00:00.000 --> 00:02.070
Mariela Loarte: Thank you so
much. So let's go ahead and talk

00:02.070 --> 00:04.620
about business. I mean, this
year, kind of walk us through

00:04.620 --> 00:06.300
how business has been for you
guys.

00:06.930 --> 00:09.930
Well, obviously, we've all been
affected by COVID. But ever

00:09.930 --> 00:14.070
since we opened up the doors
back to MCA, it's been busy,

00:14.070 --> 00:16.560
we've gotten the high influx of
deals. So it's been really

00:16.560 --> 00:16.920
great.

00:17.110 --> 00:19.660
So what do you expect out of
coming here to Miami, I mean,

00:19.660 --> 00:23.290
this is pretty much the event to
be at if you're in the space. So

00:23.290 --> 00:25.780
kind of talk to me a little bit
about your expectations for

00:25.840 --> 00:26.290
today.

00:26.710 --> 00:29.680
I think just to further our
relationships, to build more ISO

00:29.680 --> 00:32.650
relations, and also get some
more brokers on boarded and just

00:32.650 --> 00:33.490
grow as a unit.

00:33.550 --> 00:36.820
Yeah. So is there any specific
focus that you guys have this

00:36.820 --> 00:37.180
year?

00:38.110 --> 00:40.900
Just to really build the MCA
part of our industry. Because we

00:40.900 --> 00:42.580
also do the FDA lending as well.

00:42.690 --> 00:45.240
Okay. And then kind of go ahead
and talk to me if people are

00:45.240 --> 00:49.260
interested in working with you?
How can they do that? And kind

00:49.260 --> 00:50.850
of just the whole process for
that?

00:50.850 --> 00:53.930
Absolutely. All they need to do
is email funding, and like

00:53.930 --> 00:58.040
Capital Funding, and requests an
onboarding ISOs. And I handle

00:58.040 --> 00:58.610
the rest.

00:58.820 --> 01:01.880
So let's talk a little bit about
business last year and compare

01:01.880 --> 01:03.680
it to this year, obviously,
we're still in the start of the

01:03.680 --> 01:06.770
year. So kind of go ahead and
talk to me about how business

01:06.800 --> 01:09.860
was for you guys last year. And
then what do you guys expect for

01:09.860 --> 01:10.250
this year?

01:10.960 --> 01:14.260
Business last year was difficult
because you know, we had the

01:14.290 --> 01:18.670
PPPs, and basically, a lot of
business owners got used to that

01:18.700 --> 01:22.540
low rates and free money. So it
was kind of more of how do we

01:22.540 --> 01:25.570
change the mindset of merchants
having that free money to pay a

01:25.570 --> 01:28.120
little more, but further their
business with an MCA loan?

01:28.510 --> 01:30.910
And then how have you guys been
able to kind of accomplish that

01:30.910 --> 01:34.030
and kind of shift the mindset of
the business owners when it

01:34.030 --> 01:37.960
comes to no longer relying on
like the low interest rates to

01:37.960 --> 01:40.210
something like, you know, kind
of getting things back to normal

01:40.240 --> 01:40.990
for you guys?

01:41.020 --> 01:43.930
Well, basically, we always,
we're very direct with our

01:43.930 --> 01:47.110
merchants, there's no hiding
things. So we offer that

01:47.110 --> 01:49.510
relationship, and then we
constantly follow up with them

01:49.510 --> 01:52.210
on a monthly basis, hey, how you
going? How's your business

01:52.390 --> 01:55.330
growing? Do you need more money?
And build it further.

01:55.810 --> 01:58.270
And then for people that are
new, that are watching this,

01:58.270 --> 02:00.790
that I've never been to this
event? Kind of go ahead and talk

02:00.790 --> 02:03.700
to them? And tell them? What,
what should they expect? And why

02:03.700 --> 02:05.350
should they come to an event
like this?

02:05.540 --> 02:07.760
They should definitely come to
an event like this. Because

02:07.760 --> 02:10.400
there's a lot of direct lenders,
there's a lot of shops, there's

02:10.400 --> 02:14.390
a lot of networking involved.
And if you're small and starting

02:14.390 --> 02:16.850
out, it's a great way to get
your name out there and kind of

02:16.880 --> 02:18.050
get known in the industry.

02:18.500 --> 02:19.610
Johny Fernandez: And then how
long have you guys been in

02:19.610 --> 02:20.330
business for?

02:21.170 --> 02:22.970
Mariela Loarte: Knight has been
in business for seven years.

02:23.000 --> 02:26.060
So in those seven years, have
you been with them, for all

02:26.060 --> 02:26.690
those seven years?

02:26.700 --> 02:29.130
I've been I make four years now
in August, I've been known for

02:29.130 --> 02:30.690
three and this is my second
deBanked.

02:30.930 --> 02:34.110
So in that year, in the whole
time that you've been with them,

02:34.110 --> 02:36.900
what differences have you
noticed from when you started

02:36.900 --> 02:37.410
till now?

02:38.040 --> 02:41.760
I would definitely see like
coming here the difference. You

02:41.760 --> 02:43.800
get to know your brokers more
you get to know the people who

02:43.800 --> 02:46.500
you're working with in person,
it's not just a screen, it's not

02:46.500 --> 02:48.330
just an email, it's not a phone
call, it's a direct

02:48.330 --> 02:51.090
communication. So they trust you
more with their files, they

02:51.090 --> 02:53.250
trust you more with their
merchants, and it just furthers

02:53.250 --> 02:54.090
that rapport with them.

02:54.210 --> 02:57.030
Johny Fernandez: So I've met a
lot of new people that this is

02:57.030 --> 02:59.550
their first deBanked event or
Broker Fair, New York was their

02:59.550 --> 03:02.490
first deBanked event. They're
new, they they're working by

03:02.490 --> 03:05.070
themselves, and they were
hesitant to come. So a lot of

03:05.070 --> 03:07.170
people they're like, I don't
know if I should go, tell them

03:07.170 --> 03:10.200
why they should go, why they
should attend and also talk to

03:10.200 --> 03:13.860
them regarding the importance of
building that relationship.

03:14.880 --> 03:17.400
Mariela Loarte: Basically, you
really need to get out of that

03:17.400 --> 03:20.400
comfort zone. Because this is a
very fast paced industry. This

03:20.400 --> 03:23.250
is a very aggressive industry
and you can't be behind closed

03:23.250 --> 03:26.010
doors, you can't be shy, you
have to approach, you have to

03:26.010 --> 03:28.320
introduce yourself and you have
to get known out there because

03:28.440 --> 03:30.750
you're not going to make it if
you don't so this is definitely

03:30.750 --> 03:32.040
the event to come to for that.

03:32.070 --> 03:33.480
Johny Fernandez: Awesome. Well,
thank you so much for your time.

03:33.510 --> 03:34.170
Mariela Loarte: Thank you for
having me.

03:34.200 --> 03:36.451
Johny Fernandez: No problem. All
right, you guys. So again, this

03:36.499 --> 03:39.516
is Mariela with Knight Funding
Capital, Knight Capital Funding,

03:39.564 --> 03:42.055
excuse me, Knight Capital
Funding so again, she just

03:42.103 --> 03:44.977
talked to us a little bit about
the business, how she's been

03:45.025 --> 03:47.612
seeing it here, and the
importance of joining an event

03:47.660 --> 03:50.581
like this. So of course, we're
gonna go to a quick commercial

03:50.629 --> 03:53.551
break. And you definitely gonna
want to tune in because we're

03:53.599 --> 03:56.665
going to highlight Sean Murray's
recap of the opening statements

03:56.713 --> 03:59.635
and also meet the rest of the
cast of Equipping The Dream, so

03:59.683 --> 04:00.210
stay tuned.