Articles by Sean Murray

A Glimpse at Simply Funding

In around 2018 Jacob Kleinberger began calling merchants for a well known small business finance brokerage—a job he not only enjoyed but one that sparked his curiosity. “I always wanted to understand what my funders were doing,” Kleinberger says. He frequently asked questions to learn how decisions were being made across the board.

Though he worked closely with funders, being on the sales side didn’t give him the full picture. That changed in 2021 when an opportunity arose to join Simply Funding, a direct funder, as a partner. Today, he serves as Head of Operations.Transitioning from broker to funder was an eye-opener, leading Kleinberger to half-jokingly call the funders he used to work with to apologize for the challenges he had unwittingly created. Despite the learning curve, Kleinberger hit the ground running. Simply Funding, founded in 2017 by Bernard Mittelman, was a relatively small operation when he joined, but his mission was to help it grow. “We more than doubled the following year in funding and more than doubled the year after that,” Kleinberger says, reflecting the impact he’s been able to have with the team, which he’s said has been crucial to the success.

“We’re all a team, all here to show off each other’s strong points,” he says. For instance, the company already had a really good core foundation and underwriter in place when he got there.

The company describes itself as an A/B paper shop, with the majority of its revenue-based financing deals involving weekly payments, though they do daily payments as well. They also offer merchant processing splits.

Now a 28-person company, Simply Funding was originally located in Manhattan’s financial district but has since relocated to Jersey City. Kleinberger recalls the transition vividly, flying straight from the deBanked CONNECT Miami conference in 2023 to the new office to assemble all the furniture—an ordeal that lasted nearly 24 hours straight. One benefit of the move, he says, is access to a large talent pool in the area. But of course, it had to be accessible for the current team.

“A very big part [of the decision] was I had really good staff, and how would my staff come to work?” he says, since they make the whole operation hum. As a New York native from north of the city, Kleinberger is a commuter himself. The office now is just across the street from the PATH train station on the Hudson River. One can see the Simply team in person in the corporate high-rise there if they drop by.

When asked about the importance of security at Simply, Kleinberger is unequivocal: “It’s the most important.” The company takes no chances with data access, even to the extent that Kleinberger himself refuses to store work-related information on a laptop. He also emphasizes the need for clear, unambiguous rules in business operations to ensure everyone understands expectations and outcomes.

The company has no inside sales force, so Kleinberger gets a thrill when an ISO seeks his help with merchant communication—it reminds him of his early days. However, he remains acutely aware that, since it’s the company’s funds on the line, transparency and directness with customers are non-negotiable. From his perspective, some brokers in the industry walk a fine ethical line, and he and the Simply crew are determined to ensure things are done the right way.

“I do feel like there needs to be something to help make brokers accountable,” he says. Despite the challenges, Kleinberger remains optimistic about the future and is excited about what lies ahead as Simply Funding continues to grow.

“I think 2025 is going to be a sick year,” he says.

Smaller Funder? How to Get Fast Tracked With Big Investors

Looking for big money? As a smaller funder your simple financial reports might not cut it when it comes to big investors. In fact, it’s a complaint frequently made by investment bankers and institutional funds looking to get capital deployed in the revenue-based financing space.

“Smaller originators face three key hurdles: first, the lack of institutional-grade portfolio performance and consistency; second, limited data operations and analytics capabilities; and third, a shortage of affordable resources and expertise to close these gaps and engage effectively with capital markets,” said Tomo Matsuo, Managing Partner of AdvanceIQ.ai., “AdvanceIQ.ai was launched to address these challenges head-on through tailored solutions like our new Portfolio Pulse product.”

The Portfolio Pulse is a simple yet robust tear-sheet product that delivers a high-level, third-party validated snapshot of portfolio performance. Designed as a cost-effective tool, it helps funders build credibility and engage institutional investors with confidence. Seamlessly integrating with most industry CRMs, it generates investor-ready metrics tailored for early-stage conversations, enhancing transparency and trust.

But Portfolio Pulse is just one piece of AdvanceIQ.ai’s broader suite of tools. From risk scoring and intelligent lead routing to dynamic portfolio analytics, AdvanceIQ.ai equips funders with the insights and resources to scale efficiently while building investor confidence. These offerings include tools like the SMB Risk Index (SRI), a proprietary scoring system designed for the SMB AltLending sector to predict and enhance asset performance.

Excerpts from Portfolio Pulse:


• Trailing twelve-month (TTM) origination metrics and performance trends.

• Distribution and performance insights segmented by key attributes, including the proprietary SMB Risk Index (SRI).

• Historical repayment trends via collection curve analysis.

“High-quality reporting is an essential first step for smaller funders to break into institutional markets,” Matsuo noted. “Our goal is to provide the transparency and insights that empower them to succeed.”
With deep experience in the SMB AltLending space, Matsuo is no stranger to the challenges funders face. “Having been involved in raising and managing hundreds of millions of dollars in both debt and equity, I’ve seen how difficult it can be for smaller originators to stand out. AdvanceIQ.ai’s offerings are designed to remove those barriers and position them for growth.”