Johny Fernandez: Fernandez with deBanked TV. So you may be
noticing that my co anchor co host, Sean, he's not here today.
So he's actually not going to be joining me today. He will be
back on Wednesday. But we're gonna pretend that Sean is still
here, as we go through the headlines today, and we're gonna
have a pretty good conversation about some of the future events
for deBanked, then just got a couple of things, we're going to
talk about that it's going to be really exciting. So we're going
to go through them, and we'll get we're gonna pretend Sean's
here. And I'm probably going to mimic what Sean would probably
say during these conversations that I'm going to walk through.
So I guess stay put, and let's walk through this together.
Again, I'm Johnny Fernandez. And I'm so happy that you're here
joining me on deBanked. TV, and Sean would say I'm Sean Murray.
And it's like, Alright, cool. Alright, so the first things
that we're going to first thing that we're going to talk about
is regarding Kabbage, and they've actually gone back into
the Small Business Funding area. So we did announce over the
spring that they stopped lending to small businesses, but many
assume that they're going to pick up where they left off. So
in August of 2020, Kabbage, they had a repurpose as a checking
account service. And then last week, Kabbage announced that
they are returning to funding and they said that they're going
to offer credit between $1,000 to $1,500 line of credits, and
they we're gonna actually backed by Amex. So pretty much, you
know, you can apply minutes if you want to apply using Kabbage,
and you can access the working capital. Now we know that
Kabbage has been in the game for quite some time, and they were
actually one of the largest online small business lenders in
2019. So it's definitely something that we had talked
about before. And Sean, you know, if he was here, I'm pretty
sure he would have said that, you know, it was no surprise
because they had such a backing with American Express that they
were going to kind of work towards something to kind of get
back in the game. So yeah, it's definitely interesting to see,
you know, how this will end up. And pretty much how, you know,
they'll kind of take their spin on line of credit, and, you
know, business lending for small businesses. So yeah, I mean,
it's definitely something that a lot of people are keeping their
eye on, especially after the merge with American Express. So
the next topic of conversation that we're going to discuss is
going to be about PPP loans. Now, Sean and I, we've talked to
you guys about PPP loans. Since last year, obviously, it was a
hot topic. And you know, businesses everywhere were
applying for it. People were getting it people were not
getting it. So there was a big conversation regarding it. And I
know Sean would probably say something along the lines of
like man, like again with the PPP conversation. But this one
is interesting, because this is a former NFL player, he was wide
receiver for the for the bears. His name was Joshua Bellamy. And
he was actually sentenced last week, because he actually
committed PPP fraud. Now, according to the court documents
ahad stated that his company, his company was called Drip
Entertainment. They actually obtained about $1.2 million.
Again, 1.2 million million dollars in PPP funding and PvP
loans. So I know that's something that, you know, it's a
lot of money. And this was aimed for small businesses to
continue, you know, getting a continue to be in business
during the pandemic. So, it was interesting, because reading
through the documents, he can clearly see that he was using
the money, and he admitted it too he was using the money for
things like jewelry saying at the Seminole County, excuse me
Seminole resort and casino in Florida, and he was just using
the money, you know, on a bunch of different things that were
not, you know, technically for business purposes. So now, he's
been sentenced to 37 months, you know, in federal prison for
this. Now, he did plead guilty. And again, sentence he was
sentenced on Friday, December 10. Now, is it surprising that
some of these celebrities have used this money to, you know,
use it in things that, you know, are not business related? I'm
not surprised by I don't know what Sean would say if he was
here. But you know, it's not surprising, but it is a lot of
money. And of course, he did get caught. So it's, you know, it's
something that, you know, it's, it's not shocking, but it's more
disappointing, because I know a lot of businesses were using the
PPP loans to pretty much get on their feet. So, again, sentenced
to federal prison last week, about 37 months in federal
prison. And so
Yeah, and he was fraudulently obtaining $1.2 million. That's a
lot of money, not for business, but just in general. But, you
know, it's still, you know, not actually, it's not the smartest
move on his end obviously, so he is paying the consequences for
it. And the next thing we're going to talk about is
definitely something that we've all been able to see throughout
the last couple of months is inflation. Now, we know that
inflation has surged to a 39 year high as consumer prices
soar. Now, this was an article that, you know, we have online
posted on deBanked.com. And it's, uh, it definitely talks
about, you know, everything going up. So we've hit a 39 year
high. And we've seen things like gasoline go up, we've seen
things like groceries go up, things like red meat, eggs,
milk, everything has gone up. Now, we do know that economists
say they predict that the surge will continue to be at 6.8. And
that the Labor Department says that the increase for food and
energy, you know, will continue to possibly go up. So that's
something that obviously, it's not shocking, because, you know,
we have seen the trend. But it's something that it's impacting
all of us. So the inflation is going high. And I felt like in
previous videos, Sean and I, we've talked about inflation,
and how that's going to impact all of us how that's impacting,
you know, this space, and just how it's impacting the country
in general. So it's definitely something that I mean, it was
bound to happen at this point. I mean, we've talked about here on
the show, and unfortunately, you know, it does affect, you know,
our pockets and how we're actually, we're using our money.
So we'll definitely be interested to see how that's
gonna play out within the next couple of months starting in the
new year and see what happens in the summer, there's different
predictions going on for the summer. So you know, if you want
to buy anything from like a house, to a car to your
groceries, it's something that's impacting just across, you know,
the spectrum in in different areas. And I know Sean could
attest to that. It's something that we've seen firsthand how
it's impact, you know, us, in general. So we'll see what
happens. So that's all the headlines. I know, it's a short,
it's a short, short day regarding headlines and the
topics that we're discussing about obviously, if Sean was
here, we'd be going back and forth and talking, you know,
kind of doing a little bit more elaboration on everything. But
you know, there's no one to talk to here. So he's not here for
the day. But something we have been talking a lot about is
about the events that are going to be going on with deBanked. So
obviously, we just wrapped a Broker Fair, it was a success.
Everyone's happy. If Sean was here, he'd say it was a success
with his beard.
And that was exciting. So obviously, we're gonna keep the
momentum going. We have deBanked Connect Miami, so I'm going to
introduce that right now. I'm going to play my Miami music. do
do do do do do do doo doo doo doo doo doo go. Alright, so this
is a book from the last deBanked Connect. So this year, this time
around. So it's gonna be happening next year on March 24.
Specifically, the team wanted me to emphasize that it's going to
be taking place at the JW, Marriott Marquis, not the JW,
Marriott the JW, Marriott, Marquis, special attention to
that it's going to be going on on March 24. So I'm going to
break down five reasons why you should go. Because to be quite
frank with you, it's an event that you're not gonna want to
miss. And again, it's going to be happening in a pretty awesome
place down in Miami. So five reasons why you should attend.
Number one, we're going to be there. All the team here in
deBanked is going to be there. So if you've been to a deBanked
event, you know that by far, it's the it's a fun event and
the people there are awesome, and you get to meet all of us.
So that's first reason. Second reason it's going to be in
Miami, it's going to be in March. I mean, if you're living
here in New York, March is still kind of you know, we're still
dealing with winter like the last bit of winter. So you know,
you want nice weather, sunshine and great people. Come on
deBanked Connect Miami. The third reason why you should go
is because it's a great place to network. Something we saw with
Broker Fair is that a lot of people were meeting other
people, either for the first time or reconnecting with
people. So listen, this is the best place to meet people, if
specially if you live in down south. So, you know, this is a
South Florida event. You know, whether you're here in Miami, or
in New York, this is the event you want to be there to connect
with people to just kind of get a better feel for people that
you want to work with people that you've been working with.
And if you're new to the industry, this is a no brainer.
You guys like definitely take the time off of work, spend the
money and network. So the fourth reason why this is the event to
be at is because this is going to be more of a Happy Hour feel,
so it's not going to be the whole day. But it's still gonna
be a time for you to grow in the knowledge of this space of this
industry, because things are changing. And something that I
saw over at Broker Fair was that there's a lot of adjustments
that people need to make, whether you're just starting in
the business, or whether you're super experienced in the
business, whether you're a seasoned veteran, you know, it's
definitely always time to learn and grow and see what other
people are doing. So the networking aspect again, and the
fifth reason why you would want to go here is because, you know,
this is Miami is a hub for the FinTech community for
alternative finance, you know, it is becoming a place where
there's a lot of movement going around. So I wouldn't be
surprised if there was people that are not from the
alternative finance industry, if they end up showing up. So it's
definitely definitely, you know, being it's going to be it's a
hub, it's becoming a hub already. You know, we have I
know there because I've been there personally, to do stories
for deBanked. You know, the mayor, there's also you know,
city leaders that they're really trying to implement and bring
all together people from the FinTech community, people from
the alternative finance community. So it's a very
welcoming place. So you if you haven't been there, since
everything kind of started with that movement, I definitely
would suggest for you to check it out. Because, again, you
know, is a great place to really see if it's, you know, how you
can benefit from it. So again,
Miami, deBanked deBanked, Connect Miami, March 24, at the
JW, Marriott, Marquis, again, JW, Marriott, Marquis, please,
if you haven't gotten your ticket, do so already. The
information is online. And yeah, we can definitely hope to see
you guys there. So that's all the time for today. Again, this
was a quick episode, because obviously Sean's not here and
we're just going through some of the the different topics and
conversations of this week's headline. So if you have any
questions, if you have any, anything that we would you would
want us to talk about here on the show, please reach out to us
don't hesitate. Then also, don't forget to follow us on our
social media links. And most importantly, don't forget to log
on to deBanked.com every day to make sure you know the latest on
the headlines that's going on and also the Daily Funder, make
sure that you're there if you want to connect with other
people in the community in this space, specifically. Great
topics also over there. So again, if you want to reach out
to us, talk to us and let us know what you want to hear
about. Please let us know. Again, regarding Broker Fair,
there's pictures online now. So if you haven't checked those
out, please check it out. Also the sizzle reel that's also on
deBanked.com. So definitely don't miss out. Check those out.
And then obviously, hopefully, we'll see you at deBanked
Connect Miami, you're not gonna want to miss this one. So from
all of us here at the deBanked studio in Brooklyn. I'm Johnny
Fernandez. This is not Sean Murray, but he would say I'm
Sean Murray. And we'll see you guys next time.