1 00:00:00,090 --> 00:00:02,656 Johny Fernandez: Hey, what's going on everyone, and welcome 2 00:00:02,717 --> 00:00:05,040 to deBanked News. I'm Johny Fernandez. 3 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:05,940 Sean Murray: And I'm Sean Murray. 4 00:00:14,250 --> 00:00:16,950 Speaker 1: If you're looking to grow your ISO business, your 5 00:00:16,950 --> 00:00:20,070 broker business, your funding business, this is the event to 6 00:00:20,070 --> 00:00:20,520 be at. 7 00:00:21,990 --> 00:00:23,790 Speaker 2: There's tons of networking. 8 00:00:23,850 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 3: Whether or not you're a funder, you're a broker, 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,590 you're a service provider, you're the media. It's really 10 00:00:28,590 --> 00:00:29,580 wonderful to be here. 11 00:00:39,990 --> 00:00:42,450 Sean Murray: Okay, hello, everybody. My name is Sean 12 00:00:42,450 --> 00:00:44,940 Murray with deBanked. Thank you for your patience and waiting 13 00:00:44,940 --> 00:00:45,720 for us today. 14 00:00:46,020 --> 00:00:48,150 Johny Fernandez: And I'm Johny Fernandez. And as you can see, 15 00:00:48,150 --> 00:00:51,570 we are not in the studio, we're in a different location today, 16 00:00:51,690 --> 00:00:54,750 here in midtown Manhattan, because today is going to be an 17 00:00:54,750 --> 00:00:58,680 awesome day where we have a day full of live interviews planned 18 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,860 out, but we'll get to that in a little bit. But Sean, let's kind 19 00:01:01,860 --> 00:01:06,600 of go into what we usually go into. Let's talk about the daily 20 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,510 news and kind of, you know, the different topics that we've been 21 00:01:09,510 --> 00:01:13,380 talking about for the last week or in the last couple of days. 22 00:01:13,500 --> 00:01:16,590 Sure. So Sean, first thing, let's start talking about COVID 23 00:01:16,590 --> 00:01:19,620 recovery. I mean, that's obviously on everyone's mind. 24 00:01:19,620 --> 00:01:21,660 And that's something everyone's been talking about with the 25 00:01:21,660 --> 00:01:25,140 vaccine. But also, you know, in the business, in the industry, 26 00:01:25,140 --> 00:01:28,650 and just in general here in New York and across the country. 27 00:01:29,430 --> 00:01:32,850 Let's talk about number one, how we've seen businesses affected 28 00:01:32,850 --> 00:01:36,390 because of COVID. And then we'll talk about the comeback, the 29 00:01:36,390 --> 00:01:39,900 recovery aspect of it, because here in New York, we have seen 30 00:01:39,900 --> 00:01:42,510 that, you know, there are a lot of businesses that are shut 31 00:01:42,510 --> 00:01:45,630 down. So it's definitely something that's impacted, you 32 00:01:45,630 --> 00:01:48,780 know, the city and the economy across the board. 33 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,930 Sean Murray: Sure, yeah. And when you were talking about what 34 00:01:51,930 --> 00:01:54,720 we've been talking about, what Johny's referring to is that 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,970 we've been live streaming, technically, for the last few 36 00:01:56,970 --> 00:02:00,570 months. Yeah. Right. This is our first off site, live stream, 37 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,090 we've actually been doing this every Monday and Wednesday for 38 00:02:03,090 --> 00:02:06,060 the last few months, we usually do it around 1215. So if you 39 00:02:06,060 --> 00:02:09,510 ever want to tune in, you can go to debanked.com/tv. And you can 40 00:02:09,510 --> 00:02:12,480 tune in and you can watch Johny and I anytime for free. You 41 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,580 don't have to register, you don't need to subscribe. You 42 00:02:14,580 --> 00:02:17,970 don't need Zoom. It's usually Johny and I. And so we've been 43 00:02:17,970 --> 00:02:21,000 talking about different things throughout the last few months. 44 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,630 And now here we are off site kind of in celebration of the 45 00:02:24,630 --> 00:02:28,530 COVID era starting to wind down. Yeah. And you were mentioning 46 00:02:28,530 --> 00:02:33,750 about businesses being impacted and how it's affected New York. 47 00:02:33,750 --> 00:02:37,230 And what's interesting is that we've been in it. Yeah. In New 48 00:02:37,230 --> 00:02:37,920 York, right. 49 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:38,670 Johny Fernandez: From the start. 50 00:02:38,700 --> 00:02:39,360 Sean Murray: From the start. 51 00:02:39,750 --> 00:02:41,940 Johny Fernandez: Do you I remember it like looking back 52 00:02:41,940 --> 00:02:46,230 when we when this kind of thing, that we did not know what it was 53 00:02:46,230 --> 00:02:50,730 started last year. You know, we like you got everyone in the 54 00:02:50,730 --> 00:02:53,670 office together and said, hey, we're gonna go ahead and take 55 00:02:53,730 --> 00:02:57,450 two weeks off, and, you know, hopefully come back. But those 56 00:02:57,450 --> 00:03:02,940 two weeks turned into the longest year ever. Yeah. And now 57 00:03:02,940 --> 00:03:06,600 we're back though now things are things are starting to wind you 58 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,680 know down, especially the last couple of weeks with, you know, 59 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,310 the the amount of vaccines that people have been able to get and 60 00:03:14,310 --> 00:03:18,630 then just I don't know about you, but for me specifically 61 00:03:18,630 --> 00:03:22,620 here in New York, you know, it's just been different seeing 62 00:03:22,950 --> 00:03:26,520 spring come around and seeing the winter really kind of come 63 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,840 to a close because that also put a huge damper on just life in 64 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,290 general here. But now things are starting to kind of seem more 65 00:03:34,290 --> 00:03:38,280 alive and the weather's great, and you walk outside. But one 66 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,270 thing that is very interesting is seeing like when you do walk 67 00:03:42,270 --> 00:03:46,260 outside how different companies and how different businesses 68 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:52,320 are, are no longer there. But there's also a sense and a 69 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,050 feeling of hope that new things are coming along. 70 00:03:55,170 --> 00:03:57,990 Sean Murray: Sure. Yeah. And I don't remember what article it 71 00:03:57,990 --> 00:04:02,490 was. But I saw a stat that said, like one out of every six, New 72 00:04:02,490 --> 00:04:04,470 York City restaurants has already gone out of business, 73 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,850 but that the rate of new restaurants starting up in New 74 00:04:08,850 --> 00:04:13,380 York has actually doubled over what it normally is. And so 75 00:04:13,740 --> 00:04:17,400 that's great from an economic standpoint, but I think as it 76 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,960 pertains to our audience, who is heavily invested in the business 77 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,320 finance industry, that it's in a huge opportunity. And that's 78 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:29,160 because typically, if you're a small business, you need a large 79 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,850 track record, a lot of time to go and get a bank loan. Yeah. 80 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,060 Right. And if you're starting up, if this is the year you 81 00:04:36,060 --> 00:04:40,110 started up, and you're like, you know, I here like, I'm helping I 82 00:04:40,110 --> 00:04:42,750 started my restaurant. Yeah. I'm gonna go get a loan from a bank. 83 00:04:42,990 --> 00:04:45,030 They're gonna find out pretty quickly, you know what I mean, 84 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,570 that banks aren't going to lend to a startup. Yeah. And so what 85 00:04:48,570 --> 00:04:52,230 we're going to find as we begin this recovery is a lot of 86 00:04:52,230 --> 00:04:55,470 startups who are going to come out of the woodwork and be 87 00:04:55,470 --> 00:04:57,540 applying for capital for the very first time and that's a 88 00:04:57,540 --> 00:04:59,670 huge opportunity for the business. You the you know, the 89 00:04:59,670 --> 00:05:01,830 alternative nonbank business finance industry. 90 00:05:01,860 --> 00:05:03,840 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. And I think it's interesting to also 91 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:08,310 point out that, you know, there, there has been different things 92 00:05:08,310 --> 00:05:11,250 going on in New York. And something like me and my 93 00:05:11,250 --> 00:05:13,830 girlfriend were discussing yesterday, for example, is that, 94 00:05:14,100 --> 00:05:17,190 you know, New York always changes, but specifically with 95 00:05:17,580 --> 00:05:21,690 COVID. And how it hit New York, it has revolutionized and it has 96 00:05:21,690 --> 00:05:25,950 changed how New York operates, I believe so. But some people 97 00:05:25,950 --> 00:05:29,160 would say it may be in a good way some people may or may not 98 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:32,280 fully agree. And, you know, we've seen people leave to go to 99 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:36,180 other states. But I think overall, the New York recovery, 100 00:05:36,180 --> 00:05:39,960 specifically for COVID, because of COVID, is going to be 101 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,140 something completely different. And I think it's going to change 102 00:05:43,140 --> 00:05:45,570 New York, and it's going to change, New York in a unique 103 00:05:45,570 --> 00:05:49,260 way. And I think like you said, we are going to see different 104 00:05:49,290 --> 00:05:52,470 businesses come back to New York, and they're going to be 105 00:05:52,470 --> 00:05:55,080 probably a lot of startups. You know, there was an article that 106 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,280 I did read that businesses and you know, millennials are now 107 00:05:59,340 --> 00:06:02,190 this is their opportunity to come into the city and enjoy it 108 00:06:02,340 --> 00:06:06,030 at a cheaper price. Sure. And it's definitely an opportunity 109 00:06:06,030 --> 00:06:10,110 for business owners, like you said, to start something, and 110 00:06:10,110 --> 00:06:14,310 also, you know, take advantage of alternative finance if they 111 00:06:14,310 --> 00:06:17,370 can't get the funding from a bank. So Sean, let me ask you 112 00:06:17,370 --> 00:06:22,620 this, when it comes to having people in the industry, utilize 113 00:06:22,620 --> 00:06:29,880 this specific opportunity to help other businesses really 114 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,680 capitalize on making sure they get funded correctly. What would 115 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,800 you say to that, like, what would you say to the people in 116 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,600 the industry that are trying to, you know, maybe feel stuck right 117 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,530 now and or aren't getting enough leads? Or, you know, are trying 118 00:06:46,530 --> 00:06:47,310 to survive? 119 00:06:47,490 --> 00:06:49,980 Sean Murray: Yeah. Well, I mean, that's, that's a, that's a long, 120 00:06:50,250 --> 00:06:52,770 you know that's a long topic, right. And we have some guests 121 00:06:52,770 --> 00:06:56,640 today, who will probably weigh in on that. But, you know, we 122 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,390 just had the COVID winter. And it's kind of twofold, because 123 00:07:00,390 --> 00:07:02,250 you have businesses whose revenues dropped down 124 00:07:02,250 --> 00:07:04,680 significantly, and that heavily impacted their ability to get 125 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,700 funding, but you also had PPP, and the EIDL program, and 126 00:07:08,700 --> 00:07:11,730 imagine competing against a free government grant. It's like 127 00:07:11,730 --> 00:07:15,150 impossible. Yeah. In fact, the whole concept of a free 128 00:07:15,150 --> 00:07:19,380 government grant or forgivable loan is what it really is, isn't 129 00:07:19,380 --> 00:07:22,830 really supposed to exist, right? And yet, it did in the last 130 00:07:22,830 --> 00:07:25,200 year. And so if you're a broker out there, and you struggled, 131 00:07:25,860 --> 00:07:28,560 it's kind of it goes back to what I said before, is going to 132 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,970 get better, a lot better, because PPP will be over, EIDL 133 00:07:33,060 --> 00:07:35,310 will be over. And then you're gonna have all these new 134 00:07:35,310 --> 00:07:38,400 businesses that are going to come in, that are not going to 135 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,460 have a track record, to go to a bank, and they're going to need 136 00:07:41,490 --> 00:07:44,880 alternative finance. So I had been saying it since the very 137 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,040 beginning, that we're going to have the largest demand for 138 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,270 capital that we've ever had, ever had, you know what I mean, 139 00:07:51,300 --> 00:07:54,180 once this is all over, and you mentioned something about 140 00:07:54,210 --> 00:07:57,570 millennials moving into the city, in the wake of COVID, I 141 00:07:57,570 --> 00:08:02,550 actually moved to the city to Manhattan in 2008. Okay. The 142 00:08:02,550 --> 00:08:04,590 whole city was, you know, clearing out because of the 143 00:08:04,590 --> 00:08:07,890 financial crisis. Yeah. Rent plummeted. And guess what? I 144 00:08:07,890 --> 00:08:10,020 moved right in. Yeah. You know what I mean, so, you know, they 145 00:08:10,020 --> 00:08:12,540 were talking about the death of New York City back then, in 146 00:08:12,540 --> 00:08:15,480 terms of, you know, housing and all that stuff. But for me as a 147 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,380 young person, in those days, I moved right in. So I think right 148 00:08:19,380 --> 00:08:21,210 now, if you're a broker out there, and you're struggling, I 149 00:08:21,210 --> 00:08:25,800 think, just hold on, and I think you're in for, for pretty good 150 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:26,220 times. 151 00:08:26,250 --> 00:08:28,110 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. And let me ask you this, Sean, like, do 152 00:08:28,110 --> 00:08:33,330 you think that brokers, you know, in the industry, but also 153 00:08:33,330 --> 00:08:36,570 people that are moving here, new business owners, when do you 154 00:08:36,570 --> 00:08:42,810 think they will need this assistance from, you know, I 155 00:08:42,810 --> 00:08:46,560 feel like everyone can benefit from everyone. So when will the 156 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:48,900 brokers need the assistance of the new businesses, new 157 00:08:48,900 --> 00:08:51,510 businesses, need the assistance of the new brokers? Do you think 158 00:08:51,510 --> 00:08:53,970 it's something that if you're watching this right now, you 159 00:08:53,970 --> 00:08:58,110 should join in immediately and start taking advantage of these 160 00:08:58,140 --> 00:09:00,870 opportunities? Because even though COVID isn't over, but we 161 00:09:00,870 --> 00:09:05,460 are starting to see the cusp, end of you know, what COVID. 162 00:09:05,460 --> 00:09:11,310 Like I guess a hardcore COVID, time. So what would you say? 163 00:09:11,310 --> 00:09:14,490 What do you think people should start jumping in and really 164 00:09:14,490 --> 00:09:17,130 starting to seize advantage and start looking ahead or start 165 00:09:17,130 --> 00:09:18,780 focusing on what they've lost? 166 00:09:19,740 --> 00:09:22,050 Sean Murray: Well, I don't think anyone should be looking back at 167 00:09:22,050 --> 00:09:24,030 what they've lost. I think it doesn't make any sense to look, 168 00:09:24,390 --> 00:09:28,080 you know, look in the past and only look forward. And as far as 169 00:09:28,110 --> 00:09:32,040 should they just jump in. I think it's gonna depend on the 170 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,380 geography of the country that you're focusing on and on the 171 00:09:34,380 --> 00:09:37,080 industry that you're focusing on, because we've already seen 172 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,680 in Miami that the economy has kind of already rejuvenated 173 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:43,050 itself there, right? And as for a business owner, when are they 174 00:09:43,050 --> 00:09:45,780 going to when are they going to go and apply for this capital? I 175 00:09:45,780 --> 00:09:49,710 think part of it is going to be as soon as they realize that 176 00:09:49,710 --> 00:09:53,070 they are that they need the employees and that they need the 177 00:09:53,070 --> 00:09:57,660 inventory. Because a lot of these vendors out there who are 178 00:09:57,660 --> 00:09:59,670 selling the supplies to restaurants, they're gonna want 179 00:09:59,670 --> 00:10:03,060 to get paid in cash even I mean, I don't know how forgiving 180 00:10:03,060 --> 00:10:05,160 they're going to be with terms and stuff and stuff like that. 181 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,290 So they might say, I'll take you on, but I need to get paid in 182 00:10:07,290 --> 00:10:09,210 cash, the restaurant or the business it doesn't have to be a 183 00:10:09,210 --> 00:10:11,880 restaurant, it's like, well, I really need the cash upfront, 184 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:13,740 I'm going to turn it all over and make a lot of money. Yeah. 185 00:10:13,770 --> 00:10:16,140 That's the time when they're going to go out and get funding 186 00:10:16,140 --> 00:10:19,080 from an alternative finance provider. Same with employees, a 187 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:22,830 lot of the companies that at least in the New York area that 188 00:10:22,830 --> 00:10:26,100 survive, they really, you know, they downsized substantially. 189 00:10:26,850 --> 00:10:30,900 And once they realized they are going back to full capacity, 190 00:10:30,900 --> 00:10:33,600 it's going to create a hiring boom, but it doesn't mean you. 191 00:10:34,020 --> 00:10:36,720 You all of a sudden have all the money to hire. Yeah. You kind of 192 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,720 need the money first. Yeah. It's risky to just hire someone 193 00:10:39,870 --> 00:10:42,780 hoping that you will make the money quick enough. To make the 194 00:10:42,780 --> 00:10:45,450 first payroll. Yeah. Right. Like you have to you kind of have to 195 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,570 get the money first, then do the hiring, and then hope everything 196 00:10:48,570 --> 00:10:51,840 else. I mean, that's what I would do. Personally. And, you 197 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,660 know, we we mentioned before we've both been here. Yeah. 198 00:10:54,660 --> 00:10:55,110 Through COVID. 199 00:10:55,140 --> 00:10:55,800 Johny Fernandez: Through whole thing. 200 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:56,730 Sean Murray: Through the whole thing, right? And. 201 00:10:56,790 --> 00:10:59,670 Johny Fernandez: We didn't leave, to think about that is 202 00:10:59,670 --> 00:11:02,730 wild to me, because we literally did not leave, at all. 203 00:11:02,730 --> 00:11:04,590 Sean Murray: Yeah, well, a little disclaimer, I did leave 204 00:11:04,590 --> 00:11:10,380 for from March or March, March to June, and then I came back. 205 00:11:10,620 --> 00:11:13,860 And I've been taking the subway ever since. So since June of 206 00:11:13,860 --> 00:11:16,200 2020. I've been taking the subway and I took the subway to 207 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:17,250 the studio here today. 208 00:11:17,790 --> 00:11:19,860 Johny Fernandez: So talk about that, I also took the subway 209 00:11:19,890 --> 00:11:25,740 here to Manhattan. What was your experience ike? What is New 210 00:11:25,740 --> 00:11:29,700 York, in your eyes, I mean, you know, going into the office and 211 00:11:29,700 --> 00:11:32,220 going home, what has it felt like for you? 212 00:11:32,490 --> 00:11:34,200 Sean Murray: Well, in the beginning, it was weird, because 213 00:11:34,230 --> 00:11:36,480 there were times when I was actually the only person on a 214 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,500 train car. Yeah. And usually, that's a really bad sign. You do 215 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:43,350 not want to be the only guy in a train car. Because that means 216 00:11:43,350 --> 00:11:45,900 something bad happened in that train car. And you don't want to 217 00:11:45,900 --> 00:11:49,230 be in that car. But there were a lot of train cars like that, and 218 00:11:49,230 --> 00:11:51,420 nothing bad happened in them. And and then I started to worry. 219 00:11:51,450 --> 00:11:53,550 Should I be worried that I'm alone in the train car? You 220 00:11:53,550 --> 00:11:54,960 know, because something happened? Yeah. You know what I 221 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,500 mean, so I and I took pictures and I have some video footage 222 00:11:58,530 --> 00:12:01,200 where you know, I'm like, took 360 degree shots. I'm like, here 223 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,640 I am on a train by myself. Yeah. But that has started to change 224 00:12:05,850 --> 00:12:08,460 substantially. I noticed it around the holidays where people 225 00:12:08,460 --> 00:12:11,730 started to pick back up. Yeah. And ride and ride the train. And 226 00:12:11,730 --> 00:12:16,800 then today I took the took the the B train. Yeah. And, you 227 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:20,160 know, it wasn't like what it was, but I thought it was pretty 228 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:22,770 full. Yeah. You know, I mean, like, people were standing, you 229 00:12:22,770 --> 00:12:24,600 didn't have to get. Yeah. You didn't get a seat. 230 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,810 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. So it's funny, because I think I believe 231 00:12:27,810 --> 00:12:30,900 I've had a very similar experience to you being here, 232 00:12:30,930 --> 00:12:34,470 you know, locked down in my apartment, when everything went 233 00:12:34,470 --> 00:12:37,980 down last year, and then seeing the city progress. And then like 234 00:12:37,980 --> 00:12:41,040 all the changes, you know, we went from like, I used to live 235 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:45,090 close to the park. So I would see like no one outside, and it 236 00:12:45,090 --> 00:12:47,970 was the craziest thing. But then from there, like I would see 237 00:12:47,970 --> 00:12:51,600 people starting to come. And I think a big factor is definitely 238 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,450 the weather, the weather is a huge factor when people come out 239 00:12:54,450 --> 00:12:58,470 here specifically. So you know, last summer, things were a lot 240 00:12:58,470 --> 00:13:01,440 different things were a lot livey, but a lot more live. But 241 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,050 I also did notice that people were a lot cautious. They were 242 00:13:04,050 --> 00:13:07,920 super cautious about moving, you know, and being close to people. 243 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:12,120 But as time progressed, and now that we're here, it definitely 244 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:15,990 feels a lot different, because I feel like people have finally 245 00:13:15,990 --> 00:13:19,710 been able to relax a little bit. Yeah. But also, like you said, 246 00:13:19,950 --> 00:13:22,950 the transportation getting in a cab, you know, getting on the 247 00:13:22,950 --> 00:13:26,670 bus, you know, it's definitely different because now, similar 248 00:13:26,670 --> 00:13:29,580 experience to you, I had to take the blue line, you know, the A, 249 00:13:29,970 --> 00:13:33,330 and then I transfer. And it was very interesting, because there 250 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:36,810 was no room to sit, you know, and I think that's a really good 251 00:13:36,810 --> 00:13:40,380 indicator of you know, what exactly is going on in regards 252 00:13:40,380 --> 00:13:44,160 to number one people going back to work. Sure. And then also 253 00:13:44,220 --> 00:13:47,670 people being comfortable to take public transportation or to take 254 00:13:47,940 --> 00:13:50,700 something as simple as a cab. Like, I feel, I felt like that 255 00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:54,150 was something that people were also very nervous about doing. 256 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,450 But it was a safer way than riding the train. And I've been 257 00:13:57,450 --> 00:14:02,340 in situations like you where I was also, you know, the only one 258 00:14:02,370 --> 00:14:06,060 in the, you know, the subway car that is just like me, by me by 259 00:14:06,060 --> 00:14:11,070 myself. So it was also very interesting seeing that, you 260 00:14:11,070 --> 00:14:13,320 know, at certain times that you're just the only one there 261 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,990 and I think I've gotten used to that. But now I have to 262 00:14:16,110 --> 00:14:19,920 reprogram my mind and realize that like this may have been a 263 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,980 once in a lifetime thing. Yeah. Seeing New York like this. And 264 00:14:22,980 --> 00:14:24,360 now things are coming back. 265 00:14:24,390 --> 00:14:25,890 Sean Murray: Yeah. You mentioned something about people getting 266 00:14:25,890 --> 00:14:28,260 more comfortable. I want to give a special shout out to all the 267 00:14:28,260 --> 00:14:31,260 people I saw on the sidewalk this morning with the mask down 268 00:14:31,260 --> 00:14:33,780 smoking old fashioned cigarrettes, just blowing the 269 00:14:33,780 --> 00:14:36,390 smoke around. I was like alright. We're back. Yeah that's 270 00:14:36,390 --> 00:14:38,880 a sign. Like that's the sign. That's the recovery. That is the 271 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,040 recovery. The New York recovery looks like this with smoke 272 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,260 blowing. Yeah, I was like alright, we're back baby. 273 00:14:43,260 --> 00:14:45,360 Johny Fernandez: We're back. We're back. Let's do it. And 274 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,940 it's exciting to see the city come back. You know, it's 275 00:14:47,940 --> 00:14:51,780 exciting to feel the energy and I went to Times Square because I 276 00:14:51,780 --> 00:14:57,660 had a friend visit from college and we went to Times Square and 277 00:14:57,660 --> 00:15:01,710 it was packed. It was crazy because the first time in 278 00:15:02,250 --> 00:15:06,510 probably maybe six months that I've seen it, that pack where 279 00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:10,200 you're like, literally having to fight your way from 42nd Street 280 00:15:10,230 --> 00:15:14,580 just to get in and like, kind of move around. And it felt like 281 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,520 old times, even though it wasn't and you know, there's still the 282 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,670 pandemic going on, but it felt like old times, and it was 283 00:15:20,670 --> 00:15:24,150 great. It was great to see just the city, you know, start 284 00:15:24,180 --> 00:15:25,440 coming, becoming alive again. 285 00:15:25,470 --> 00:15:28,440 Sean Murray: Yeah. And, you know, that's good, because a lot 286 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,330 of people been working from home. And I think that we'll 287 00:15:30,330 --> 00:15:33,810 find a lot of people return to the office. Yeah. And I think 288 00:15:33,810 --> 00:15:37,680 that what we're going to see is, we're going to see brokers 289 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:42,390 return into the business. I said on I said on social media before 290 00:15:42,420 --> 00:15:45,750 that, the brokers will come back, and a lot of them never 291 00:15:45,750 --> 00:15:49,080 left. But interestingly enough, and this is a stat, I haven't 292 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,190 told anybody, but people want to know how many how many people 293 00:15:53,220 --> 00:15:57,180 left or are gone, right? Well, we happen to run the 294 00:15:57,210 --> 00:16:01,680 DailyFunder, which is a great, which is a great way to measure 295 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,700 that activity. Yeah. And we sent out, here's what we did, we sent 296 00:16:05,700 --> 00:16:10,890 out an email in March of 2020. Okay. And then, without adding 297 00:16:10,890 --> 00:16:15,840 anyone to the email list, from then until March 2021. So this 298 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:17,730 doesn't include any of the new people that have joined 299 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,180 DailyFunder since we then send out a second email. Okay. Right. 300 00:16:21,660 --> 00:16:25,050 And we've just to see, you know, for a variety different reasons, 301 00:16:25,050 --> 00:16:28,140 but one was to monitor how many of these people don't exist 302 00:16:28,140 --> 00:16:32,070 anymore. Yeah. And it was about seven and a half percent of the 303 00:16:32,070 --> 00:16:35,790 audience. It was. I mean, that's, that's significant. 304 00:16:35,910 --> 00:16:38,610 We're we're talking about hundreds, hundreds of. And these 305 00:16:38,610 --> 00:16:41,250 are, these are the accounts. These are the email addresses 306 00:16:41,250 --> 00:16:44,730 that no longer exist, right. So there was more brokers that left 307 00:16:44,730 --> 00:16:48,030 the business who whose domains haven't expired, or you know 308 00:16:48,030 --> 00:16:50,010 what I mean, or they haven't cancelled them. Those are ones 309 00:16:50,010 --> 00:16:52,350 that have lapsed to the point where their domains don't exist 310 00:16:52,350 --> 00:16:55,350 anymore. Seven and a half percent, is what was what fell 311 00:16:55,350 --> 00:16:58,860 off. Now we've gained a lot of new followers on onDailyFunder 312 00:16:58,890 --> 00:17:01,260 since and we've seen a huge influx, I don't want to say 313 00:17:01,260 --> 00:17:06,990 huge, but an influx. Yeah. Of brokers joining DailyFunder. And 314 00:17:07,590 --> 00:17:11,100 that brings us back to well, people are joining joining the 315 00:17:11,100 --> 00:17:12,900 business. Yeah. For the first time. 316 00:17:12,930 --> 00:17:14,760 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. Well, I was gonna ask you this, I think 317 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,000 that that's a perfect segue for the next conversation that we 318 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,230 want to have is if a new broker joins the business within this 319 00:17:22,230 --> 00:17:25,950 year, which has been a crazy year, what would your piece of 320 00:17:25,950 --> 00:17:30,060 advice be for that new broker a day in the life of a new broker? 321 00:17:30,060 --> 00:17:33,450 Like, how do you get started? How do you, you know, pretty 322 00:17:33,450 --> 00:17:37,080 much gain these leads? How do you compete with number one, 323 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,080 everyone else that was here before you, but also in a time 324 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,920 that is very unique, that no one's really, really had an 325 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,470 instruction manual, about how to navigate? 326 00:17:46,620 --> 00:17:48,870 Sean Murray: Yeah, well, it's a little bit of a different period 327 00:17:48,870 --> 00:17:51,930 of time starting to be a broker now, I said a long time ago, 328 00:17:51,930 --> 00:17:55,050 probably at this point six, seven years ago, if you only 329 00:17:55,050 --> 00:17:58,290 have a couple 1000 bucks in startup capital, don't start a 330 00:17:58,290 --> 00:18:00,570 broker company, because you're gonna find out that the cost, 331 00:18:00,930 --> 00:18:03,300 you know the learning curve is enormous. You have all these 332 00:18:03,330 --> 00:18:06,210 other costs that come with running a shop that are 333 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:10,410 enormous, you're going to have to pay out something in attorney 334 00:18:10,410 --> 00:18:14,400 fees or something. So if it's just a couple 1000 bucks, I 335 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,790 would, you should go work somewhere, you should go work 336 00:18:17,790 --> 00:18:20,340 for a broker shop, but you shouldn't start a broker shop. 337 00:18:21,390 --> 00:18:24,180 And we were just talking about this, just, you know, I don't 338 00:18:24,180 --> 00:18:26,010 think we've done on video, but we were talking about what does 339 00:18:26,010 --> 00:18:30,420 it take for a broker to start up? And it's as simple as, you 340 00:18:30,420 --> 00:18:35,520 know, a phone, an email, and leads and also a relationship 341 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:40,470 with the funder, right? And five years ago, you know what else 342 00:18:40,470 --> 00:18:43,770 was there? What other piece of it was to that whole thing? It 343 00:18:43,770 --> 00:18:46,560 was you were competing against other brokers. Yeah. Right. And 344 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,350 leads were expensive. You were competing against other brokers. 345 00:18:49,530 --> 00:18:51,960 And what's changed now, especially after COVID? You say, 346 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,260 well, how is it any different? I think one of the main 347 00:18:55,260 --> 00:18:58,110 differences is that you're not just competing against other 348 00:18:58,140 --> 00:19:00,930 brokers or you know or funders, right? You're not just 349 00:19:00,930 --> 00:19:05,040 competing, you know, against other people. And I don't want 350 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:09,180 to say you're competing against, you know, tech, right? Yeah. But 351 00:19:09,180 --> 00:19:12,240 you're competing against a button, like an actual button, 352 00:19:12,750 --> 00:19:15,780 that now exists in a lot of software that business owners 353 00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:18,990 use. Yeah. Whether it be an inventory thing, a point of 354 00:19:18,990 --> 00:19:22,620 sale, a credit card processing thing. It's pretty common now to 355 00:19:22,620 --> 00:19:26,220 see a button. Yeah. I've seen it in Square Yeah. You know, you 356 00:19:26,220 --> 00:19:29,580 can swipe a card or you can key enter a card, and then or the 357 00:19:29,580 --> 00:19:33,900 capital button, and it will tell you how much you're pre approved 358 00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:36,690 for and you just click it and you're funded. And that's it. 359 00:19:36,930 --> 00:19:39,630 Right so if you're, if you're a broker, you now need to compete 360 00:19:39,870 --> 00:19:42,540 against that and you need to find out you need to figure out 361 00:19:42,690 --> 00:19:45,570 if your product is competing against it, or if your product 362 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,560 is an add on to it. Are you the broker that comes in that says 363 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,650 what you got through Square, or Stripe or you know what any of 364 00:19:52,650 --> 00:19:55,890 these companies was it not enough and can I help you with 365 00:19:55,890 --> 00:19:59,880 additional? Or if you believe to be if you believe yourself to be 366 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,330 competing against those customers, how do you reach that 367 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:06,780 reach them in such a way that they trust you more or that 368 00:20:06,780 --> 00:20:11,340 they, I feel like one of and this, this is a larger 369 00:20:11,340 --> 00:20:14,640 discussion. But one thing that you could potentially use as a 370 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,180 broker is to convince somebody that it's better to have 371 00:20:18,180 --> 00:20:20,490 somebody to hold your hand through the whole thing and 372 00:20:20,490 --> 00:20:24,960 compete for a better deal versus whatever the machine, you know, 373 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,360 the software, the button is giving you because if you click 374 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:30,990 the button, oftentimes there's nobody there to guide you 375 00:20:30,990 --> 00:20:33,090 through anything. And I don't think there's any competing 376 00:20:33,090 --> 00:20:35,160 offers presented to you. It's kind of like, here's what you're 377 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,800 approved for. Do you want it yes, fund, right? And so if 378 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,860 you're a broker, and maybe it's about proving your value of 379 00:20:40,860 --> 00:20:43,470 working with a person who could potentially get you some 380 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:46,860 something better, and also talk to you through the whole thing, 381 00:20:46,890 --> 00:20:50,550 because I know, you know, when you get the fine print, and 382 00:20:50,610 --> 00:20:53,070 it's, you know, they brag about how you can do it all from your 383 00:20:53,070 --> 00:20:56,400 smartphone. And are you signing like a 20 page contract on the 384 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,140 smartphone? You know what I mean? Yeah. Do you really know 385 00:20:58,140 --> 00:21:01,050 all the terms? Yeah. I don't, maybe, you know, maybe they do. 386 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:01,560 I don't know. 387 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,500 Johny Fernandez: I mean, yeah. But it's also like, 388 00:21:04,650 --> 00:21:07,080 realistically speaking, like, usually you just scroll 389 00:21:07,290 --> 00:21:09,300 everything down, and then you just don't even read it. 390 00:21:09,330 --> 00:21:10,860 Sean Murray: You just yeah, it's like when you sign the, you 391 00:21:10,860 --> 00:21:13,080 know, the new license, the new license agreement, right? Yeah. 392 00:21:13,110 --> 00:21:16,380 Like when you download anything that's like, did you accept the 393 00:21:16,380 --> 00:21:18,780 terms? It's like when Facebook updates. Yeah. And you're like, 394 00:21:18,780 --> 00:21:20,850 I just want to get to my Facebook. Yeah. And it's just 395 00:21:20,850 --> 00:21:23,670 like, do you agree to this new 100 page of like, you know, 396 00:21:23,670 --> 00:21:26,310 surrendering your identity to Facebook? And you're like, yes, 397 00:21:26,340 --> 00:21:27,600 because I want to post a picture. 398 00:21:27,660 --> 00:21:32,220 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. Yeah, no, that's it's great advice. And, 399 00:21:32,430 --> 00:21:34,500 and I think throughout the rest of the day, we're also going to 400 00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:38,220 be hearing about different tactics and just advice from the 401 00:21:38,220 --> 00:21:40,380 different people we have. So Sean, let's go ahead and just 402 00:21:40,380 --> 00:21:43,950 walk people through what people and what our viewers can expect 403 00:21:44,370 --> 00:21:46,590 today for the rest of the day. And what we have planned in the 404 00:21:46,590 --> 00:21:46,980 agenda. 405 00:21:47,010 --> 00:21:48,960 Sean Murray: Yeah, so it's, this is a two and a half hour event. 406 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,290 So this is going to be over by about one o'clock. One o'clock. 407 00:21:52,950 --> 00:21:56,520 We have two brokers and funder here with us today. We have 408 00:21:56,550 --> 00:22:00,930 Horizon Financial Group, we have United Capital Source, those are 409 00:22:00,930 --> 00:22:03,810 from the broker end. And then we have Central Diligence Group 410 00:22:04,140 --> 00:22:07,020 from the funder side. So Horizon Financial Group will go first. 411 00:22:07,380 --> 00:22:10,440 These are not presentations. Yeah. These are these are these 412 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,500 are conversations, there will be an interviewer. It is for the 413 00:22:13,500 --> 00:22:16,290 most part, unscripted, there hasn't been any rehearsing, or 414 00:22:16,290 --> 00:22:18,060 any or anything like that. So it'll it'll be an open 415 00:22:18,060 --> 00:22:21,000 discussion, you get to pick the brains of the brokers and and of 416 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,240 the funder. Yeah. And there will be some content that's played in 417 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,920 between that as well. And this, you know, this isn't necessarily 418 00:22:28,950 --> 00:22:33,180 an event. In fact, this is just a way for us to, you know, bring 419 00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:35,640 you back into the industry, right? Because it's the spring, 420 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,580 it's new beginning. And if you want to keep following these 421 00:22:38,580 --> 00:22:40,920 type of things, well, you can do that every day or not every day, 422 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,370 every Monday and Wednesday. Tune in you can hear from Johny and I 423 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:46,380 sometimes we will have guests there. And if you want to be a 424 00:22:46,380 --> 00:22:48,960 guest you can you can reach out. Reach out to us. Yeah. 425 00:22:49,230 --> 00:22:51,450 Johny Fernandez: So and obviously if you know viewers 426 00:22:51,450 --> 00:22:55,110 have any ideas or they have they want any they want to take you 427 00:22:55,110 --> 00:22:57,750 know, any input and give it to us hand it over to us. 428 00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:02,130 Definitely reach out online, email us, and really let us know 429 00:23:02,130 --> 00:23:04,950 because we definitely want to hear from our viewers and kind 430 00:23:04,950 --> 00:23:10,110 of really start a relationship with them and us and really give 431 00:23:10,110 --> 00:23:13,230 them what they would like too and like you said it's kind of 432 00:23:13,260 --> 00:23:16,680 like your, your jacket, things are blooming. So. 433 00:23:16,710 --> 00:23:18,420 Sean Murray: Yeah, my jacket bloomed this morning. 434 00:23:19,950 --> 00:23:21,930 Johny Fernandez: What was your reaction when you left the 435 00:23:21,930 --> 00:23:22,410 house? 436 00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:27,120 Sean Murray: I got some, you know, eye rolls. And even some 437 00:23:27,150 --> 00:23:30,150 well, not on the subway. Okay. On the subway. Yeah, I look this 438 00:23:30,150 --> 00:23:34,080 is. This is New York. This is the normal getup, right? Nobody 439 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:36,150 batted an eye. That's how you know we're back. 440 00:23:36,180 --> 00:23:39,030 Johny Fernandez: That's how you know we're back yeah, people. I 441 00:23:39,030 --> 00:23:41,940 had a performance on my subway today. You did? Yeah. Okay. 442 00:23:41,940 --> 00:23:44,310 Yeah. So that's how you know New York is back. So. 443 00:23:44,340 --> 00:23:45,000 Sean Murray: Nice. 444 00:23:45,030 --> 00:23:45,930 Johny Fernandez: Hopefully soon. 445 00:23:45,990 --> 00:23:48,600 Sean Murray: Oh, I want to give a plug. Because here we are 446 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,080 doing this live stream. And for those of for those of you who 447 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,080 are wondering, when are we going to be all together in person. 448 00:23:55,290 --> 00:23:58,200 Well we're going to have Broker Fair, our biggest event it's 449 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,720 going to come back to New York. We're in New York right now. But 450 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,450 we want all of you to come back to New York on December sixth, 451 00:24:03,540 --> 00:24:06,480 at convenient Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan, you can go 452 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:10,200 to brokerfair.org To learn more information and also register to 453 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,920 get a ticket. And so, you know, this is just this is you know, 454 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,260 this is not a virtual event. This is not really even an 455 00:24:16,260 --> 00:24:20,700 event. Yeah. The event is coming in person, massive event and 456 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:21,330 Broker Fair. 457 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:23,640 Johny Fernandez: What's what's great about that is that that is 458 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:27,840 going to be, you know, just a preview of next year when 459 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,810 hopefully things get back to normal and we can all be 460 00:24:30,810 --> 00:24:34,620 together again, and we can all kind of get back to what we 461 00:24:34,620 --> 00:24:38,490 knew. But I feel like this is going to be next year's just 462 00:24:38,490 --> 00:24:42,210 going to be a way for us to reunite and be better than what 463 00:24:42,210 --> 00:24:45,750 we were before. Yeah. So, totally exciting. It's an 464 00:24:45,750 --> 00:24:47,550 exciting time, I think it's an exciting time. 465 00:24:47,580 --> 00:24:49,740 Sean Murray: And to that end when you talk about next year. 466 00:24:49,770 --> 00:24:54,030 We'll be back in Miami in 2022. We do not have a date yet so 467 00:24:54,060 --> 00:24:57,630 stay tuned for that but Miami we'll be back we have not 468 00:24:57,630 --> 00:24:59,580 forgotten Miami in fact, you've been in Miami. 469 00:25:00,270 --> 00:25:02,220 Johny Fernandez: A few times. Yeah. And it's really 470 00:25:02,220 --> 00:25:05,520 interesting seeing just how things are going down there and 471 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:10,080 for the business aspect of things to also just seeing, like 472 00:25:10,110 --> 00:25:13,440 the community and the vibrancy of Miami, so Miami is definitely 473 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,440 back. And they're excited to have us. I mean, everywhere, you 474 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,050 know, within the industry, everyone knows deBanked. 475 00:25:19,050 --> 00:25:22,560 Everyone knows, Sean Murray, everyone knows, you know, we 476 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,890 have a couple of surprises when Miami happens, you know, and 477 00:25:26,130 --> 00:25:30,240 it'll be exciting. So yeah, so again, it's an excitement just 478 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,600 like your jacket. And we'll definitely be seeing everyone 479 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:38,610 soon. And again, for deBanked News Live. I'm Johny Fernandez. 480 00:25:39,420 --> 00:25:40,320 Sean Murray: And I'm Sean Murray. 481 00:25:40,410 --> 00:25:42,750 Johny Fernandez: And we'll see you guys next time in the 482 00:25:42,750 --> 00:25:45,720 studio. But for now, stay tuned. Because there's definitely more 483 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:46,710 exciting things coming up. 484 00:25:55,410 --> 00:25:57,360 Allyson Berger: It doesn't seem like COVID slowed your business 485 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:00,090 down. You were out there making calls and things are happening. 486 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,100 James Celifarco: Yep. phones are ringing, which we're doing the 487 00:26:02,100 --> 00:26:05,070 best we can, you know, did a lot of work with PPP. We got people 488 00:26:05,070 --> 00:26:07,410 coming back into the office. It's just good to be here with 489 00:26:07,410 --> 00:26:09,870 everybody. And it's it's exciting. 490 00:26:10,050 --> 00:26:12,120 Allyson Berger: Yeah, we're happy to have you here. You 491 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:14,820 pride yourselves on making things happen in 48 hours. Has 492 00:26:14,820 --> 00:26:17,640 COVID slowed that down a bit? Are you still keeping that time 493 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:17,880 in? 494 00:26:17,940 --> 00:26:20,310 John Celifarco: At the beginning of COVID, I'd say things slowed 495 00:26:20,310 --> 00:26:23,040 down a little but we are back to normal timing on things now. 496 00:26:23,070 --> 00:26:26,970 Things are, it's a new normal, but it's not a bad normal. 497 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,350 Allyson Berger: Yeah. What do you think? 498 00:26:28,860 --> 00:26:31,470 James Celifarco: Well, I think that, you know, the phones are 499 00:26:31,470 --> 00:26:33,930 ringing again. So we're happy to talk to our clients that we've 500 00:26:33,930 --> 00:26:36,720 had for years. We're happy that our lead sources are starting to 501 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:40,260 get us some new clients. But like John said, it's a new 502 00:26:40,260 --> 00:26:43,680 normal, you gotta you got to change with the time so we're 503 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:44,160 ready for it. 504 00:26:44,220 --> 00:26:46,320 Allyson Berger: Right, we got to keep it moving. And we're in 505 00:26:46,350 --> 00:26:49,230 midtown Manhattan life is here. We're doing things. 506 00:26:49,710 --> 00:26:51,600 John Celifarco: Yeah it's I mean, it's a little weird 507 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,140 walking through the streets. It's not like it used to be. But 508 00:26:55,260 --> 00:26:58,170 not having been in the city in probably five, six months. It's 509 00:26:58,170 --> 00:27:01,050 really good, just to be back and see that things are starting to 510 00:27:01,050 --> 00:27:02,100 get back to where they should be. 511 00:27:02,130 --> 00:27:03,690 Allyson Berger: Yeah. Do you still feel the vibe and the 512 00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:04,590 energy of New York? 513 00:27:04,650 --> 00:27:07,950 James Celifarco: Yeah. I'm glad that Sean announced the new, the 514 00:27:07,950 --> 00:27:10,860 new deBanked event coming in December, I cannot wait for it. 515 00:27:11,460 --> 00:27:12,840 So that's something to look forward to. 516 00:27:13,230 --> 00:27:14,760 Allyson Berger: Events are always a good thing. I mean, 517 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,640 we're together now people want to see each other right? 518 00:27:17,790 --> 00:27:21,240 John Celifarco: Oh, definitely. It's Zoom was great to help us 519 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,580 get us through this whole thing. But to actually be in a room 520 00:27:23,580 --> 00:27:26,370 with people. There's a different energy, different ability to get 521 00:27:26,370 --> 00:27:28,410 things done than when there's not a computer screen between 522 00:27:28,410 --> 00:27:28,620 you. 523 00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:31,110 Allyson Berger: Was it weird adjusting to doing business via 524 00:27:31,110 --> 00:27:31,530 Zoom? 525 00:27:32,220 --> 00:27:34,680 James Celifarco: You have no choice. You know, it's survival 526 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,520 of the fittest. So whatever we had to do to get clients in and 527 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,360 clients funded. If it was Zoom, if it was over the phone, 528 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:44,700 whatever's gotta be done. We had we gotta conduct business. 529 00:27:44,850 --> 00:27:45,300 Allyson Berger: Yeah. 530 00:27:45,330 --> 00:27:48,330 John Celifarco: Yeah, no, at the beginning, there really was no 531 00:27:48,330 --> 00:27:51,180 choice. So if it was weird or not didn't matter, it was find a 532 00:27:51,180 --> 00:27:54,240 way to make it work, get used to it. But now that we're moving 533 00:27:54,270 --> 00:27:57,630 out of that, and there's some in person meetings happening, it's 534 00:27:57,630 --> 00:27:59,580 nice to get that human contact back. 535 00:27:59,610 --> 00:28:01,230 Allyson Berger: So people are coming to the office to meet 536 00:28:01,230 --> 00:28:01,560 with you? 537 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,500 John Celifarco: They're starting to I mean, it's definitely a 538 00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:08,790 different sort of vibe, I'm in masks and all that. But it's 539 00:28:08,790 --> 00:28:11,850 nice just to know that you have that ability that you could say 540 00:28:11,850 --> 00:28:15,180 come to the office or have a meeting outside six months ago, 541 00:28:15,180 --> 00:28:18,090 that wasn't even an option to be able to say that. And some deals 542 00:28:18,090 --> 00:28:20,820 get closed a little easier when you could meet somebody face to 543 00:28:20,820 --> 00:28:21,270 face. 544 00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,790 Allyson Berger: Right. How have you seen the the needs for these 545 00:28:23,790 --> 00:28:25,620 businesses change over time? 546 00:28:26,220 --> 00:28:29,010 James Celifarco: Oh, well, their income is really down, you know, 547 00:28:29,010 --> 00:28:32,760 so they need money. You know, whether it's through PPP or 548 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:39,030 EIDL, or MCA or SBA, it's just hearing their story and 549 00:28:39,510 --> 00:28:42,450 providing the service. So it's everybody has a different story. 550 00:28:42,450 --> 00:28:45,630 And you have to be really open to their situation. 551 00:28:46,050 --> 00:28:47,730 Allyson Berger: And we're so excited to hear more about your 552 00:28:47,730 --> 00:28:50,100 story, the brothers in business. 553 00:28:50,970 --> 00:28:53,460 John Celifarco: Thank you very much. No, we we love deBanked, 554 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,430 we've been working with Sean for a long time. So anytime we get 555 00:28:56,430 --> 00:28:59,520 the ability to come on and have a conversation with him about 556 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:01,950 the industry and just what's going on. We look forward to it 557 00:29:01,950 --> 00:29:02,310 a lot. 558 00:29:02,370 --> 00:29:04,080 Allyson Berger: Yeah, it's exciting, fun, and then you end 559 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:05,100 up with trouble like me. 560 00:29:05,430 --> 00:29:07,920 James Celifarco: I'm looking forward to trouble. Anything but 561 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,650 staying in the house. So trouble is fine. And maybe Sean will 562 00:29:10,650 --> 00:29:15,780 teach me a little fashion advice. That jacket is 563 00:29:15,780 --> 00:29:16,440 everything, man. 564 00:29:16,470 --> 00:29:19,050 Allyson Berger: Yeah, he Spring has sprung for him. It's about 565 00:29:19,050 --> 00:29:21,030 your time to you know, get the colors going. 566 00:29:21,060 --> 00:29:23,880 James Celifarco: I look a lot like Johny Fernandez. So I'm 567 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:27,240 trying to look like Johny but I gotta shop with where Sean 568 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:27,540 shops. 569 00:29:27,570 --> 00:29:29,580 John Celifarco: I don't know. I don't think I could pull off the 570 00:29:29,580 --> 00:29:31,890 jacket like Sean does. I think I'll leave that to him. 571 00:29:32,130 --> 00:29:35,760 Allyson Berger: That's alright. He's the boss anyway, right. But 572 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,730 it's great to have you be a part of our family and get things 573 00:29:38,730 --> 00:29:41,520 going and talk and then you'll head into the hot seat. 574 00:29:41,850 --> 00:29:43,500 John Celifarco: Thank you so much. We look forward to being 575 00:29:43,500 --> 00:29:43,740 here. 576 00:29:44,010 --> 00:29:46,410 Alright, guys. Stay tuned, there's more to come on deBanked 577 00:29:46,410 --> 00:29:46,860 live. 578 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,970 Kevin Travers: Hey, so it's deBanked TV live. You guys had a 579 00:29:50,970 --> 00:29:53,880 little behind the scenes with James and Johnson Celifarco from 580 00:29:53,910 --> 00:29:56,940 Horizon Financial Group. But now we're going in with our sit down 581 00:29:56,940 --> 00:29:59,820 just conversation. So this is my first time finally meeting 582 00:29:59,850 --> 00:30:02,910 brokers from the industry after a year of quarantine. And even 583 00:30:02,910 --> 00:30:05,160 in the greenroom, they were taking calls left and right. So 584 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,740 tell me how have you guys managed working in one of the 585 00:30:07,740 --> 00:30:08,520 worst years ever? 586 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,090 John Celifarco: I would say definitely kept us on our toes. 587 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:18,030 The industry was changing so fast between what's going on 588 00:30:18,030 --> 00:30:20,910 with our clients and how fast their business fell off, and 589 00:30:20,910 --> 00:30:24,630 what their needs were, and what funders in the industry were 590 00:30:24,630 --> 00:30:29,250 offering, because of that, I would say I learned, I didn't 591 00:30:29,250 --> 00:30:32,490 think there was so much more to learn. But because of new 592 00:30:32,490 --> 00:30:36,240 products, different things that our clients needed, we had to 593 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,960 learn a lot more in order to fulfill their needs, especially 594 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:43,890 with a lot of the government programs, PPP, EIDL, a year 595 00:30:43,890 --> 00:30:47,550 ago, none of this existed. So we both had to learn it very quick, 596 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,970 and then be able to explain it to our customers, for the ones 597 00:30:50,970 --> 00:30:54,960 that needed that as well as 20 million other problems and 598 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,870 things that you never would have expected to come up in such a 599 00:30:57,870 --> 00:30:58,770 short period of time. 600 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:01,740 James Celifarco: You know, I think we're in a service 601 00:31:01,740 --> 00:31:03,510 industry. So we're trying to service other people's 602 00:31:03,510 --> 00:31:06,540 businesses, but we're looking at each other try to help our own 603 00:31:06,540 --> 00:31:10,470 business. So, you know, it's tough for us as a business 604 00:31:10,470 --> 00:31:13,110 ourselves. But then you have other people coming to us for 605 00:31:13,110 --> 00:31:16,860 answers. So not just, you know, trying to help other people, but 606 00:31:16,950 --> 00:31:18,570 trying for us to stay in business as well. 607 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,510 John Celifarco: Yeah, I mean, just so many funders at the very 608 00:31:21,510 --> 00:31:25,020 beginning, stopped funding. So then it was finding who you 609 00:31:25,020 --> 00:31:28,710 could get deals done with. And then as people came back, I 610 00:31:28,710 --> 00:31:32,370 mean, we're both in the industry going on 10 years, 11 years 611 00:31:32,370 --> 00:31:35,850 each. And you think you understand our product, and then 612 00:31:36,660 --> 00:31:39,330 underwriting all these things change at the beginning of PPP, 613 00:31:39,330 --> 00:31:42,540 and we had to relearn how things were getting done, and then be 614 00:31:42,540 --> 00:31:45,090 able to be good at it so that we could deliver for our customers. 615 00:31:45,090 --> 00:31:49,350 So it was it was definitely an interesting year to say the 616 00:31:49,350 --> 00:31:50,100 least. 617 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,310 James Celifarco: We we really relied on other people in the 618 00:31:53,310 --> 00:31:56,970 industry as well. So we'd call up, you know, other partners, 619 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,270 what are these banks doing? What kind of restrictions are in 620 00:32:00,270 --> 00:32:04,230 place? Who are they funding? Who aren't they funding? So just 621 00:32:04,260 --> 00:32:07,230 being an open source of education back and forth. 622 00:32:07,230 --> 00:32:08,910 John Celifarco: Definitely being in the industry, as long as we 623 00:32:08,910 --> 00:32:12,330 have, relationships, being able to call up somebody that I trust 624 00:32:12,330 --> 00:32:14,880 and say, is this what you're seeing, or them being able to 625 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:18,870 call me. Yeah bounce ideas off of each other was a huge help 626 00:32:19,140 --> 00:32:20,400 getting through this whole time. 627 00:32:21,330 --> 00:32:23,400 Kevin Travers: Absolutely. And I know, one of the things that 628 00:32:23,430 --> 00:32:25,950 sort of sets you guys apart is you have an in person, sort of 629 00:32:25,950 --> 00:32:29,400 brick and mortar branch in Brooklyn. And I wonder what I 630 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,980 mean, what has it been like having to deal with closers and 631 00:32:31,980 --> 00:32:34,830 openings? How has that affected your experience, and also the 632 00:32:34,830 --> 00:32:37,680 experience of many people you do deals with who have their own 633 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:39,180 branches or businesses in person? 634 00:32:39,690 --> 00:32:42,420 James Celifarco: Well, you know, it's great, because people 635 00:32:42,450 --> 00:32:46,500 always would just come in, just stop in and if something went 636 00:32:46,500 --> 00:32:48,630 wrong with their POS system or the credit card, or they wanted 637 00:32:48,630 --> 00:32:52,260 to discuss SBA, all that stopped, you know, we, you know, 638 00:32:52,260 --> 00:32:54,240 they didn't want to come in, we didn't want to have people in, 639 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,870 John was in the office for most of the time. And, you know, 640 00:32:57,900 --> 00:33:00,300 everybody else was working from home, I got a, you know, family 641 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:02,970 at home. So I was doing the whole homeschooling thing. And 642 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:07,110 so it was it was different, you know, we that brick and mortar 643 00:33:07,110 --> 00:33:09,990 thing that we had to our advantage really went to the 644 00:33:09,990 --> 00:33:13,500 wayside when you know, couldn't have people in so people were 645 00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:15,390 opening the door grabbing a card, you know, we were having 646 00:33:15,390 --> 00:33:17,370 conversations outside, but it it changed. 647 00:33:17,820 --> 00:33:20,160 John Celifarco: Yeah, I mean, people, someone come in ask 648 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,580 about credit card processing, ask about an SBA loan, that 649 00:33:23,610 --> 00:33:26,190 completely stopped. But now you get a lot more someone knock on 650 00:33:26,190 --> 00:33:28,770 the door, take three steps back and be like, oh, could I get a 651 00:33:28,770 --> 00:33:32,010 card? Do you do this type of thing. And definitely a few more 652 00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:36,000 conversations out in the street on the sidewalk, then, instead 653 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,090 of in the office, but again, things are coming back. Now we 654 00:33:39,090 --> 00:33:42,810 have more people coming into the office we have, we're able to go 655 00:33:42,810 --> 00:33:45,150 to other people's offices, six months ago, that wasn't even 656 00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:48,630 possible. So every day, it's getting a little bit more and 657 00:33:48,630 --> 00:33:50,280 more back to normal. So that's a good thing. 658 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:51,780 James Celifarco: We do a lot of work with the community too. And 659 00:33:51,870 --> 00:33:54,570 so we have a park down the block from us. So anytime something's 660 00:33:54,570 --> 00:33:57,150 going on. We see a lot of people from the community at the park 661 00:33:57,150 --> 00:34:00,630 and we'll show other business owners are there too. So events 662 00:34:00,630 --> 00:34:02,880 and stuff like that. So a lot of things are happening outside, 663 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,740 things are starting to open back up the community starting to 664 00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:06,900 buzz again. So a lot to look forward to. 665 00:34:07,740 --> 00:34:09,840 John Celifarco: I'm just ready for it to get back to normal 666 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:14,130 every day, we get a little bit closer. And we see it in 667 00:34:14,130 --> 00:34:17,370 business, our phones every month, the phones are ringing 668 00:34:17,370 --> 00:34:21,000 more and more. when this first started, at the very beginning 669 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,140 of the pandemic, everybody was so worried about how to keep 670 00:34:25,140 --> 00:34:29,160 their business alive, its I mean business fell off. Probably 671 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:32,880 those first couple of months it may have been with like 80%. But 672 00:34:32,910 --> 00:34:36,540 as each month it's gotten busier and busier, and now we're almost 673 00:34:36,540 --> 00:34:39,450 back to normal. And with a lot of the new products and stuff 674 00:34:39,450 --> 00:34:42,600 that we didn't even offer at the beginning. There's whole new 675 00:34:42,630 --> 00:34:45,660 parts of our business that may not have existed if it wasn't 676 00:34:45,660 --> 00:34:49,380 for the pandemic it definitely made us think outside the box to 677 00:34:49,380 --> 00:34:51,810 expand our business in some new directions. 678 00:34:52,050 --> 00:34:54,240 Kevin Travers: Yeah, and about that there's the paycheck 679 00:34:54,270 --> 00:34:57,780 protection program we're on. This year. There was a new round 680 00:34:57,780 --> 00:35:00,360 released for this year, but that's a major thing funders or 681 00:35:00,450 --> 00:35:04,440 brokers had to deal with is how to either offer programming 682 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,170 through that or products. How have you guys sort of adapted to 683 00:35:07,170 --> 00:35:10,320 this new environment with the PPP program? And is there any 684 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:11,880 new deals or anything things you worked on? 685 00:35:11,910 --> 00:35:14,100 John Celifarco: Well, there was two rounds, the first round that 686 00:35:14,100 --> 00:35:17,400 came out last year, nobody knew what it was. So we really 687 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,890 weren't very involved in that we were just sort of like learning, 688 00:35:19,890 --> 00:35:24,270 getting information. But what we saw was that with the government 689 00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:27,810 offering all this low cost or free money, people weren't 690 00:35:27,810 --> 00:35:30,780 looking for more conventional types of money that we were 691 00:35:30,780 --> 00:35:34,020 offering. So when the second round came out, we wanted to be 692 00:35:34,020 --> 00:35:37,620 more involved with it. So we got as much information as we spent 693 00:35:37,620 --> 00:35:40,200 a lot of time figuring out A where we could get the deals 694 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,220 done. And then also how we could bring deals in so that we could 695 00:35:44,250 --> 00:35:48,030 try to capitalize on it, we signed some good deals, we had 696 00:35:48,030 --> 00:35:51,510 some good partners, and it's been, it's really been the focus 697 00:35:51,510 --> 00:35:54,090 of our business for the last two or three months just being able 698 00:35:54,090 --> 00:35:56,160 to process as many of these as possible. 699 00:35:57,210 --> 00:36:00,270 James Celifarco: We brought a lot of deals in you know, and 700 00:36:00,270 --> 00:36:02,850 it's giving us the opportunity to work with a ton of new 701 00:36:02,850 --> 00:36:06,450 businesses that we, you know, wouldn't have access to, without 702 00:36:06,450 --> 00:36:09,420 PPP, now that they're in we have their information, we're talking 703 00:36:09,420 --> 00:36:11,790 to them about, you know, cross selling them different products, 704 00:36:11,790 --> 00:36:15,660 credit card processing, or MCAs, it's giving us a good 705 00:36:15,660 --> 00:36:18,930 opportunity to have access to a ton of data that we can now 706 00:36:18,930 --> 00:36:19,530 market to. 707 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:21,750 John Celifarco: It's a whole new pool of customers that we 708 00:36:21,750 --> 00:36:24,750 wouldn't have had if it wasn't for this. And now they trust us, 709 00:36:24,750 --> 00:36:28,020 we were able to help them through this hard time. And 710 00:36:28,140 --> 00:36:31,320 doing a doing that for them. Now, next time they need 711 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:35,340 something if it's short term financing, an SBA loan, that 712 00:36:35,340 --> 00:36:37,230 credit card machine isn't working, they need new credit 713 00:36:37,230 --> 00:36:40,950 card processor, now, they know us, they'll come back to us. So 714 00:36:41,220 --> 00:36:46,620 it's definitely been something we never even thought of before 715 00:36:46,620 --> 00:36:48,630 that's now become a very big part of our business. 716 00:36:48,750 --> 00:36:50,010 Kevin Travers: Absolutely. That's, I mean, that's great to 717 00:36:50,010 --> 00:36:51,780 hear. Is there any major deals you guys would like to talk 718 00:36:51,780 --> 00:36:52,860 about through PPP, or? 719 00:36:53,730 --> 00:36:56,010 James Celifarco: Well, we did strike a deal with the Uber 720 00:36:56,010 --> 00:36:59,580 union. And we're working with all the Uber drivers on their 721 00:36:59,580 --> 00:37:03,810 PPP loans. So there are, they're independent contractors, and 722 00:37:03,810 --> 00:37:08,250 they're, they use their schedule C to get a PPP loan. So we're 723 00:37:08,250 --> 00:37:11,040 working with them. And you know, we're talking about 1000s, and 724 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:14,370 the drivers all through the city. So it's been a huge 725 00:37:14,370 --> 00:37:15,720 opportunity for us. So. 726 00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:19,140 John Celifarco: That's been the biggest, I mean, probably six, 727 00:37:19,140 --> 00:37:23,190 7000 of those applications alone. And that's without even 728 00:37:23,190 --> 00:37:27,450 talking about the regular customers that we got. So that 729 00:37:27,450 --> 00:37:29,760 was a huge deal for us. And hopefully we're doing a good job 730 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:33,780 by helping them get the money they need. And whatever comes of 731 00:37:33,780 --> 00:37:35,730 it, just help us grow in the future. 732 00:37:36,660 --> 00:37:39,540 Kevin Travers: Awesome. Well, I guess we're gonna move to some 733 00:37:39,540 --> 00:37:42,210 bonus round questions. More auot because I'm finally meeting 734 00:37:42,210 --> 00:37:44,850 brokers in person. Yeah. But I guess I first want to ask like 735 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,510 is, in this day and age is coffee still for closers, or I 736 00:37:48,510 --> 00:37:52,080 Janene, our events coordinator. Keeping it together, she said 737 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:53,190 it's more like Irish coffees. 738 00:37:54,180 --> 00:37:56,070 John Celifarco: Coffees, for everybody, if you were able to 739 00:37:56,070 --> 00:37:59,130 get through the pandemic without drinking coffee. I don't even 740 00:37:59,130 --> 00:38:00,210 know how that's possible. 741 00:38:00,210 --> 00:38:01,680 James Celifarco: I don't care if you're an open or closer or a 742 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:03,960 secretary that you're bringing in business, I'll give you 743 00:38:04,230 --> 00:38:08,010 anything you want. Bourbon, coffee, water, anything you want 744 00:38:08,010 --> 00:38:10,740 at your desk is A okay in my book. 745 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,760 Kevin Travers: Absolutely. And I guess sort of on that vein, I've 746 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,400 been looking through all the necessary background reading 747 00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:20,250 would buy me movies about brokers, and Wall Street's is 748 00:38:20,250 --> 00:38:24,510 running like a boiler room a thing that's possible in 2021 or 749 00:38:24,540 --> 00:38:25,020 2020? 750 00:38:25,020 --> 00:38:27,600 John Celifarco: There are companies out there that do that 751 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:32,250 sort of thing that was never, I never liked doing business that 752 00:38:32,250 --> 00:38:35,370 way, it was we're more relationship driven. We want to 753 00:38:35,370 --> 00:38:38,580 know our customers, be able to give them a good experience. 754 00:38:39,090 --> 00:38:41,880 There are companies out there that have huge call, call 755 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:47,220 centers, big floors, very that type of thing. But that was 756 00:38:47,220 --> 00:38:49,920 never, I didn't come up working for a company like that. And 757 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,590 then when we went out on our own, that wasn't the type of 758 00:38:52,590 --> 00:38:53,520 deal that we wanted. 759 00:38:53,550 --> 00:38:56,190 James Celifarco: We always went with service services, our whole 760 00:38:56,190 --> 00:38:59,310 thing. So we're the kind of guys that we don't schedule calls, 761 00:38:59,310 --> 00:39:02,430 you can stop in our office, you can call our cell phones, very, 762 00:39:02,430 --> 00:39:05,340 very informal. And I think it goes a long way when people feel 763 00:39:05,340 --> 00:39:07,380 comfortable with their businesses, is their most prized 764 00:39:07,380 --> 00:39:09,840 possession. These are small business owners, they live, 765 00:39:09,870 --> 00:39:12,690 breathe and eat everything about their business. So for them to 766 00:39:12,690 --> 00:39:16,260 trust you with a lot of time commercial mortgages, you're 767 00:39:16,260 --> 00:39:18,810 dealing with their biggest asset, their their buildings, 768 00:39:18,810 --> 00:39:22,020 and their homes and their loans. And this is a very, very 769 00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:25,350 intimate thing. So you got to you know, you can't be that, 770 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,560 that. That type of style, I guess. 771 00:39:28,590 --> 00:39:30,420 John Celifarco: And it could work for some people just not 772 00:39:30,420 --> 00:39:31,320 for us, I would say. 773 00:39:32,220 --> 00:39:37,830 Kevin Travers: Cool. Well, good. I guess if you were a young 774 00:39:38,130 --> 00:39:40,920 broker starting out, how would you what would you have to do to 775 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:42,600 make a million dollars in a year? 776 00:39:43,410 --> 00:39:45,540 James Celifarco: I guess it's all relative, I would say I 777 00:39:45,540 --> 00:39:46,110 mean, I. 778 00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:49,710 John Celifarco: A young broker starting out. If you're coming 779 00:39:49,710 --> 00:39:52,140 in with the hope of making a million dollars your first year 780 00:39:52,140 --> 00:39:55,110 you're getting into the wrong business. I mean, the most 781 00:39:55,110 --> 00:39:57,660 important thing for a new broker is go work for a company. We're 782 00:39:57,660 --> 00:39:59,880 going to learn your craft learn the right way to do this. 783 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:03,660 business, if you have the know how, if you work for the right 784 00:40:03,660 --> 00:40:06,300 company, if you learn the right way to do things, the money's 785 00:40:06,300 --> 00:40:09,300 going to come. If you're good at what you do, you will make money 786 00:40:09,300 --> 00:40:12,210 in this industry. But if you walk in looking for a quick 787 00:40:12,210 --> 00:40:16,140 buck, just walk in and make a million dollars right away. I 788 00:40:16,140 --> 00:40:18,570 don't care if it's this industry or another industry, that's not 789 00:40:18,570 --> 00:40:21,000 just not the right way to come in and look at something. 790 00:40:21,240 --> 00:40:22,830 James Celifarco: And it's all it's also relative, you know, if 791 00:40:22,830 --> 00:40:26,430 you're making a million dollars, but you spend the 950. You know, 792 00:40:26,460 --> 00:40:28,800 it's, you know, a lot of people make a lot of money, but they're 793 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:32,220 also spending tons and tons of money to do it. So it's all 794 00:40:32,220 --> 00:40:32,640 relative. 795 00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:37,710 John Celifarco: It's also how do you want to live, some people 796 00:40:37,710 --> 00:40:41,070 are very happy, you can make a ton of money, but you have to 797 00:40:41,070 --> 00:40:44,190 work a million hours to do it. Some people may want are happy 798 00:40:44,190 --> 00:40:48,210 making a good living with and having some an outside life. So 799 00:40:48,210 --> 00:40:51,570 I guess it again, comes down to what's most important to each 800 00:40:51,570 --> 00:40:52,500 individual person. 801 00:40:54,180 --> 00:40:56,220 Kevin Travers: Cool, well, what's important to each and 802 00:40:56,220 --> 00:40:58,290 every person what I guess speaking about that, what has 803 00:40:58,290 --> 00:41:02,520 kept you drawn towards the broker, sort of salesman, 804 00:41:02,550 --> 00:41:05,700 lifestyle, going into work, trying to make money, leave 805 00:41:05,700 --> 00:41:07,680 work, put in time, tell me about it. 806 00:41:07,710 --> 00:41:11,580 John Celifarco: What drew me to it originally, is, I always like 807 00:41:11,580 --> 00:41:15,270 to eat what you kill. If you put in the work, excuse me, if you 808 00:41:15,270 --> 00:41:18,450 put in the work, if you work hard, you're good at what you 809 00:41:18,450 --> 00:41:22,320 do, you're gonna make money, it didn't require somebody else 810 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:25,980 giving you a promotion, or somebody else giving me a raise. 811 00:41:26,460 --> 00:41:29,370 Any dollar I ever made in this industry is I earned it, I 812 00:41:29,370 --> 00:41:33,210 worked for it, and I got it. And that was what always brought me 813 00:41:33,210 --> 00:41:34,950 back and what I always liked about it. 814 00:41:35,220 --> 00:41:37,500 James Celifarco: You're in charge of your paycheck, exactly 815 00:41:37,500 --> 00:41:40,980 what John said, I'm driven by my family, you know, I got mouths 816 00:41:40,980 --> 00:41:44,790 to feed. And if I got to make 150 calls a day, that's what I 817 00:41:44,790 --> 00:41:47,550 got to do. This is you know, I've been doing this 10 years 818 00:41:47,580 --> 00:41:52,020 now, or probably longer than that. But this is my, this is my 819 00:41:52,020 --> 00:41:54,810 industry, you know, so this is what I have to make it work. So 820 00:41:55,050 --> 00:41:57,900 if it's, I gotta call this lead, I gotta get that paperwork in, I 821 00:41:57,900 --> 00:42:00,330 gotta get it submitted, I gotta get it approved, I gotta get 822 00:42:00,330 --> 00:42:03,270 funded, I gotta keep this relationship going, I gotta find 823 00:42:03,270 --> 00:42:05,610 the leads, I gotta be the accountant, I gotta keep the 824 00:42:05,610 --> 00:42:08,190 website running, you know, you got to wear all the hats, and 825 00:42:08,190 --> 00:42:11,130 you got to get it done. It's, it's, like I said, I got a 826 00:42:11,130 --> 00:42:13,530 family to support. So that's what drives me. 827 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,390 Kevin Travers: And learning, I guess, it must take an 828 00:42:18,420 --> 00:42:21,240 experience to learn how to sort of manage all that is there any 829 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:23,700 sort of advice you have about through the years things you 830 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:26,940 picked up, learned, mistakes made about how to, obviously 831 00:42:26,940 --> 00:42:28,380 stay alive through a pandemic so far? 832 00:42:28,650 --> 00:42:30,990 John Celifarco: Don't be scared to make mistakes, I think is 833 00:42:30,990 --> 00:42:34,650 really good advice. We've tried a million different things. 834 00:42:34,650 --> 00:42:37,830 Since we've gone into business, some have worked and made us a 835 00:42:37,830 --> 00:42:41,130 lot of money, some have failed, and they didn't. But always be 836 00:42:41,130 --> 00:42:44,910 willing to try something new look at a new technology, a new 837 00:42:45,150 --> 00:42:48,630 lead. So it's a new product. Sometimes it works, sometimes it 838 00:42:48,630 --> 00:42:51,960 doesn't. But most of the times it doesn't. But you can't be, 839 00:42:51,990 --> 00:42:54,390 you can't be scared, you can't be scared of failure, you got to 840 00:42:54,390 --> 00:42:59,850 be willing to try new things. Look for the next big thing and 841 00:42:59,850 --> 00:43:03,360 try to stay out in front of the industry. That is always 842 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:05,730 changing, keep your ear to the ground know what's going on. 843 00:43:05,820 --> 00:43:08,070 James Celifarco: There's always lead sources, you know, you 844 00:43:08,070 --> 00:43:11,550 could try 10 lead sources, and you could invest all this money 845 00:43:11,550 --> 00:43:14,310 and you know, you wasted money. But if you find one lead source 846 00:43:14,310 --> 00:43:17,160 of out of it, they could supply you with lead for years to come. 847 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:20,400 So, to talk on John's point, you got to be willing to take 848 00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:23,550 chances, spend money to find the right relationships. 849 00:43:23,580 --> 00:43:27,120 John Celifarco: Yeah it's and be willing to grow. Don't put 850 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:31,260 yourself into like one box. We started as strictly an MCA 851 00:43:31,260 --> 00:43:34,920 company, and we grew into SBA loans and credit card 852 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:39,120 processing. Now we're doing PPP as time changes, who knows what 853 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,700 the next thing that we're going to have to learn or grow into is 854 00:43:41,700 --> 00:43:46,200 but you need to be willing to grow and stay at stay ahead of 855 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:46,650 the curve. 856 00:43:47,190 --> 00:43:49,650 Kevin Travers: And staying ahead of the curve is I guess, just 857 00:43:49,650 --> 00:43:52,170 what you got to do to stay treading water this year, but 858 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:55,050 it's almost over soon. And we're opening up soon, hopefully. 859 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:55,860 James Celifarco: Cheers to that. 860 00:43:56,370 --> 00:43:57,930 John Celifarco: Yeah, looking forward to it and looking 861 00:43:57,930 --> 00:44:01,470 forward to the event is great news. December 6, everybody's 862 00:44:01,470 --> 00:44:04,530 gonna be back together again. And looking forward to that. 863 00:44:04,530 --> 00:44:06,330 James Celifarco: Yeah, been too long since we were at one of 864 00:44:06,330 --> 00:44:08,550 those events. We could see everybody's faces see what's 865 00:44:08,550 --> 00:44:09,060 going on. 866 00:44:09,090 --> 00:44:10,170 John Celifarco: And get down to Miami 867 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:15,360 Kevin Travers: Were you heckling Sean off screen here? 868 00:44:16,980 --> 00:44:18,330 John Celifarco: Book a Miami event, please. 869 00:44:20,490 --> 00:44:21,810 Kevin Travers: Well, I can't wait. I've never been to one of 870 00:44:21,810 --> 00:44:24,510 the events before but I'm so excited to go and it was so 871 00:44:24,510 --> 00:44:28,650 great meeting and speaking with both of you guys. And well I 872 00:44:28,650 --> 00:44:29,970 can't wait to see what comes next. 873 00:44:30,300 --> 00:44:32,910 John Celifarco: Thank you so much for having us, really happy 874 00:44:32,910 --> 00:44:37,500 to be here and be part of this, our first, deBanked TV live, was 875 00:44:37,500 --> 00:44:37,860 that? 876 00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:38,610 Kevin Travers: That's right. 877 00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:39,660 John Celifarco: Okay, there it is. 878 00:44:43,980 --> 00:44:45,720 Allyson Berger: Hey, everyone Allyson Berger here for 879 00:44:45,750 --> 00:44:49,800 deBanked, we are live in midtown Manhattan. I am now joined with 880 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,320 the lovely Jared of United Capital Source. How're you 881 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:52,800 doing? 882 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:54,000 Jared Weitz: Great. Thank you. How are you? 883 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,550 Allyson Berger: I'm fantastic. I'm so happy to have you here. 884 00:44:56,580 --> 00:44:57,390 Jared Weitz: Thanks for having me. 885 00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:01,860 Allyson Berger: It's so nice to be in person. Doing things live 886 00:45:02,070 --> 00:45:04,230 in real life. And not virtually. 887 00:45:04,350 --> 00:45:06,930 Jared Weitz: Yeah, used to Zoom calls most of these days, but 888 00:45:06,930 --> 00:45:08,610 this is my first in person, which is nice. 889 00:45:08,670 --> 00:45:11,370 Allyson Berger: Oh, I'm so honored to be the first person 890 00:45:11,370 --> 00:45:14,910 for you. So how has it been doing things so virtually? 891 00:45:15,270 --> 00:45:18,270 Jared Weitz: I'm not so much of a virtual guy or a Zoom guy more 892 00:45:18,270 --> 00:45:22,020 of an in person guy. So I've had a difficult time adjusting to 893 00:45:22,020 --> 00:45:24,510 Zooms. But my team's doing great. 894 00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:27,000 Allyson Berger: That's fantastic. Is it coming back to 895 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:30,060 life a little bit more? Are you moving away from the virtual? 896 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,210 Jared Weitz: So we've had actually our new sales and our 897 00:45:33,210 --> 00:45:36,630 renewals in office, and we've had our operations accounting 898 00:45:36,630 --> 00:45:38,250 and marketing out of the office. 899 00:45:38,730 --> 00:45:39,870 Allyson Berger: So it's a little balance. 900 00:45:39,900 --> 00:45:40,890 Jared Weitz: We've had a good hybrid. 901 00:45:41,130 --> 00:45:43,080 Allyson Berger: That's great. And do you see yourself going 902 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:45,750 full back to normal anytime soon? 903 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:47,310 Jared Weitz: I think we're gonna keep this hybrid going. 904 00:45:47,610 --> 00:45:48,960 Allyson Berger: Really? And why is that? 905 00:45:49,710 --> 00:45:53,880 Jared Weitz: You know, sales for me is more of an in person day 906 00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:56,850 to day, I think you have a better handle on what your peers 907 00:45:56,850 --> 00:45:59,760 are doing. And what's happening through different funders 908 00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:02,970 changing their rules and guidelines. When you're at home, 909 00:46:02,970 --> 00:46:05,430 I just for me, as well, it just felt like I was more out of 910 00:46:05,430 --> 00:46:09,420 touch with everyone. Right? Right. My marketing team and my 911 00:46:09,420 --> 00:46:12,510 accounting team, my operations team, they more so work on their 912 00:46:12,510 --> 00:46:15,630 own anyway. So they're used to working in that environment and 913 00:46:15,630 --> 00:46:17,730 can work at home easier. 914 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:19,620 Allyson Berger: It's interesting, you know, everyone 915 00:46:19,620 --> 00:46:22,860 has a different outlook on how life has changed, and what's 916 00:46:22,860 --> 00:46:25,350 better for them and what's easier for them. But it's nice 917 00:46:25,350 --> 00:46:27,900 that you're so aware of how your team does better in different 918 00:46:27,900 --> 00:46:28,440 avenues. 919 00:46:28,650 --> 00:46:31,950 Jared Weitz: Yeah, absolutely. I try to look at myself and how 920 00:46:32,310 --> 00:46:34,710 I'm feeling about my day and my workday, and then just 921 00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:36,960 understand how my team would also feel about that. 922 00:46:37,140 --> 00:46:38,880 Allyson Berger: Yeah, and I'm glad you thought today's gonna 923 00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:40,680 be a light day. You didn't know I was gonna hit you with some 924 00:46:40,680 --> 00:46:41,850 hard hitting questions. 925 00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:43,470 Jared Weitz: No, so far it's been okay. 926 00:46:44,670 --> 00:46:46,290 Allyson Berger: It goes light and then hard. You never know 927 00:46:46,290 --> 00:46:48,900 what's gonna pop out, especially when we're doing live events. 928 00:46:48,990 --> 00:46:50,550 Jared Weitz: Yeah, I'll take it whatever you guys have. 929 00:46:51,180 --> 00:46:53,340 Allyson Berger: Do you see a live events happening anytime 930 00:46:53,340 --> 00:46:55,170 soon? How do you feel about attending them? 931 00:46:55,440 --> 00:47:00,060 Jared Weitz: Yeah, I think live events. I'm thinking more toward 932 00:47:00,060 --> 00:47:02,580 the end of the year, as the vaccine rolls out more. I think 933 00:47:02,820 --> 00:47:06,240 people will definitely want to attend them in some fashion and 934 00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:09,540 probably have to do some color coding to understand how close 935 00:47:09,570 --> 00:47:10,950 you are allowed to get to certain people. 936 00:47:11,010 --> 00:47:12,990 Allyson Berger: Yeah, we're both in black. So I guess we're 937 00:47:12,990 --> 00:47:14,040 allowed to be a little closer. 938 00:47:14,070 --> 00:47:15,900 Jared Weitz: Yeah, black means only one foot apart. 939 00:47:16,050 --> 00:47:18,090 Allyson Berger: Oh, okay. Perfect. That works out. Great. 940 00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:21,600 So how has your business model change? I know, we talked about 941 00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:25,020 Office, how, who, who's where working? But how has your 942 00:47:25,020 --> 00:47:27,120 business model changed throughout this past year? 943 00:47:27,810 --> 00:47:30,030 Jared Weitz: Our model has not really changed. Actually, 944 00:47:30,030 --> 00:47:32,370 throughout the year, we've always been a marketplace broker 945 00:47:32,370 --> 00:47:36,450 that was able to produce different offers and products. 946 00:47:36,450 --> 00:47:41,040 And so as one product, you know, may have been slower, we were 947 00:47:41,040 --> 00:47:43,740 able to just look at others. And thankfully, we were able to 948 00:47:43,950 --> 00:47:47,160 participate in the PPP program and help a lot of businesses and 949 00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:47,970 save a lot of jobs. 950 00:47:48,030 --> 00:47:49,710 Allyson Berger: That's fantastic. I mean, we all need a 951 00:47:49,710 --> 00:47:50,670 little help these days. 952 00:47:50,820 --> 00:47:52,560 Jared Weitz: Yeah, me included. I'll take it. 953 00:47:53,190 --> 00:47:54,900 Allyson Berger: I'm not there for your help, though. I'm there 954 00:47:54,900 --> 00:47:59,820 for everyone else. But that's so fantastic. So where do you see 955 00:47:59,850 --> 00:48:00,840 the future going? 956 00:48:02,010 --> 00:48:04,590 Jared Weitz: You know, for us we'll continue to hire and we'll 957 00:48:04,590 --> 00:48:08,070 continue to grow out our multiproduct channel. I think 958 00:48:08,070 --> 00:48:13,500 that the business loan landscape is becoming more normalized, as 959 00:48:13,500 --> 00:48:17,550 this vaccine does rollout and as this PPP program finishes. 960 00:48:17,790 --> 00:48:20,130 Allyson Berger: That's great. It's good to hear see a positive 961 00:48:20,130 --> 00:48:21,360 light at the end of the tunnel. 962 00:48:21,390 --> 00:48:22,470 Jared Weitz: Yeah, absolutely. 963 00:48:22,980 --> 00:48:25,440 Allyson Berger: Fantastic. Well, Sean's wearing different colors. 964 00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:27,000 Everyone else is wearing different colors. So you're 965 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:29,220 gonna have to figure out the new color coding on how close you 966 00:48:29,220 --> 00:48:30,570 can get can get to them. 967 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:32,460 Jared Weitz: I'll figure it out with Sean, we'll do a winking 968 00:48:32,460 --> 00:48:33,000 system. 969 00:48:33,090 --> 00:48:36,540 Allyson Berger: Oh, that sounds exciting. Alright. Well, stay 970 00:48:36,540 --> 00:48:39,090 tuned, everyone, there's more to come from deBanked live. 971 00:48:45,060 --> 00:48:47,640 Johny Fernandez: So Jared, let's go ahead and talk a little bit 972 00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:51,390 about your background, your business. The first question is 973 00:48:51,390 --> 00:48:54,630 going to be let's start from the beginning. You know, you're a 974 00:48:54,660 --> 00:48:59,160 born and raised Brooklyn, boy. And you you went to college at 975 00:48:59,160 --> 00:49:04,230 St. John's, you know, you also ended up going to the south. And 976 00:49:04,230 --> 00:49:07,470 then you ended up back here in New York. So walk us through how 977 00:49:07,470 --> 00:49:12,030 you went from, you know, doing these normal jobs. You know, 978 00:49:12,030 --> 00:49:14,940 where you were a teacher at one point, you know you also worked 979 00:49:14,940 --> 00:49:18,990 at the JCC. When you were in New Orleans. You also ended up in 980 00:49:18,990 --> 00:49:22,590 plumbing. So from that to where you're at now, let's let's kind 981 00:49:22,590 --> 00:49:23,700 of go back to that a little bit. 982 00:49:23,730 --> 00:49:26,280 Jared Weitz: Yeah, definitely. You know, I think like most of 983 00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:28,770 us in school, you're just trying to figure out what your actual 984 00:49:28,770 --> 00:49:33,330 passion is. And I just had a lot of things that I really enjoyed 985 00:49:33,330 --> 00:49:37,740 doing. And I just remember always loving to stay busy. And 986 00:49:37,740 --> 00:49:41,460 so I always had multiple jobs at once and coming from a big 987 00:49:41,460 --> 00:49:44,070 family, it was important to be able to provide for myself as 988 00:49:44,070 --> 00:49:47,550 well. You know, mom and dad had a lot of my younger siblings to 989 00:49:47,550 --> 00:49:50,940 take care of. And so like my first working papers were at 990 00:49:50,940 --> 00:49:55,260 like 13 years old. My first job was at McDonald's. And, you 991 00:49:55,260 --> 00:49:59,430 know, from there I had so many different different careers and 992 00:49:59,610 --> 00:50:03,900 jobs. And then through college, I was just taking any job that 993 00:50:03,900 --> 00:50:06,870 was paying a certain amount so I can pay my way. That's really 994 00:50:06,870 --> 00:50:10,320 what the mindset was. And so that's how I ended up in so many 995 00:50:10,320 --> 00:50:13,590 different industries throughout, it was all different pay levels 996 00:50:13,830 --> 00:50:18,570 to really be able to pay for my education. So I followed a girl 997 00:50:18,570 --> 00:50:21,630 to the South that I thought I would end up with and then 998 00:50:22,170 --> 00:50:25,440 didn't end up there. I met Hurricane Katrina. So then I had 999 00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:29,490 to come back to St. John's. And I had to do some more schooling 1000 00:50:29,490 --> 00:50:33,480 over there and kind of start from scratch because I had lost 1001 00:50:33,480 --> 00:50:37,800 everything in the hurricane. And so I was going to school and I 1002 00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:41,700 was working at night as a valet. And one of the guys that I had 1003 00:50:41,700 --> 00:50:45,180 been Val laying for said, Hey, why don't you get a job with me 1004 00:50:45,180 --> 00:50:47,940 in the plumbers union. My name is Jean Cardoza. I own Cardoza 1005 00:50:47,940 --> 00:50:50,190 plumbing, and it was one of the largest plumbing outfits in the 1006 00:50:50,190 --> 00:50:54,180 city. And so once I just understood the opportunity, and 1007 00:50:54,180 --> 00:50:56,850 then it could really schooling, I just said yes, I was literally 1008 00:50:56,850 --> 00:51:00,090 in his office the next morning, and I signed my paperwork, and I 1009 00:51:00,090 --> 00:51:02,640 was in the union. And so I was working in the day, and then I 1010 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:06,330 was going to school at night. And then I was still valeting at 1011 00:51:06,330 --> 00:51:09,690 night. And then one of my buddies that I was laying with 1012 00:51:09,690 --> 00:51:14,490 got a job in the city at Merchant Cash and Capital, which 1013 00:51:14,490 --> 00:51:18,360 was later biz fi, and they were hiring new people. And he had 1014 00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:21,180 said to me, you know, you gotta meet this guy, Steve shine down, 1015 00:51:21,390 --> 00:51:24,480 he's super charismatic, like this company is gonna blow up. 1016 00:51:24,900 --> 00:51:27,600 And I'm like, you know, I'm doing pretty good in the Union, 1017 00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:32,370 and I'm probably gonna finish out and become a teacher. And I 1018 00:51:32,370 --> 00:51:34,530 remember talking to one of the guys in the Union about the 1019 00:51:34,530 --> 00:51:36,750 opportunity, and he's like, You're crazy. If you don't meet 1020 00:51:36,750 --> 00:51:41,670 that guy. I'm like, really why? He's like, Jared, I told my son 1021 00:51:41,670 --> 00:51:44,610 to go be a doctor, don't don't be a plumber. And he showed me 1022 00:51:44,610 --> 00:51:48,270 his hands. And his hands were like this. And he said, you 1023 00:51:48,270 --> 00:51:52,470 know, 30 years of plumbing do and it just kind of stood out to 1024 00:51:52,470 --> 00:51:56,520 me, you know, and it made me want to go meet this guy. And, 1025 00:51:56,550 --> 00:52:01,200 and I met Steve and Mike was right, he was super charismatic. 1026 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:04,770 And I really believed in the vision. And so I took a shot 1027 00:52:04,770 --> 00:52:08,880 again, and I shelved my book for 90 days in the union. And I 1028 00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:12,720 tried this job out for 90 days. And after 60 days, I was pretty 1029 00:52:12,720 --> 00:52:17,190 sure that it was for me, and I left the union. And I just 1030 00:52:17,190 --> 00:52:20,220 started working full time at this company. And I really put 1031 00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:25,380 200 of myself 200% of myself into it. And I started in 1032 00:52:25,380 --> 00:52:30,300 underwriting. I worked my way up to business development. And 1033 00:52:30,300 --> 00:52:33,150 then I co founded their inside sales division next level 1034 00:52:33,150 --> 00:52:37,410 funding, they had made me a 10% owner of it, I was, you know, I 1035 00:52:37,410 --> 00:52:40,050 really hit the roof, I was like you really made it, you know, I 1036 00:52:40,050 --> 00:52:44,400 was 25 at the time, 26. And so it was a pretty big deal for me. 1037 00:52:45,510 --> 00:52:48,510 Most of the peers that I had started there with, I watched 1038 00:52:48,510 --> 00:52:50,760 them all leaving and kind of going on their own in the 1039 00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:55,260 industry. And that just hadn't really dawned on me. And then 1040 00:52:55,260 --> 00:52:58,980 one day I was talking to Steve, and he was explaining to me that 1041 00:52:59,250 --> 00:53:01,290 as they were building the company out, they needed some 1042 00:53:01,290 --> 00:53:04,170 more gray haired folks he had said, which really just meant 1043 00:53:04,170 --> 00:53:07,890 people with experience, to build and be on their board. And he 1044 00:53:07,890 --> 00:53:10,020 was kind of nicely telling me like you're not going to be a 1045 00:53:10,020 --> 00:53:13,950 board member anytime soon. And so we just worked out a deal 1046 00:53:13,950 --> 00:53:16,140 where I sold my shares back to him and I went on my own with 1047 00:53:16,140 --> 00:53:20,970 United Capital Source at the end of 2010. And then from there, 1048 00:53:20,970 --> 00:53:24,780 it's it's been a pretty wild ride for almost 11 years. 1049 00:53:25,680 --> 00:53:29,010 Johny Fernandez: That's wild. Yeah, that is wild. So Jared, 1050 00:53:29,010 --> 00:53:31,500 something that I've noticed about you just talking with you 1051 00:53:31,530 --> 00:53:35,460 and reading up on you is that you took different risks in 1052 00:53:35,460 --> 00:53:40,050 life. Yeah. 2020 has obviously been a big part of many people 1053 00:53:40,050 --> 00:53:44,940 taking a risk, and being scared of starting from scratch from 1054 00:53:44,970 --> 00:53:47,940 like building your way back up. So what advice do you have to 1055 00:53:47,940 --> 00:53:50,790 someone that is either new to the business, or that is 1056 00:53:50,790 --> 00:53:53,310 thinking about starting in the business? Or that is thinking 1057 00:53:53,310 --> 00:53:56,220 about just taking a risk like you did? What advice would you 1058 00:53:56,220 --> 00:53:56,640 give them? 1059 00:53:57,060 --> 00:53:58,650 Jared Weitz: You know, the first thing I would say is to just, 1060 00:53:59,100 --> 00:54:03,060 for me a lot of the risks that I took, thankfully, I was at a 1061 00:54:03,060 --> 00:54:06,120 eugenic place in my life as well. I wasn't married yet. I 1062 00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:10,380 didn't have any kids yet. And so I also felt kind of bold enough 1063 00:54:10,380 --> 00:54:14,310 to do that. So I would definitely take that into 1064 00:54:14,310 --> 00:54:17,730 consideration today. But more importantly, I would say if you 1065 00:54:17,730 --> 00:54:22,440 have a skill set, and you have a real desire and will to succeed, 1066 00:54:22,860 --> 00:54:25,320 I don't think there's much that would stop you these days from 1067 00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:27,750 going on your own and being entrepreneurial and starting a 1068 00:54:27,750 --> 00:54:32,790 business. The one thing I will say is that you will be tested 1069 00:54:32,850 --> 00:54:36,630 time and time again, whether it be with a world pandemic or some 1070 00:54:36,630 --> 00:54:40,260 of your largest partners closing some of your closest employees 1071 00:54:40,260 --> 00:54:44,550 leaving. So you really have to have like zero quit in you if 1072 00:54:44,550 --> 00:54:46,110 you're going to take this path. 1073 00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:50,310 Johny Fernandez: And what would you say in regards to people 1074 00:54:50,310 --> 00:54:52,920 that are trying to figure out what their next step is and how 1075 00:54:52,920 --> 00:54:56,220 to maneuver? You know a next step, whether it's whether it's 1076 00:54:56,220 --> 00:54:59,820 in the business or whether it's just doing something new in 1077 00:54:59,820 --> 00:55:00,240 general. 1078 00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:04,170 Jared Weitz: I think if someone has an entrepreneurial spirit, 1079 00:55:04,290 --> 00:55:06,870 and they look at what they're good at and what they like 1080 00:55:06,870 --> 00:55:10,320 doing, and then look at the different industries of what 1081 00:55:10,320 --> 00:55:14,610 that looks like, they can pretty easily I think, create a plan to 1082 00:55:14,610 --> 00:55:18,300 start something. And something that I did, you know, I had 1083 00:55:18,300 --> 00:55:22,200 emptied my 401K, and I had emptied my savings at the time 1084 00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:25,980 to start United. And so it was, it was really an all in move for 1085 00:55:25,980 --> 00:55:26,310 me. 1086 00:55:27,300 --> 00:55:29,250 Johny Fernandez: So at this point, you know, you had you 1087 00:55:29,250 --> 00:55:34,050 couldn't just, you couldn't quit it, you know, there was no 1088 00:55:34,050 --> 00:55:34,890 option for failure. 1089 00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:37,260 Jared Weitz: There is no quit. Yeah, after 11 years, 1090 00:55:37,260 --> 00:55:40,830 thankfully, I can say that, you know, I've bootstrapped this 1091 00:55:40,830 --> 00:55:45,360 business, we have not had any loans, and we have no debt. You 1092 00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:48,240 know, I've grown this business from all the dollars that it's 1093 00:55:48,240 --> 00:55:50,970 earned itself. Most of my staff that started there is actually 1094 00:55:50,970 --> 00:55:53,760 still there with me, the average employee tenure is about eight 1095 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:54,510 and a half years. 1096 00:55:55,020 --> 00:55:56,640 Johny Fernandez: So what do you think? Why do you think your 1097 00:55:56,640 --> 00:56:00,240 business specifically is different? And people have been 1098 00:56:00,240 --> 00:56:03,150 able to stay there long. And also, you know, you guys haven't 1099 00:56:03,150 --> 00:56:06,810 had to close, because of something like the pandemic, 1100 00:56:06,810 --> 00:56:09,600 what do you think has made you successful in regards to being a 1101 00:56:09,600 --> 00:56:10,230 business owner? 1102 00:56:11,100 --> 00:56:15,330 Jared Weitz: You know, I watch a lot of different shows and 1103 00:56:15,330 --> 00:56:17,010 reading different books on business. And one person that I 1104 00:56:17,010 --> 00:56:20,940 really admire is Marcus Lemonis. And he talks a lot about people 1105 00:56:20,940 --> 00:56:25,590 process and product, right. And so in an industry like ours, 1106 00:56:25,590 --> 00:56:30,990 where everyone has access to a certain product, right, you 1107 00:56:30,990 --> 00:56:33,720 really have to differentiate yourself with people in process. 1108 00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:37,050 And so for me, what differentiates us definitely is 1109 00:56:37,050 --> 00:56:40,890 our people, you know, I focused on building a culture versus a 1110 00:56:40,890 --> 00:56:44,400 business. And I think that is what has made us successful on 1111 00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:49,290 the on the people side. And then our process, you know, a lot of 1112 00:56:49,290 --> 00:56:53,730 people in the industry throw around the word fintech. We're a 1113 00:56:53,730 --> 00:56:56,820 finance brokerage. We're not a tech company. But we have some 1114 00:56:56,820 --> 00:56:59,340 really cool tech built, and we have some really cool technology 1115 00:56:59,340 --> 00:57:01,590 that enables us to make our process faster. 1116 00:57:01,920 --> 00:57:04,110 Johny Fernandez: So what advice would you have to someone that 1117 00:57:04,140 --> 00:57:08,040 is in the business that's fairly young? What advice would you 1118 00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:11,970 have to them about moving up about just trying to get ahead? 1119 00:57:12,990 --> 00:57:16,020 Jared Weitz: I say that someone should look to partner with a 1120 00:57:16,020 --> 00:57:20,520 larger firm, and learn the business and understand what 1121 00:57:20,520 --> 00:57:25,350 their growth pattern is going to be. And learn from a mentor. You 1122 00:57:25,350 --> 00:57:28,560 know, that's why I think I was able to be successful, you know, 1123 00:57:28,560 --> 00:57:31,260 I did start my business on my own. But I had this background 1124 00:57:31,260 --> 00:57:36,120 from MCC. And I worked with some of the most talented people. And 1125 00:57:36,120 --> 00:57:39,090 still to this day, you know, I talked to Steve Shinebam, I 1126 00:57:39,090 --> 00:57:41,910 bounce things off him. And I think it's important to have 1127 00:57:41,910 --> 00:57:45,810 business mentors that enable you to stay on your path. 1128 00:57:46,590 --> 00:57:48,750 Johny Fernandez: Really interesting question that I've 1129 00:57:48,750 --> 00:57:50,880 seen, you know, not only in this industry, but in other 1130 00:57:50,880 --> 00:57:52,740 industries, is how do you not burn out? 1131 00:57:54,090 --> 00:57:56,880 Jared Weitz: That's a difficult question. You know, sometimes 1132 00:57:56,880 --> 00:57:59,430 you'll feel like you are burnt out, right. And I think that's 1133 00:58:00,180 --> 00:58:04,740 just part of the job. I actually don't have an answer for why I'm 1134 00:58:04,740 --> 00:58:07,500 not burned out with the amount of hours I work, I feel like I 1135 00:58:07,500 --> 00:58:11,370 should be I just, it really goes back to having that zero, quit. 1136 00:58:11,370 --> 00:58:13,050 I just I don't really think about that to be honest, it's 1137 00:58:13,050 --> 00:58:16,110 really not even in my head. I don't think about how many hours 1138 00:58:16,110 --> 00:58:19,800 I work a day, or how many hours I worked this week, I focus on 1139 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:23,340 goals. So as long as I'm just reaching those goals, I'm not 1140 00:58:23,340 --> 00:58:24,330 too focused on much else. 1141 00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:27,330 Johny Fernandez: That's awesome. So moving forward, you know, the 1142 00:58:27,600 --> 00:58:31,710 business in general, you know, the business, the industry, what 1143 00:58:31,710 --> 00:58:36,000 exactly do you think is going to happen in the future, and also, 1144 00:58:36,090 --> 00:58:39,390 how has business had to adapt and change because of something 1145 00:58:39,390 --> 00:58:40,350 like the pandemic? 1146 00:58:40,950 --> 00:58:45,330 Jared Weitz: So I think the future for the finance industry 1147 00:58:45,660 --> 00:58:48,810 is always bright. And you know why I say that is because I 1148 00:58:48,810 --> 00:58:52,470 believe in entrepreneural. I believe in entrepreneurship. But 1149 00:58:52,470 --> 00:58:54,990 I also believe in small business. And I know that 52% of 1150 00:58:54,990 --> 00:58:57,990 the economy is small business. And so that just doesn't go away 1151 00:58:57,990 --> 00:59:02,100 tomorrow, whether there's a pandemic or not, right. And so, 1152 00:59:02,610 --> 00:59:06,930 today, what I see happening in our industry is that states will 1153 00:59:06,930 --> 00:59:09,300 come in and they'll create some more regulation around what's 1154 00:59:09,300 --> 00:59:11,880 happening. I think that's positive for the industry. 1155 00:59:11,880 --> 00:59:16,170 Right? Once a set of regulations is in place, there's nothing to 1156 00:59:16,170 --> 00:59:19,800 really worry about nothing looming. I think disclosures 1157 00:59:20,310 --> 00:59:23,520 will become more and more potent in our in our industry, whether 1158 00:59:23,520 --> 00:59:28,110 it be commission rate and term. And I think that brokers are 1159 00:59:28,110 --> 00:59:32,820 really going to have to become really familiar with privacy 1160 00:59:32,820 --> 00:59:38,160 laws, privacy guidelines, and data disclosures, because that's 1161 00:59:38,160 --> 00:59:40,770 coming down the pipe, as I see from different states as well. 1162 00:59:41,040 --> 00:59:42,750 Johny Fernandez: So speaking about that, I know there has 1163 00:59:42,750 --> 00:59:45,870 been different states that have put different that have wanted 1164 00:59:45,870 --> 00:59:48,330 to pass different bills, different laws into place, you 1165 00:59:48,330 --> 00:59:51,240 know, pretty much hindering the business from moving forward or 1166 00:59:51,360 --> 00:59:55,830 putting different, tying down brokers and having them follow 1167 00:59:55,830 --> 00:59:59,100 different rules. What would be your advice, you know, for 1168 00:59:59,100 --> 01:00:02,640 someone that's just starting out about, you know, working around 1169 01:00:02,640 --> 01:00:07,800 these different rules, different hurdles that someone like you 1170 01:00:07,830 --> 01:00:10,590 didn't really have to go through because it was in place. 1171 01:00:10,920 --> 01:00:14,730 Jared Weitz: You know, I think for us, we've always focused on 1172 01:00:14,730 --> 01:00:18,270 being a consultative brokerage. And so we've never hidden 1173 01:00:18,690 --> 01:00:23,790 anything about our pricing or our term or our product. And so 1174 01:00:23,910 --> 01:00:27,030 if there were disclosures that were to come out, we've already 1175 01:00:27,030 --> 01:00:30,180 been operating that way. And we've already been selling that 1176 01:00:30,180 --> 01:00:33,540 way. And so if you're doing the right thing, and you're being 1177 01:00:33,570 --> 01:00:36,840 honest with your clients, any of these things aren't really an 1178 01:00:36,840 --> 01:00:40,860 issue for you. It's the lenders that are going to have a little 1179 01:00:40,860 --> 01:00:44,430 bit more of an issue with their borrowing base and their cost of 1180 01:00:44,430 --> 01:00:49,410 capital if there are certain cap on rate and term for them. In 1181 01:00:49,410 --> 01:00:52,590 turn, that trickles down to the brokers a bit. But there's other 1182 01:00:52,590 --> 01:00:56,040 folks and products coming out like American Express's Kabbage, 1183 01:00:56,040 --> 01:01:01,740 and those guys are coming back out. Folks like Idea, folks like 1184 01:01:01,740 --> 01:01:04,380 business backer in headway, you know, most of these people are 1185 01:01:04,380 --> 01:01:07,470 already following the guidelines. So when these things 1186 01:01:07,470 --> 01:01:09,630 come out, it's already that you're working that way. 1187 01:01:09,720 --> 01:01:12,870 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. So obviously, 2020 was a big year, 1188 01:01:12,900 --> 01:01:16,170 and it changed a lot of people changed the way businesses work. 1189 01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:20,580 So from what you can say, for the future for you guys, what 1190 01:01:20,580 --> 01:01:21,420 does that look like? 1191 01:01:22,200 --> 01:01:25,140 Jared Weitz: You know, we'll continue to operate as a 1192 01:01:25,140 --> 01:01:29,370 marketplace and offer multiple products. Equipment Financing 1193 01:01:29,370 --> 01:01:33,240 has become bigger, as I see right now, as is, you know, the 1194 01:01:33,240 --> 01:01:37,620 SBA loans. I think as the government loans calm down, our 1195 01:01:37,620 --> 01:01:42,210 industry will begin to tick back up. And for us, that is the 1196 01:01:42,210 --> 01:01:46,920 focus, is just understanding what product is going to be the 1197 01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:49,170 best at the time for our clients and then pushing it there. 1198 01:01:49,950 --> 01:01:52,050 Johny Fernandez: And then what advice would you have to people 1199 01:01:52,050 --> 01:01:54,990 that are wanting to get into the business, the industry? 1200 01:01:55,530 --> 01:01:58,200 Jared Weitz: I think it's a good industry to get into, but I 1201 01:01:58,200 --> 01:02:04,890 think that there are areas of it that you can get caught in a bad 1202 01:02:04,890 --> 01:02:09,300 way. And so I would say to align yourself with some of the best 1203 01:02:09,300 --> 01:02:11,880 folks in the industry. And you can probably find a lot of those 1204 01:02:12,150 --> 01:02:16,980 people on the SBFA's website, and on deBanked's website, where 1205 01:02:16,980 --> 01:02:20,010 you can see all of the different funders and brokers and their 1206 01:02:20,010 --> 01:02:23,100 ratings and what they're doing. And I would say there's who you 1207 01:02:23,100 --> 01:02:25,140 really align yourself with over the next two years. 1208 01:02:25,740 --> 01:02:28,920 Johny Fernandez: So in regards to moving forward, just how you 1209 01:02:28,920 --> 01:02:32,460 guys do business? Do you, how do you think that's going to 1210 01:02:32,460 --> 01:02:35,490 change? Or not only you, but just the industry in general, do 1211 01:02:35,490 --> 01:02:38,640 you think there's gonna be any changes because of COVID-19? 1212 01:02:38,640 --> 01:02:42,990 Because of the pandemic, do you think, do you believe that the 1213 01:02:42,990 --> 01:02:47,010 industry has to kind of evolve and change? Or what are your 1214 01:02:47,010 --> 01:02:48,360 thoughts? And what are your views on that? 1215 01:02:48,690 --> 01:02:51,960 Jared Weitz: So I think that a lot of brokers and funders as 1216 01:02:51,960 --> 01:02:54,930 well will continue the hybrid model of working from home and 1217 01:02:54,930 --> 01:02:58,320 also having some in the office, right. I know a lot of funders 1218 01:02:58,320 --> 01:03:01,260 are getting rid of office space and finding that their 1219 01:03:01,260 --> 01:03:04,080 operations and underwriting are able to work well from home. So 1220 01:03:04,080 --> 01:03:07,650 I think that the way that people work will continue to change, I 1221 01:03:07,650 --> 01:03:12,150 think the products that we sell, will not change the pricing and 1222 01:03:12,150 --> 01:03:14,520 the terms of them and the disclosures around them will 1223 01:03:14,520 --> 01:03:15,090 change. 1224 01:03:15,840 --> 01:03:18,120 Johny Fernandez: That's awesome. And it's interesting in regards 1225 01:03:18,120 --> 01:03:21,270 to, you know, starting something from the ground up for someone 1226 01:03:21,270 --> 01:03:24,480 that just is starting, what would be your best advice to in 1227 01:03:24,480 --> 01:03:28,140 regards to financing, something like that, and trying to bring 1228 01:03:28,140 --> 01:03:31,290 the money to be able to start from the ground up? 1229 01:03:31,710 --> 01:03:36,330 Jared Weitz: I think starting from the ground up, is is is 1230 01:03:36,330 --> 01:03:39,030 really great, because there's nothing like that initial grind 1231 01:03:39,030 --> 01:03:43,470 and really learning from your mistakes. I will say that in 1232 01:03:43,470 --> 01:03:46,680 this time, you should be especially careful with capital. 1233 01:03:46,680 --> 01:03:50,130 And you should really understand and have a plan for you know, 1234 01:03:50,130 --> 01:03:53,190 your first initial six months, but try to plan to have at least 1235 01:03:53,220 --> 01:03:56,310 12 months of operating capital, if you're going to go out on 1236 01:03:56,310 --> 01:03:59,100 your own and start this way, especially during this time, I 1237 01:03:59,100 --> 01:04:01,500 will say that you have a benefit because you don't need office 1238 01:04:01,500 --> 01:04:05,010 space. And a lot of people are working from home. And so you 1239 01:04:05,010 --> 01:04:07,200 can probably save a little on your SG and A costs. 1240 01:04:07,530 --> 01:04:10,050 Johny Fernandez: And someone, someone watching these two that 1241 01:04:10,050 --> 01:04:13,080 are watching this set, see you and see your success that our 1242 01:04:13,080 --> 01:04:17,040 business owners already that are in the game, what advice would 1243 01:04:17,040 --> 01:04:20,130 you have for them in regards to just trying to get through the 1244 01:04:20,130 --> 01:04:23,940 rest of this pandemic and just moving forward? 1245 01:04:24,270 --> 01:04:26,760 Jared Weitz: I think in general, the same as me, anytime you see 1246 01:04:26,760 --> 01:04:30,330 someone that level of success, you're likely not seeing what 1247 01:04:30,330 --> 01:04:33,810 they're doing to achieve that success. And so I would say that 1248 01:04:34,560 --> 01:04:36,990 everyone, whatever level of success you're at, you're 1249 01:04:36,990 --> 01:04:41,040 working really hard. And the advice I would give to anyone is 1250 01:04:41,070 --> 01:04:44,370 you have to work really hard all the time to stay on your own and 1251 01:04:44,370 --> 01:04:45,780 be in your own business and be successful. 1252 01:04:45,960 --> 01:04:48,510 Johny Fernandez: So when you say like working hard and just 1253 01:04:48,510 --> 01:04:52,500 grinding, what do you think has helped you kind of eliminate 1254 01:04:52,890 --> 01:04:56,430 time wasters or eliminate things that number one, people that 1255 01:04:56,430 --> 01:05:01,710 waste your time but also just techniques or or habits that, 1256 01:05:01,740 --> 01:05:04,020 you know, have pretty much made you productive. 1257 01:05:04,140 --> 01:05:06,630 Jared Weitz: You know, most of the things that I've learned are 1258 01:05:06,630 --> 01:05:10,650 from the mistakes I've actually made. So I can tell you that, 1259 01:05:10,650 --> 01:05:12,690 you know, a lot of the good processes that I've come up with 1260 01:05:12,690 --> 01:05:16,650 is because I've worked through the bad processes first. And 1261 01:05:16,650 --> 01:05:18,270 that's what I think people are going to go through, you know, 1262 01:05:18,270 --> 01:05:21,780 it's difficult to tell someone, this works best for you, because 1263 01:05:21,780 --> 01:05:25,500 you're not them. And you're not in that in that area. Even in 1264 01:05:25,500 --> 01:05:27,810 our sales floor, you know, we don't have scripts, because I 1265 01:05:27,810 --> 01:05:31,440 don't think there's one way to kind of sell and operate. So I 1266 01:05:31,440 --> 01:05:36,420 think that there's an overall looming bunch of rules that you 1267 01:05:36,420 --> 01:05:39,210 should follow. But then you have to kind of make it into your 1268 01:05:39,210 --> 01:05:42,630 own. So for me, I understand, don't waste your time, follow a 1269 01:05:42,630 --> 01:05:46,050 schedule, have a strategy, I use different apps that helped me 1270 01:05:46,050 --> 01:05:50,040 follow my time and schedule. So it's difficult to operate 1271 01:05:50,040 --> 01:05:50,490 loosely. 1272 01:05:50,550 --> 01:05:52,860 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. So really quick, because we have to wrap 1273 01:05:52,860 --> 01:05:56,190 up soon, what apps do you use, and what time do you wake up? 1274 01:05:56,850 --> 01:05:59,400 Jared Weitz: So I generally wake up about 430, five o'clock every 1275 01:05:59,400 --> 01:06:04,080 day. And then I'm generally going to bed between 11 and 1276 01:06:04,080 --> 01:06:04,890 12pm. 1277 01:06:05,880 --> 01:06:06,870 Johny Fernandez: So very little sleep. 1278 01:06:06,930 --> 01:06:10,230 Jared Weitz: So a little bit of sleep, but I've not ever been 1279 01:06:10,230 --> 01:06:14,010 someone that was someone that slept or rested a lot, you know, 1280 01:06:14,190 --> 01:06:18,870 so that's not for me. And the apps that I use, I can tell you, 1281 01:06:19,260 --> 01:06:22,950 I use my iCalendar for almost everything that I do with my 1282 01:06:22,950 --> 01:06:29,760 alerts. I also use LastPass, which is huge for me, because 1283 01:06:29,760 --> 01:06:32,310 it's an encryption software for all my passwords that I need to 1284 01:06:32,310 --> 01:06:35,550 get into. Okay. So that actually is big. I don't know any of my 1285 01:06:35,550 --> 01:06:39,000 own passwords. They're all in this thing, you know. And that's 1286 01:06:39,000 --> 01:06:42,990 a time saver, and also a data protector for me. And so those 1287 01:06:42,990 --> 01:06:46,530 are like my two biggest apps and scan easy and sign anywhere. 1288 01:06:46,860 --> 01:06:48,630 Johny Fernandez: Awesome. I'll definitely take that one into 1289 01:06:48,630 --> 01:06:51,210 consideration too. Alright, Jared, thanks so much for 1290 01:06:51,210 --> 01:06:51,690 joining us. 1291 01:06:51,690 --> 01:06:52,320 Jared Weitz: Thanks for having me. 1292 01:06:52,410 --> 01:06:53,640 Johny Fernandez: And you guys. Thank you guys so much for 1293 01:06:53,640 --> 01:06:56,430 joining us. Again. I'm Johny Fernandez here with Jared Weitz. 1294 01:06:56,580 --> 01:06:57,570 We'll see you guys next time. 1295 01:07:04,770 --> 01:07:06,780 Allyson Berger: Hey, everyone Allyson Berger here for 1296 01:07:06,810 --> 01:07:10,860 deBanked. We are live in midtown Manhattan. I am now with Andrew 1297 01:07:10,860 --> 01:07:13,140 and Nick of the Central Diligence Group. How're you guys 1298 01:07:13,140 --> 01:07:13,590 doing? 1299 01:07:13,770 --> 01:07:15,240 Nick Gregory: We're doing great, nice to meet you. 1300 01:07:15,390 --> 01:07:16,350 Allyson Berger: You too. 1301 01:07:16,650 --> 01:07:17,430 Andrew Hernandez: Nice to meet you as well. 1302 01:07:18,060 --> 01:07:19,950 Allyson Berger: So we are going to keep this fast and simple. 1303 01:07:19,950 --> 01:07:22,590 Just like your business motto. Have you been keeping things 1304 01:07:22,590 --> 01:07:24,720 fast and simple throughout this past year? 1305 01:07:24,900 --> 01:07:26,580 Nick Gregory: Absolutely. Without a doubt. 1306 01:07:27,000 --> 01:07:27,690 Allyson Berger: Do you agree? 1307 01:07:28,680 --> 01:07:30,690 Andrew Hernandez: As much as we can with everything going on. 1308 01:07:30,900 --> 01:07:32,940 Allyson Berger: Has it? How has it changed for you guys? 1309 01:07:34,110 --> 01:07:36,810 Nick Gregory: Well, we've had to obviously adapt to the company 1310 01:07:36,810 --> 01:07:40,260 culture and people working remote and trying to work 1311 01:07:40,260 --> 01:07:43,530 through problems and issues through you know, social media 1312 01:07:43,530 --> 01:07:45,390 and other types of chat platforms. 1313 01:07:45,840 --> 01:07:47,580 Allyson Berger: It sounded like when we were chatting earlier 1314 01:07:47,580 --> 01:07:50,010 that it's been a little difficult at times to do things 1315 01:07:50,010 --> 01:07:52,140 virtually. How has that been for you? 1316 01:07:53,970 --> 01:07:57,000 Andrew Hernandez: So we did a couple months working from home, 1317 01:07:57,000 --> 01:07:59,940 everybody was working from home. A few of us got back into the 1318 01:07:59,940 --> 01:08:03,870 office in July. And eventually the whole office was backed by 1319 01:08:03,870 --> 01:08:06,660 October. It's just easier to work from home doing what we do. 1320 01:08:07,290 --> 01:08:10,920 Easy to communicate. We tried the Zooms. We tried the chats 1321 01:08:10,920 --> 01:08:14,040 and whatnot. But ultimately, we all like being together anyway. 1322 01:08:14,040 --> 01:08:15,030 So works out. 1323 01:08:15,360 --> 01:08:18,000 Allyson Berger: It is nice being people to people, face to face 1324 01:08:18,000 --> 01:08:20,490 it, and it must help your business doing things face to 1325 01:08:20,490 --> 01:08:20,880 face. 1326 01:08:21,149 --> 01:08:23,699 Nick Gregory: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's it's very difficult 1327 01:08:23,699 --> 01:08:27,209 now that even just to, you know, cultivate the relationships that 1328 01:08:27,209 --> 01:08:30,779 we've had, for so many years, it's just you know, we're 1329 01:08:30,779 --> 01:08:33,149 working through it. We're working through it as much as we 1330 01:08:33,149 --> 01:08:33,839 can. So. 1331 01:08:34,290 --> 01:08:35,700 Allyson Berger: You guys have been doing great. I mean, you're 1332 01:08:35,700 --> 01:08:39,120 here right now to tell us all about it. How do you see things 1333 01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:40,140 going in the future? 1334 01:08:41,340 --> 01:08:44,250 Andrew Hernandez: We think this is a good, you know, 1335 01:08:44,400 --> 01:08:47,460 reassessment of everything that's going on with just small 1336 01:08:47,460 --> 01:08:51,210 business in general, we've made the changes to and adapted to 1337 01:08:51,210 --> 01:08:55,350 what's going on, in terms of, you know, what's going forward? 1338 01:08:55,380 --> 01:08:56,700 I don't have a crystal ball. But. 1339 01:08:56,729 --> 01:08:57,659 Allyson Berger: Wait, you don't? 1340 01:08:58,109 --> 01:09:00,419 Andrew Hernandez: Unfortunately not. But we're doing our best. 1341 01:09:00,809 --> 01:09:03,089 You know, we're always talking to each other communication is 1342 01:09:03,089 --> 01:09:06,239 key with not only ourselves, other funders, other brokers in 1343 01:09:06,239 --> 01:09:08,819 the industry, and looking to build on those relationships 1344 01:09:08,819 --> 01:09:11,339 that we've cultivated over not just this time, but over the 1345 01:09:11,339 --> 01:09:11,699 years. 1346 01:09:12,270 --> 01:09:14,610 Allyson Berger: Most definitely. And I wish you had that crystal 1347 01:09:14,610 --> 01:09:17,520 ball, it would help out with a lot of things. Do you see 1348 01:09:17,520 --> 01:09:18,420 anything happening? 1349 01:09:18,810 --> 01:09:22,020 Nick Gregory: I think we're definitely at a at a moment 1350 01:09:22,020 --> 01:09:25,050 where we're going to springboard forward from here. You know, 1351 01:09:25,110 --> 01:09:28,440 there's constant media news with different variants coming out 1352 01:09:28,440 --> 01:09:31,260 and everyone's getting vaccinated and not vaccinated. I 1353 01:09:31,260 --> 01:09:34,200 think eventually we'll get to a plateau of, you know, kind of 1354 01:09:34,200 --> 01:09:37,260 somewhat normalcy, but you know, it's going to take time, but 1355 01:09:37,260 --> 01:09:39,960 we've been pushing through and, you know, trudging forward as 1356 01:09:39,960 --> 01:09:41,730 much as we can over the past several months, 1357 01:09:42,060 --> 01:09:43,920 Allyson Berger: Of course, and I mean, we're here right now. 1358 01:09:43,950 --> 01:09:46,950 We're live in person. I feel like this is a good step 1359 01:09:46,950 --> 01:09:47,460 forward. 1360 01:09:47,880 --> 01:09:49,020 Nick Gregory: Oh, 100%. Yeah. 1361 01:09:49,979 --> 01:09:51,539 Andrew Hernandez: Absolutely. It feels good to be back. The 1362 01:09:51,539 --> 01:09:54,989 weather's nice. Good to just be around people again, people we 1363 01:09:54,989 --> 01:09:55,709 know. So. 1364 01:09:56,040 --> 01:09:59,010 Allyson Berger: Right. Of course you're most welcome. How do you 1365 01:09:59,010 --> 01:10:00,780 feel about New York coming back? 1366 01:10:02,220 --> 01:10:04,110 Andrew Hernandez: Little by little, like I said, we've been 1367 01:10:04,110 --> 01:10:07,740 back in the office since late June, early July. And we've seen 1368 01:10:07,740 --> 01:10:10,800 the progress that, you know, has been happening over the past 10 1369 01:10:10,800 --> 01:10:14,100 months or so. And we think it's gonna bounce back, New York 1370 01:10:14,100 --> 01:10:16,410 always bounces back. So we're looking forward to it. 1371 01:10:16,860 --> 01:10:18,840 Allyson Berger: I definitely agree, we got to see the hope. 1372 01:10:18,840 --> 01:10:22,170 Well, I'm gonna let you bounce to the next hot seat. So you can 1373 01:10:22,200 --> 01:10:24,780 get into some more about your story and what you guys have 1374 01:10:24,780 --> 01:10:27,480 going on. So stay tuned, everyone, there's more to come 1375 01:10:27,480 --> 01:10:28,680 from deBanked live. 1376 01:10:35,220 --> 01:10:37,650 Kevin Travers: So here we are, again at deBanked TV live. Now, 1377 01:10:37,650 --> 01:10:39,990 Allyson, started to introduce these two from behind the 1378 01:10:39,990 --> 01:10:42,990 scenes, but we're here with Andrew Hernandez and Nick 1379 01:10:42,990 --> 01:10:47,430 Gregory from Central Diligence Group. And how's it going, guys, 1380 01:10:47,430 --> 01:10:49,620 I hope your family and friends are staying safe and healthy in 1381 01:10:49,620 --> 01:10:53,790 this time. What can you tell me about, how long have you been 1382 01:10:53,790 --> 01:10:55,080 open and working in the office? 1383 01:10:55,650 --> 01:10:59,580 Andrew Hernandez: We started to come back late June, early July. 1384 01:10:59,940 --> 01:11:03,720 And once everybody got comfortable with everything, the 1385 01:11:03,720 --> 01:11:08,010 whole office was back by about October. So it's been a slow 1386 01:11:08,100 --> 01:11:11,400 progression towards that. But I think everybody now is 1387 01:11:11,430 --> 01:11:13,800 comfortable with everything. It's better to be back in the 1388 01:11:13,800 --> 01:11:17,460 office for us. I think everybody has realized that as we've been 1389 01:11:17,490 --> 01:11:20,730 going through it. We tried the Zoom chats, we tried the chats, 1390 01:11:20,760 --> 01:11:24,510 the regular chats. And ultimately, I think the 1391 01:11:24,510 --> 01:11:27,210 communication is just better being all in one place. 1392 01:11:29,340 --> 01:11:31,830 Nick Gregory: Yeah, no, I would definitely agree with that. I 1393 01:11:31,830 --> 01:11:35,640 think the human interaction of you know, being face to face, 1394 01:11:35,820 --> 01:11:38,490 especially in our type of business where we actually need 1395 01:11:38,670 --> 01:11:41,400 to interact with the underwriter and, you know, you convey your 1396 01:11:41,400 --> 01:11:44,670 message a little bit more effectively in person as opposed 1397 01:11:44,670 --> 01:11:48,600 to, you know, discussing a deal or talking about a file over a 1398 01:11:48,600 --> 01:11:52,380 chat, you know, for that matter. So it's definitely more of a 1399 01:11:52,410 --> 01:11:55,110 collective approach when working on certain files. 1400 01:11:55,260 --> 01:11:55,740 Andrew Hernandez: Exactly. 1401 01:11:56,490 --> 01:11:59,340 Kevin Travers: And speaking of, I guess, trying to adapt this 1402 01:11:59,340 --> 01:12:02,820 year, how has underwriting changed or had to maybe 1403 01:12:02,820 --> 01:12:06,750 accelerate, or what changes have you looked at through your 1404 01:12:06,750 --> 01:12:07,830 underwriting process this year? 1405 01:12:08,730 --> 01:12:11,130 Andrew Hernandez: I think one of the, you know, in terms of 1406 01:12:11,130 --> 01:12:13,620 underwriting, especially for alternative financing, in 1407 01:12:13,620 --> 01:12:19,290 general, the criteria is always changing, you're always kind of 1408 01:12:19,590 --> 01:12:23,580 looking to see what's going on in the world. And COVID-19 1409 01:12:23,610 --> 01:12:27,480 really kind of took that to the next level, there was multiple 1410 01:12:27,480 --> 01:12:29,400 changes that needed to be made, and they needed to be, they 1411 01:12:29,400 --> 01:12:33,030 needed to be made quickly. And we had to pay attention to what 1412 01:12:33,030 --> 01:12:38,160 was going on. And, you know, things change over time, as you 1413 01:12:38,160 --> 01:12:40,800 know, what an essential business was in one state wasn't an 1414 01:12:40,800 --> 01:12:43,650 essential business in another state. And that made things a 1415 01:12:43,650 --> 01:12:47,040 little tough, but not only with us, you know, and our other 1416 01:12:47,040 --> 01:12:51,240 partners, our actual underwriters, our employees had 1417 01:12:51,300 --> 01:12:54,660 very much to say, and kept track of everything, and they provided 1418 01:12:54,660 --> 01:12:58,620 their feedback to get us better in, you know, underwriting and 1419 01:12:58,620 --> 01:12:59,580 doing our diligence. 1420 01:13:01,380 --> 01:13:03,780 Nick Gregory: Yeah, for sure. No, I was just to kind of add on 1421 01:13:03,780 --> 01:13:08,670 to that. I think, prior to the pandemic, and working remote, we 1422 01:13:08,670 --> 01:13:12,210 were definitely looking at files in a more traditional manner, 1423 01:13:13,020 --> 01:13:16,620 you know, what kind of business they were dealing with what kind 1424 01:13:16,620 --> 01:13:20,070 of FICO score, what kind of cash flow, etc., things of that sort, 1425 01:13:20,400 --> 01:13:23,670 and just kind of placing them in different boxes and risk 1426 01:13:23,670 --> 01:13:26,910 associating that, you know, accordingly. I think, you know, 1427 01:13:26,910 --> 01:13:30,930 as things have kind of evolved through this, this, you know, 1428 01:13:30,960 --> 01:13:35,550 era, if you will, we've we've definitely had to shift gears 1429 01:13:35,550 --> 01:13:38,880 and look at businesses that are, you know, were high risk before, 1430 01:13:38,880 --> 01:13:40,980 and now they're, you know, deemed essential, you know, 1431 01:13:40,980 --> 01:13:44,280 trucking for example, you know, you hear that industry thrown 1432 01:13:44,280 --> 01:13:46,950 around, and nobody wants to touch trucking and everything is 1433 01:13:46,950 --> 01:13:51,300 just, you know, let's keep it to, you know, tier one, retail 1434 01:13:51,300 --> 01:13:55,020 shops, but those are actually becoming more problematic, at 1435 01:13:55,020 --> 01:13:58,290 least now in the short term than they were before. So we've 1436 01:13:58,290 --> 01:14:01,080 definitely had to shift gears and kind of look at deals a 1437 01:14:01,080 --> 01:14:02,970 little bit differently. Definitely. 1438 01:14:04,200 --> 01:14:05,820 Kevin Travers: And I guess, talking about shifting gears, 1439 01:14:05,820 --> 01:14:09,150 how did you guys look through staffing and finding your 1440 01:14:09,150 --> 01:14:12,090 training new underwriters, I that has to be different, when 1441 01:14:12,390 --> 01:14:14,730 suddenly, were a lot of the world's remote. 1442 01:14:16,380 --> 01:14:19,170 Andrew Hernandez: Definitely makes things difficult. And it 1443 01:14:19,170 --> 01:14:23,130 always depends on, you know, the position that you're hiring for. 1444 01:14:23,130 --> 01:14:26,520 Obviously, if you're you know, underwriting in, especially 1445 01:14:26,520 --> 01:14:29,880 again, and whether it's MCA or alternative financing, um, it's 1446 01:14:29,880 --> 01:14:32,730 a very particular thing and you're looking for someone 1447 01:14:32,730 --> 01:14:35,700 that's kind of going to fit with the whole team. And at the same 1448 01:14:35,700 --> 01:14:40,410 time, you know, somebody that's gonna want to be in the office, 1449 01:14:40,410 --> 01:14:43,230 and that was very challenging for us. I think Nick can speak 1450 01:14:43,230 --> 01:14:46,500 to that in terms of bringing people in and making sure that 1451 01:14:46,530 --> 01:14:49,410 they were comfortable with being in the office again, so. 1452 01:14:50,520 --> 01:14:53,160 Nick Gregory: Sure, yeah. I mean, definitely from from an HR 1453 01:14:53,160 --> 01:14:55,860 standpoint, you know, there's you're dealing with the 1454 01:14:56,370 --> 01:14:59,880 implicant the implications that were, you know, obviously dealt 1455 01:14:59,880 --> 01:15:04,740 to us, and just trying to adapt from a company culture. And now 1456 01:15:04,740 --> 01:15:07,440 everybody's working remote and everyone's in their own silo 1457 01:15:07,440 --> 01:15:10,680 and, you know, working independently. And from a 1458 01:15:10,680 --> 01:15:14,160 management stand, we're dealing with underwriting files. So it's 1459 01:15:14,160 --> 01:15:19,920 it's very, very simple in that regard. But at the same time, 1460 01:15:20,310 --> 01:15:23,880 like I said earlier, to, to work through a deal and to work 1461 01:15:23,880 --> 01:15:27,570 through a file and to really kind of pin pin the, you know, 1462 01:15:27,570 --> 01:15:30,240 the high points and the low points and discuss if this is 1463 01:15:30,240 --> 01:15:33,030 something that we want to approve or not. That's where we 1464 01:15:33,030 --> 01:15:35,970 had to adapt and make certain, you know, fine, fine tuned 1465 01:15:36,000 --> 01:15:37,200 adjustments, if you will. 1466 01:15:38,430 --> 01:15:40,710 Kevin Travers: And I guess, knowing how to adapt is what you 1467 01:15:40,710 --> 01:15:42,930 guys are good at, you've been around underwriting for a very 1468 01:15:42,930 --> 01:15:45,240 long time, what can you tell me? I mean, what's kept you afloat? 1469 01:15:45,270 --> 01:15:47,580 You have to be making good decisions if you're underwriting 1470 01:15:47,580 --> 01:15:48,060 for this long. 1471 01:15:49,200 --> 01:15:52,080 Andrew Hernandez: Yeah, you know, as far as kind of what we 1472 01:15:52,080 --> 01:15:56,040 touched on earlier, it really comes down to being able to 1473 01:15:56,070 --> 01:15:59,670 adapt to whatever's going on, and making those changes in your 1474 01:15:59,670 --> 01:16:02,220 underwriting criteria, and what you're looking for always 1475 01:16:02,220 --> 01:16:06,330 learning new data sources that become available, you know, your 1476 01:16:06,330 --> 01:16:08,940 own internal information, whether, you know, just 1477 01:16:08,940 --> 01:16:12,270 performance on your own portfolio, what you hear from 1478 01:16:12,300 --> 01:16:15,870 other funders or other brokers that are obviously in the space, 1479 01:16:15,870 --> 01:16:18,480 and what's going on, what they what they hear from their 1480 01:16:18,480 --> 01:16:23,700 clients. So, taking all that into account is always, you 1481 01:16:23,700 --> 01:16:27,660 know, it changes the criteria from month to month, week to 1482 01:16:27,660 --> 01:16:31,050 week. And we you have to be willing to do that, in order to 1483 01:16:31,050 --> 01:16:31,560 keep going. 1484 01:16:33,630 --> 01:16:36,360 Nick Gregory: Sure, yeah. I mean, you know, obviously, 1485 01:16:36,930 --> 01:16:40,350 making sure you have a pretty sound collections process is 1486 01:16:40,350 --> 01:16:45,660 also imperative, especially during, during COVID. And, you 1487 01:16:45,660 --> 01:16:49,380 know, we tend to try to understand the situation with 1488 01:16:49,380 --> 01:16:53,490 each merchant independently, and not just throw them into one 1489 01:16:53,490 --> 01:16:56,700 specific box, everybody's in a different location, dealing with 1490 01:16:56,700 --> 01:16:59,970 different circumstances, but collectively as a whole, we 1491 01:16:59,970 --> 01:17:02,640 understand what's going on. So we've been trying to work, you 1492 01:17:02,640 --> 01:17:04,980 know, those files we can and, you know, keep those 1493 01:17:04,980 --> 01:17:07,890 relationships strong. So I think that's, you know, the other side 1494 01:17:07,890 --> 01:17:08,160 of it. 1495 01:17:08,250 --> 01:17:09,360 Kevin Travers: You need an enforcer. 1496 01:17:09,540 --> 01:17:09,960 Nick Gregory: Yeah. 1497 01:17:10,950 --> 01:17:13,230 Andrew Hernandez: Absolutely. Ultimately, you need somebody 1498 01:17:13,230 --> 01:17:17,550 that understand what's going on. As Nick said, every business has 1499 01:17:17,550 --> 01:17:20,040 its own individual, you're dealing with an individual, for 1500 01:17:20,040 --> 01:17:22,830 the most part, and especially with these small businesses, and 1501 01:17:22,830 --> 01:17:25,170 everybody has their story, and you have to be willing to work 1502 01:17:25,170 --> 01:17:29,280 with them. You know, everybody's in the same boat. So just 1503 01:17:29,340 --> 01:17:30,390 understanding that it's key. 1504 01:17:31,650 --> 01:17:33,780 Kevin Travers: Now, what do you have to, working with an 1505 01:17:33,780 --> 01:17:36,840 individual, a lot of your work is sort of sifting through 1506 01:17:36,870 --> 01:17:40,590 making sure the deals you agree to are deals that are, I mean, 1507 01:17:40,590 --> 01:17:44,730 get a profit. Go ahead. So how, I guess on the other side, what 1508 01:17:44,730 --> 01:17:48,630 can a broker do to sort of bring the most attractive, the most 1509 01:17:48,630 --> 01:17:51,510 likely to get funded deal to you guys, what sort of stands out 1510 01:17:51,510 --> 01:17:54,300 when looking through stuff that, you know, this is gonna make 1511 01:17:54,300 --> 01:17:54,600 money? 1512 01:17:56,760 --> 01:17:59,130 Andrew Hernandez: I think in terms of kind of touching back 1513 01:17:59,130 --> 01:18:02,520 on the collections aspect, and, you know, understanding the 1514 01:18:02,520 --> 01:18:05,790 client's needs, I think that's key for a broker understanding 1515 01:18:05,790 --> 01:18:08,340 that, you know, what do they need, what are they gonna use 1516 01:18:08,340 --> 01:18:11,490 the funds for? Is this the right product for them, spending more 1517 01:18:11,490 --> 01:18:14,730 time with them to understand that makes our job easier as 1518 01:18:14,730 --> 01:18:18,750 well. And, you know, it's something that that's how we 1519 01:18:18,750 --> 01:18:22,080 build our relationships, understanding our client's 1520 01:18:22,080 --> 01:18:25,920 needs, which are the brokers, and building on that, so they, 1521 01:18:25,950 --> 01:18:28,020 you know, if they do the same thing, I think we'll all be 1522 01:18:28,020 --> 01:18:29,580 very, very successful. So. 1523 01:18:31,200 --> 01:18:32,970 Nick Gregory: Yeah no, I think we do that from from both 1524 01:18:32,970 --> 01:18:36,150 levels, actually, you know, from the merchant side, you know, we 1525 01:18:36,150 --> 01:18:39,420 want to bring those relationships, you know, and 1526 01:18:39,420 --> 01:18:43,410 expand those relationships over many, many years, as long as the 1527 01:18:43,410 --> 01:18:46,440 products the right fit, but at the same time, we also want to, 1528 01:18:46,470 --> 01:18:49,380 you know, cultivate those broker relationships, which are hard 1529 01:18:49,380 --> 01:18:52,650 during, you know, that's, that's our, our niche, and, you know, 1530 01:18:52,650 --> 01:18:55,710 we like to provide good customer service, they can get on the 1531 01:18:55,710 --> 01:18:57,600 phone with the underwriter, if they have questions, they want 1532 01:18:57,600 --> 01:19:00,750 to sort through certain issues, or whatever may come up from a 1533 01:19:00,750 --> 01:19:03,900 black and white standpoint, but sometimes that black and white, 1534 01:19:04,230 --> 01:19:06,840 you know, we're living in a gray world. So, you know, that ends 1535 01:19:06,840 --> 01:19:11,430 up getting, you know, through in a very structured manner, where 1536 01:19:11,430 --> 01:19:14,880 it runs through our checkpoints, but you know, if it, if it hits 1537 01:19:14,880 --> 01:19:19,440 all that those those data points, and we kind of provide 1538 01:19:19,440 --> 01:19:22,500 the right assessment, then yes, ultimately, that's a that's a 1539 01:19:22,500 --> 01:19:25,080 client we want to keep and some someone that we're willing to 1540 01:19:25,080 --> 01:19:27,840 work with. It's funny, because, you know, yes, we've been doing 1541 01:19:27,840 --> 01:19:30,420 this for so long, and the businesses that you think are 1542 01:19:30,690 --> 01:19:34,320 not going to pay back and not going to perform actually do 1543 01:19:34,320 --> 01:19:37,170 better than the ones that you think so. You know, there's 1544 01:19:37,200 --> 01:19:40,260 there's a fine line between looking at just the data and 1545 01:19:40,260 --> 01:19:42,510 understanding the business and the relationship. So. 1546 01:19:43,740 --> 01:19:46,560 Kevin Travers: And I guess part of the changes of the this year 1547 01:19:46,560 --> 01:19:50,760 is an increase in fraud, I imagine, I mean, I get like two 1548 01:19:50,760 --> 01:19:53,160 robo calls a day trying to steal my bank information. So I can't 1549 01:19:53,160 --> 01:19:57,030 imagine like well targeted fraud attacks towards funders or in 1550 01:19:57,030 --> 01:19:59,340 your industry. What can you tell me about how you guys have 1551 01:19:59,370 --> 01:20:02,490 managed and dealt with that new or changing environment. 1552 01:20:03,840 --> 01:20:06,120 Nick Gregory: I think just, you know, from our underwriting 1553 01:20:06,120 --> 01:20:09,870 practice, you know, once once a file comes in, we do more of the 1554 01:20:09,870 --> 01:20:12,510 heavy lifting up front, you know, we don't just kind of run 1555 01:20:12,510 --> 01:20:15,690 it through a quick process, send out a contract and kind of 1556 01:20:15,690 --> 01:20:18,450 handle the deal from there, we do you know, more of that, that 1557 01:20:18,450 --> 01:20:21,660 diligence and that analysis upfront. So we kind of get a 1558 01:20:21,660 --> 01:20:24,030 good handle as to what we're working with who we're dealing 1559 01:20:24,030 --> 01:20:28,200 with. But ultimately, we have our checkpoints, sort of the pre 1560 01:20:28,200 --> 01:20:30,960 approval all the way through the underwrite to the, you know, 1561 01:20:30,960 --> 01:20:34,170 contract being signed, and the merchant interview. So we have 1562 01:20:34,170 --> 01:20:37,470 different levels of, you know, fraud checks, if you will. And 1563 01:20:37,470 --> 01:20:40,350 some of the data sources that we use are proprietary, I think 1564 01:20:40,350 --> 01:20:42,990 that kind of gives us a little bit of an edge to mitigate that, 1565 01:20:43,020 --> 01:20:43,650 that fraud. 1566 01:20:45,330 --> 01:20:47,850 Andrew Hernandez: Yeah, I think part of it is or a key part of 1567 01:20:47,850 --> 01:20:51,690 it is always having the manual underwrite in place, it doesn't 1568 01:20:51,690 --> 01:20:54,270 always have to be a full manual underwrite. There's always 1569 01:20:54,480 --> 01:20:57,840 pieces of that process that can be automated. But you always 1570 01:20:57,840 --> 01:21:01,770 need eyes on that. And again, understanding what's really 1571 01:21:01,770 --> 01:21:03,510 going on with the business, you can look at all the data you 1572 01:21:03,510 --> 01:21:08,970 want. You know, we've seen tons of fraud from other parties just 1573 01:21:08,970 --> 01:21:11,400 using data and kind of pushing it through the process. 1574 01:21:11,910 --> 01:21:14,730 Kevin Travers: Yes, speaking about data, it's like, 1575 01:21:15,000 --> 01:21:17,250 everything is automated this year, but you're saying it's 1576 01:21:17,250 --> 01:21:20,970 good to have still some hands on approach. But speaking about 1577 01:21:20,970 --> 01:21:24,540 data and tech, there's changes this year that have seen 1578 01:21:24,540 --> 01:21:28,290 automated process, automated funding, do you think leaving 1579 01:21:28,320 --> 01:21:31,710 from the pandemic, after this are things going to change, are 1580 01:21:31,710 --> 01:21:34,170 we're going to build back better with a bunch of tech and 1581 01:21:34,170 --> 01:21:36,420 automated process or are things going to return to a lot the 1582 01:21:36,420 --> 01:21:38,670 same with in person transaction? 1583 01:21:39,030 --> 01:21:41,460 Nick Gregory: I think, you know, as we kind of come out of this, 1584 01:21:41,730 --> 01:21:44,460 you know, people talk about going back, and you know, what's 1585 01:21:44,460 --> 01:21:47,250 life like before, and I think this is just the new norm, and 1586 01:21:47,250 --> 01:21:49,740 what we have to adapt to, and it's gonna take, you know, 1587 01:21:49,740 --> 01:21:54,240 months, maybe, you know, a few years before things get to more 1588 01:21:54,240 --> 01:21:57,210 of a level playing field that we're, you know, maybe 1589 01:21:57,240 --> 01:21:59,730 comfortable with or accustomed to, there's always going to be 1590 01:21:59,730 --> 01:22:02,550 little nuances in between and, you know, people have made 1591 01:22:02,550 --> 01:22:05,400 shifts during this time, whether it's from how they operate their 1592 01:22:05,400 --> 01:22:07,890 own business, are they going into the office? Do they 1593 01:22:07,890 --> 01:22:10,350 realize, hey, you know, I'd rather just work remote in 1594 01:22:10,380 --> 01:22:13,620 Tahiti, as long as I got a WiFi connection. I mean, these are, 1595 01:22:13,650 --> 01:22:16,800 these are the the changes that we're seeing, you know, in the 1596 01:22:16,800 --> 01:22:21,030 landscape. And, you know, as far as certain retail businesses, 1597 01:22:21,030 --> 01:22:23,670 that we've probably traditionally underwritten in 1598 01:22:23,670 --> 01:22:26,940 the past, that have performed well, we're not seeing too many 1599 01:22:26,940 --> 01:22:29,820 of those right now, because there's a longer curve to kind 1600 01:22:29,820 --> 01:22:33,060 of getting them, you know, back on track, and one that we're 1601 01:22:33,060 --> 01:22:37,080 willing to really, you know, overreach for, I think, 1602 01:22:37,080 --> 01:22:40,590 collectively, just from the type of paper that we've seen, you 1603 01:22:40,590 --> 01:22:44,160 know, if you want to touch upon that, you know, credit and 1604 01:22:44,250 --> 01:22:45,840 certain pedigree of the client. 1605 01:22:46,200 --> 01:22:51,450 Andrew Hernandez: Yeah, I think, you know, similar to 2008, in a 1606 01:22:51,450 --> 01:22:54,750 way, you know, when this industry was still kind of in 1607 01:22:54,750 --> 01:22:59,490 its infancy, you know, we started to see back then, a 1608 01:22:59,490 --> 01:23:04,170 higher quality candidate. We've seen that 10 times over, I 1609 01:23:04,170 --> 01:23:07,140 think, this time, this time around, guys that normally 1610 01:23:07,140 --> 01:23:10,170 wouldn't be applying for this type of financing. Everybody was 1611 01:23:10,170 --> 01:23:13,800 hurting, obviously, during this time. And, you know, looking for 1612 01:23:13,800 --> 01:23:18,990 those alternative financing types. Definitely, you know, we 1613 01:23:18,990 --> 01:23:22,230 got more of those. So, and understanding their needs, 1614 01:23:22,260 --> 01:23:25,260 obviously, is challenging, but, you know, we got through it with 1615 01:23:25,290 --> 01:23:26,130 our team. So. 1616 01:23:27,360 --> 01:23:29,400 Kevin Travers: That's excellent. And I know you guys are both 1617 01:23:30,150 --> 01:23:32,880 living and working in New York City. And we're now talking 1618 01:23:32,880 --> 01:23:35,190 about building back better, we're still trying to build back 1619 01:23:35,190 --> 01:23:37,050 at all, we haven't opened up in a while and we're still waiting 1620 01:23:37,050 --> 01:23:40,890 for restaurants and stuff to or bars or outdoor spaces. What can 1621 01:23:40,890 --> 01:23:43,230 you tell me what it's like to live in the pandemic in New York 1622 01:23:43,230 --> 01:23:43,530 City? 1623 01:23:45,400 --> 01:23:47,890 Andrew Hernandez: It's been, it's been, it's been 1624 01:23:47,980 --> 01:23:51,790 interesting. It's been it's weird times for sure. Again, you 1625 01:23:51,790 --> 01:23:54,370 know, back to when we first started those first few months, 1626 01:23:55,120 --> 01:23:58,900 the city was I've never seen the city like that. New York City's, 1627 01:23:58,960 --> 01:24:02,860 always. There's always something going on. Morning, noon, night. 1628 01:24:02,980 --> 01:24:07,870 And this time around, there was completely dead ghost town. No 1629 01:24:07,870 --> 01:24:11,620 walking to work or taking the subway or whatever it was. You 1630 01:24:11,620 --> 01:24:14,770 saw maybe a few other people around. I think when we first 1631 01:24:14,770 --> 01:24:19,030 got back to the office, you know, our office building was 44 1632 01:24:19,030 --> 01:24:24,160 stories. Only 15 people a day were showing up, and we were 1633 01:24:24,160 --> 01:24:29,920 about six of them. So yeah, it was it was weird. But it was 1634 01:24:30,070 --> 01:24:33,280 definitely an experience and we got to live through it. And 1635 01:24:33,310 --> 01:24:35,380 we're on the other side of it. Almost so. 1636 01:24:36,310 --> 01:24:38,230 Nick Gregory: Yeah, no, I mean, I would definitely agree with 1637 01:24:38,230 --> 01:24:42,430 that. Definitely a ghost town. Not much going on. A lot of the 1638 01:24:42,490 --> 01:24:45,580 normal lunch spots shut down. Where am I supposed to do and 1639 01:24:45,610 --> 01:24:47,830 you know, it just kind of changes your whole you know, day 1640 01:24:47,830 --> 01:24:52,090 to day. You know, at the same time, I was happy to be back 1641 01:24:52,120 --> 01:24:55,330 because I couldn't do the remote work from home for so long. 1642 01:24:55,540 --> 01:24:58,570 Maybe if I was on an island, different circumstance, but you 1643 01:24:58,570 --> 01:25:01,780 know, just going through that that grind every day and kind of 1644 01:25:01,780 --> 01:25:04,420 just being in your own, you know, world. It definitely 1645 01:25:04,420 --> 01:25:08,260 detaches you a lot, you know, from from just interaction with 1646 01:25:08,260 --> 01:25:11,440 people. And I think that's just at a big point, you know, in our 1647 01:25:11,440 --> 01:25:14,920 space and at least in what we do in underwriting, we need that, 1648 01:25:14,950 --> 01:25:18,370 that back and forth and just kind of, you know, discussion, 1649 01:25:18,370 --> 01:25:20,890 because that's how we succeed. And we're able to look at deals 1650 01:25:20,890 --> 01:25:22,810 and, you know, make the right decision. 1651 01:25:23,410 --> 01:25:25,180 Kevin Travers: Absolutely. As soon as deBanked was able, we 1652 01:25:25,180 --> 01:25:28,360 were in the office that distance, but still at least 1653 01:25:28,360 --> 01:25:30,940 sharing space together, because that's sort of how that's how 1654 01:25:30,940 --> 01:25:34,120 Seans used to doing business. That's how that's how we do 1655 01:25:34,120 --> 01:25:38,200 things in the world, as you said, a lot of. Well on, I 1656 01:25:38,200 --> 01:25:41,260 guess, working remote working from remote or changing your 1657 01:25:41,260 --> 01:25:43,660 working location, a lot of people I mean, we've written 1658 01:25:43,660 --> 01:25:47,530 stories like moving to Miami, and do you think it's possible 1659 01:25:47,530 --> 01:25:50,710 to I mean, have you thought about moving or opening offices 1660 01:25:50,710 --> 01:25:53,590 in Miami? Do you think it's possible to like shift a New 1661 01:25:53,590 --> 01:25:55,840 York style New York hustle business all the way down to 1662 01:25:55,840 --> 01:25:56,200 Miami? 1663 01:25:57,690 --> 01:25:59,850 Andrew Hernandez: I think, I mean, we've all thought about 1664 01:25:59,850 --> 01:26:04,200 it. In the office. I think there's some functions that 1665 01:26:04,200 --> 01:26:08,400 could definitely be placed that down in Florida. There's some 1666 01:26:08,430 --> 01:26:12,570 that I think needs to be up here to be honest. But yeah, we've 1667 01:26:12,570 --> 01:26:16,350 always thought about, you know, either a satellite office in 1668 01:26:16,620 --> 01:26:20,130 Florida, California, you know, to handle some more of the West 1669 01:26:20,130 --> 01:26:24,060 Coast stuff, due to the time difference and whatnot, but it's 1670 01:26:24,060 --> 01:26:25,200 always a possibility. 1671 01:26:26,260 --> 01:26:28,510 Nick Gregory: Yeah, I mean, Florida is another another MCA 1672 01:26:28,510 --> 01:26:32,800 hub. So there's definitely some good talent down there. You 1673 01:26:32,800 --> 01:26:35,530 know, something like Andrew said, we've we have discussed 1674 01:26:35,530 --> 01:26:39,010 briefly, but we have to make sure everybody's on board, if we 1675 01:26:39,010 --> 01:26:40,990 were going to do something like that. I don't think that's a 1676 01:26:41,230 --> 01:26:44,620 quick shift for us. You know, we're kind of humming right now, 1677 01:26:44,620 --> 01:26:47,410 with our current operation, I think we're looking to grow and 1678 01:26:47,410 --> 01:26:52,060 expand as things begin to continually open up. And yeah, 1679 01:26:52,060 --> 01:26:54,610 maybe in the future, we'll we'll definitely consider that. 1680 01:26:54,940 --> 01:26:57,640 Andrew Hernandez: Yeah, we're about to sign a lease to stay in 1681 01:26:57,640 --> 01:27:00,190 the city. So I don't think we're gonna be going to Florida 1682 01:27:00,190 --> 01:27:03,730 anytime soon, aside from maybe a small office to support some 1683 01:27:03,730 --> 01:27:04,360 people. But. 1684 01:27:05,200 --> 01:27:06,760 Kevin Travers: Well as a New York based business ourselves, 1685 01:27:06,760 --> 01:27:10,780 that's good to hear. Talking about opening up soon, what's 1686 01:27:11,140 --> 01:27:14,140 what's what are you looking forward to when the pandemic's 1687 01:27:14,140 --> 01:27:15,970 long gone, and businesses back to usual? 1688 01:27:18,600 --> 01:27:20,340 Andrew Hernandez: Things like this just being around other 1689 01:27:20,340 --> 01:27:24,300 people. We haven't been in contact with too many other 1690 01:27:24,300 --> 01:27:28,440 people within the space for quite a while now. And that's 1691 01:27:28,590 --> 01:27:31,650 part of the business, you know, the deBanked events that you 1692 01:27:31,650 --> 01:27:35,220 guys have. That's, you know, we look forward to those and I know 1693 01:27:35,220 --> 01:27:38,610 you guys will be having one later this year, hopefully. So, 1694 01:27:38,820 --> 01:27:41,730 you know, what we welcome things like that. And hopefully those 1695 01:27:41,730 --> 01:27:43,740 are back to normal sooner than later. 1696 01:27:44,940 --> 01:27:45,930 Nick Gregory: Friday, happy hour. 1697 01:27:46,000 --> 01:27:46,650 A year spent indoors. Yeah. Well, happy hours, hopefully 1698 01:27:46,650 --> 01:27:46,830 Kevin Travers: Friday happy hour? 1699 01:27:46,830 --> 01:27:49,096 Nick Gregory: Yeah, we're definitely missing out on that, 1700 01:27:49,151 --> 01:27:52,482 you know, getting out is what the weather's getting a little 1701 01:27:52,537 --> 01:27:56,035 bit warmer. It'd be nice to you know, kind of have some kind of 1702 01:27:56,090 --> 01:27:59,143 social side of life these days. So yeah, I think that's 1703 01:27:59,199 --> 01:28:02,807 definitely something that we're, we're all kind of, you know, you 1704 01:28:02,863 --> 01:28:06,194 know, eeking towards and wanting as, as the time progresses, 1705 01:28:06,249 --> 01:28:09,635 because it's been over a year now. So it's quite a it's quite 1706 01:28:09,691 --> 01:28:10,080 a ride. 1707 01:28:13,690 --> 01:28:18,730 coming soon. deBanked. Our event is on December sixth. But 1708 01:28:18,730 --> 01:28:20,740 otherwise, I guess we're signing off. Thank you guys so much for 1709 01:28:20,740 --> 01:28:21,310 coming on. 1710 01:28:22,050 --> 01:28:22,950 Thank you. Thank you. 1711 01:28:29,230 --> 01:28:30,580 Johny Fernandez: Hey, what's going on everyone, and welcome 1712 01:28:30,580 --> 01:28:32,380 to deBanked News. I'm Johny Fernandez. 1713 01:28:32,440 --> 01:28:33,010 Sean Murray: And I'm Sean Murray. 1714 01:28:41,610 --> 01:28:44,310 Speaker 1: If you're looking to grow your ISO business, your 1715 01:28:44,310 --> 01:28:47,430 broker business, your funding business, this is the event to 1716 01:28:47,430 --> 01:28:47,880 be at. 1717 01:28:49,340 --> 01:28:51,710 Speaker 2: There's tons of networking, whether or not 1718 01:28:51,710 --> 01:28:54,020 you're a funder, you're a broker, you're a service 1719 01:28:54,020 --> 01:28:56,930 provider, you're the media. It's really wonderful to be here.