record with the names of the offending brokers.
Bridgehampton Funding’s website claims they offer everything from merchant cash advances to SBA loans to equipment leasing.
Will 2018 Be a Special Year?
December 29, 2017
2018 is going to be different, in a good way. That’s word on the street in the alternative finance industry, many of whom have told me that it’s just something they feel.
I feel it too. The S&P 500 is at an all-time high, Bitcoin is up more than 1,400% for the year, lenders are lending in full force, and on top of it all, Donald Trump is president. The world is changing and from a one thousand foot view, it’s an exciting time for finance.
2018 will welcome Broker Fair, the inaugural conference for MCA and business loan brokers.
2018 will transform alternative finance into just finance. For example, a mailer I received from PayPal advertising a small business loan up to $500,000 in as quick as 1 business day, included a letter signed by a top manager of Swift Capital. PayPal acquired Swift in 2017. Yesterday’s alternative loan is simply today’s loan. The one-day small business loan is becoming normalized and being offered by widely recognized financial companies.
Ripple surpassed Ethereum this morning to become the 2nd largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Cryptocurrency, once the domain of Bitcoin-obsessed internet anarchists, is quickly being adopted by the world’s largest banks.
It’s one thing to just talk about innovations in finance and another to realize that you now rely on those innovations. My company got a loan from Square, I got insurance through CoverWallet, I have funds in Lending Club, Prosper, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash. Coinbase is the new etrade. MCA and online business loans are the new community banks. Payments can be made instantly and cost effectively.
2018 will be special because the world that we predicted would come, has come. That means it will be time to think about what will come even next. Online lending has come, instant payments has come, cryptocurrency is fast approaching. What will be the cool edgy hip thing in the ’20s that we may once again refer to as alternative? Mull that one over for a bit and consider that in the next decade the sexy fintech companies of the 20-teens will be stodgy financial institutions in the 2020s. This decade’s innovation will become part of the boring normal manner in which finance is transacted. That’s a fact.
Enjoy 2018. I know I will.
Happy new year,
– Sean
