events

Steve Sheinbaum to Speak at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI

January 29, 2025
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Stephen Sheinbaum, CEO of Circadian Funding, will be speaking at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI on February 20 at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach.

Sheinbaum is a fintech veteran with 20 years of industry experience building investment products, platforms, programs and companies. As the former founder and CEO of Merchant Cash and Capital/Bizfi, he has funded and brokered approximately $4 billion for small businesses in the US, as well as lauching Japan’s first MCA venture. He is currently the CEO of Circadian Funding, LLC where he helps companies of all sizes access secured and unsecured capital. Stephen has appeared on, among others, CNBC, Fox and Bloomberg business shows, as well as being a main stage speaker at Finovate and other large fintech shows.

stephen sheinbaum

To register for the event, click here.

Sean Murray Published in Iarmhí: The Case for Éamon de Valera’s Birth and Baptismal Records Being Forgeries

December 19, 2024
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iarmhi journal sean murray 2024
Left: Iarmhí Editor Seamus O’Brien | Right: Sean Murray

deBanked Chief Editor Sean Murray recently had a research paper published in Iarmhí, Vol. 1, No. 4, a journal based in Co. Westmeath, Ireland that’s edited by renowned historian Seamus O’Brien. The title is: The Case for Éamon de Valera’s Birth and Baptismal Records Being Forgeries.

The journal’s launch party commenced on November 27 at The Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar. It’s available for sale online at Just Books. For international shipping, please contact the shop owner in advance at justbooksmullingar12@gmail.com.

This is Murray’s first paper on the subject. Research on the matter began in 2021 while he was writing a book on a related story that overlapped with the birth record circumstances of de Valera.

Murray’s great great grandfather Christopher Murray, who hailed from Raharney, Co. Westmeath, was a longtime leader of the Westmeath Men’s Social & Benevolent Association of New York and contributor to The Westmeath Examiner up until he died in 1936.

eamon de valera forged birth records

Are You The Top Broker?!

November 21, 2024
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broker battle

ENTER YOURSELF IN BROKER BATTLE HERE

Broker Battle returns on February 20, 2025 at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI. The competition, now the 2nd ever after last year’s very successful launch, is back with an improved format that allows for almost any qualified broker the opportunity to be tested LIVE in person. Broker Battle TWO will also have 3 separate broker categories versus last year’s catch-all. Those categories are Revenue Based Finance, SBA Lending, and Equipment Financing.
debanked miami

All competing brokers will be vetted, tested, and scored through very short judging rounds on the showcase floor. The two top scores from each category will actually compete on stage for the championship.

That means that as opposed to last year’s 6 total contestants and 7 separate battles on stage, this year’s competition could feasibly manage up to 100 contestants for which there will only be 3 total battles on stage (each being a championship). The format allows for more brokers to prove themselves in person while reducing total stage time for the final grand performance.

Each broker will win a cash prize and the distinction of being Top Broker (in their category). To be eligible for entry, you must be an active broker with good ethics and a positive reputation. You must also be registered to attend deBanked CONNECT MIAMI where it will take place and enter yourself in the battle itself here.

ENTER YOURSELF IN BROKER BATTLE HERE

Broker Battle intends to foster best practices.

Watch Last Year’s Inaugural Competition


Anthony Truglia, Winner of Broker Battle 1

anthony truglia, winner of broker battle 1

How Erica Bell of Tax Guard Won Second in The Poker Tournament

October 13, 2024
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Sean Murray, Erica Bell (Tax Guard)
Left: Sean Murray. Right: Erica Bell, Tax Guard

When the final hand of the B2B Finance Expo’s official poker tournament had concluded, Erica Bell, a Business Development Account Executive for Tax Guard, walked away with 2nd place. Bell has enjoyed poker for a long time and knows the game well. She’s even played in tournaments at the Ameristar Casino in Blackhawk, Colorado and won 1st place in one of them.

“The game’s strategy is what I truly enjoy,” Bell told deBanked. “A couple of individuals came up to me and congratulated me [on coming in 2nd].”

Bell, who at least took home a small prize, has worked for Tax Guard for 5 and a half years. For those not familiar, “Tax Guard is a 3rd party due diligence company who provides real-time insights into hidden tax debt of individuals and businesses by retrieving and analyzing IRS data directly from the source, the IRS,” she says.

The company’s services are primarily used by commercial lenders and financial institutions to assess tax-related risks associated with borrowers. Tax Guard is widely known throughout the industry and has been frequently referenced on deBanked. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Hansen Rada, even did a Zoom interview with deBanked during the early lockdown era of Covid.

The company’s value is pretty straightforward, a lot of tax debt is not easily discoverable, and they’ll get the info you don’t even know you’re missing straight from the source.

“By offering earlier visibility into potential tax issues, liabilities, liens, & levies, we help our customers make more informed lending decisions and mitigate financial risks,” Bell explains.

And if there is a hidden tax issue, Tax Guard can proactively work to resolve it and even negotiate a payment plan. One downside of ignoring tax debt as a lender is having to compete with the IRS when they ultimately move to enforce collection.

Clients can use the Tax Guard portal to run reports or integrate their API right into a CRM. Other critical information can be obtained as well including a wage and income transcript from the IRS. “This includes data from W-2s, 1099s, and other income forms, as well as withholding details,” Bell says. “This data provides a comprehensive view of a taxpayer’s reported income and can be critical when assessing financial risks, resolving discrepancies and verifying financial details.”

Obviously, Bell says that anyone interested in learning more can reach out to her directly.

“My role is highly dynamic, being sales, strategic partnership and relationship focused,” Bell says. “I really enjoy working with extremely talented people at Tax Guard, meeting new folks in the finance industry and learning from their perspectives.”

She’s also apparently planning to host her own upcoming friendly poker tournament so it’s safe to say she has no intention of letting her skills get rusty.

How Cesar Valero Won The Tournament And Gets Deals Done

October 2, 2024
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b2b finance expo poker tournament winner
Left: Cesar Valero, Biz Dev at Spartan Capital. Right: Sean Murray

When Cesar Valero, Business Development Executive at Spartan Capital, sat down at one of the starting poker tables late last month to participate in the kick-off tournament for B2B Finance Expo, it had been almost exactly a year since he last played. His colleague Ryan Capella had finished second that time, which coincidentally had also been for a business event in Las Vegas. But here at B2B in 2024, the Spartan team was competing against a mix of players eager to show off their skills, some of whom play semi-professionally on the side.

According to Valero, they didn’t do any kind of practice ahead of time. “Frank [the CEO] just said ‘make sure you represent,'” he said. And after two and a half hours of impressive play that’s exactly what he did. The dealer and a hired pit boss keeping an eye on all the cards declared Valero the winner where he took home the grand prize gold bracelet and other goodies.

“We were actually really happy because we noticed that–obviously we celebrated a little bit–and then noticed after we’re like, ‘of the top four positions of the last two years, we [Spartan] have two’ that’s pretty good,” Valero said.

But more importantly, at the industry’s largest conference of the year, everyone suddenly knew who Valero was if they didn’t before.

“You can flat out tell them the best marketing at B2B was to win the poker tournament,” Valero said. People came up to him throughout the next two days calling him out by name. “Hey, Cesar!” they shouted, after having heard about his win.

And being the guy everybody wants to talk to is pretty much his job anyway. Spartan Capital provides revenue based financing and works with a large number of referral partners. Valero’s day-to-day is typically spent communicating with ISOs, whether it be phone calls or Zoom calls or in-office meetings, he is catering to what they need and trying to get deals funded. When asked if having a relationship with an ISO is an important part of the job, he said it’s the whole job.

“We’re a fair funder,” he said of Spartan. “We really don’t snub anybody out. Whether you’re the biggest guy in the space or the smallest guy in the space, we’re going to do our best to give you the best customer service we can. Our reps, pretty much nobody is a brand new rep. Everybody’s got experience. They know what they’re talking about.”

“Most deals are pretty straightforward,” he said, “but you always have that 10,15,20% that need a little more love…so it’s a fast paced environment and just try to keep up with it, make sure we’re doing the right service to our customers whether it be an ISO or a [merchant].”

Overall, Valero feels like the industry is on a strong trajectory, especially with tech and e-commerce platforms having rushed in to offer similar funding products to their customers.

“If they’re in it, they see the demand right?” he exclaimed, “and if they’re putting out billions of dollars like I see every quarter in press releases from Amazon or from PayPal or from one of the big players, they’re out there and they’re creating buzz… so better quality borrowers will be flowing in because the need is there across the board.”

Valero isn’t exaggerating about the fast pace. After having gone from the flow of deals to Vegas to even more deals, he couldn’t afford to let our interview about his big win go over the allotted time.

“I got about an hour and 15 minutes to the wire cut-off,” he said emphatically while thanking me for the call. “Let me see if I can do a couple more deals!”

Photos From B2B Finance Expo and More

September 30, 2024
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B2B Finance Expo
Photos from B2B Finance Expo can be FOUND HERE. The order of them arranges at random. We’re still adding a few to the gallery. If you want a higher res version of a photo or to inquire if there are any of you that may not be here, email events@debanked.com. Video interviews from the red carpet or from the trade show floor will start being added over the next couple days and should take up to 2 weeks to get them all up. There is a ton of video content!
b2b finance expo poker tournament winnerCongratulations to Cesar Valero (pictured at right), Business Development Exec of Spartan Capital on his victory at the event’s official poker tournament! Story on this to follow! Second place went to Erica Bell, Business Development Exec at Tax Guard. The final table of the match was HIGH PRESSURE so if you want to know how they got so good at the game, make sure to give them a buzz.
B2B Finance Expo was a two-day event in Las Vegas that brought folks together from across the fintech and commercial finance industries.
Special thanks goes out to Greg Smith and Steve McLaughlin of FT Partners for their incredible insights on Day 1. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Small Business Finance Association (SBFA). A thank you to all the sponsors and attendees.



deBanked CONNECT MIAMI is BACK

October 31, 2022
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IT’S BACKKKKKK

deBanked returns to Miami Beach this coming January 19th! Connect all over again at the Miami Beach Convention Center for one of the best experiences in the alternative finance industry.

REGISTER HERE

What’s deBanked CONNECT All About?

Last year’s summary



SIZZLE REEL

deBanked connect miami

The Flair at Broker Fair

October 27, 2022
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broker fair podium

Broker Fair 2022 sponsor showcase roomTimes Square this weekend was filled with representatives of the alternative finance and fintech industry for this year’s Broker Fair.

“There’s just lots of opportunities to network, I mean there’s certainly breakout sessions and things like that, I think many people are excited about those, but I think everybody’s here to network,” said Mike Mroszak, Vice President of Strategic Partnership at Dedicated Financial GBC. “…there’s ample opportunities to do that, the trade show room here is always packed with people, which is not always the case in every conference, so that’s a little bit unique to Broker Fair.”

Funder, brokers, and lenders flooded the sponsor showcase room to talk business and give out swag.

“The best tchotchke is the Lendini tchotchke. Okay, what it is, it’s just a little tool kit, very practical, very handy,” said Michael O’Hare, President at Cashyew Leads. “…the funniest one is actually from FinTap and basically, it’s a button and it says, funded, kind of based off of what Staples says, that was easy, instead it says funded.”




bf new normal

Broker Fair - debanked connect MiamiSpeakers included Jay Shaw from OnDeck discussing what makes a successful sales team and Keynote speaker Kaplan Mobray inspiring attendees to be excellent. Mobray even surprised the audience with a quick clarinet show. Other sessions that took place include: Bad Deals, The Great Debate, Building America, Equipping the Dream Behind the Scenes, Successful Sales Team (Panel), The State of Real Estate, Truck and Equipment Financing 101, and legal panels surrounding litigation alternatives and the new disclosure laws.
Platinum sponsors Lendini, Rapid Finance, and National Funding also took the stage in between sessions.

deBanked CONNECT Miami was also announced for January 19th, 2023, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. With reoccurring faces at this year’s event, attendees, sponsors and speakers are very excited to reconvene once again in Miami.

“It’s been a good time, not my first actually, my second, but I’m looking to do a lot more and definitely the Miami one in January,” said Charles Wolff, VP of Loan Originations at Financial Lynx.