events

Who’s Speaking at Broker Fair

April 28, 2023
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Broker Fair 2023 LogoBroker Fair 2023 will take place on May 8th at the Hilton Midtown in New York City. This year’s sessions cover a diverse and timely array of subjects that will help any broker or funding shop prepare for success. They include:

  • How to Determine a Product Fit
  • Transacting Deals in 2030
  • Expanding Your Funding Arsenal
  • Investing in Deals
  • Optimizing Your Brokerage for Success
  • Debunking Industry Myths
  • The State of Funding
  • ERTC and Other Value Added Products
  • Preparing for the New York Disclosure Law



Who’s Speaking?! Check it Out!


The ERTC and Other Value Added Products

April 27, 2023
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2023 has ushered in a new era of value-added products for sales agents. The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) is one major example. Another is a throwback to earlier times in the working capital space, merchant accounts. On May 8th, several industry veterans will convene at the Hilton Midtown in New York City to educate sales agents on these opportunities. It’s all happening at Broker Fair from 3:20 – 4pm for the ERTC and Other Value Added Products panel. If you’re registered for this event, it’s one session you won’t want to miss!

Broker Fair 2023 panel

BROKER FAIR 2023 HAS SOLD OUT

April 26, 2023
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Tickets to Broker Fair 2023 sold out early this morning. Those already registered will have access to an incredible lineup of networking opportunities, sales education, and content, that will position their shops for success in 2023 and beyond.

Broker Fair 2023 is being held at the Hilton Midtown on May 8th. Some tickets to the pre-show party (sponsored by Bitty Advance) taking place on the evening of May 7th still remain available. If you have any questions about Broker Fair, please email events@debanked.com or call 917-722-0808.

This year’s Broker Fair stands to rank among the most critical in the industry’s history. We look forward to seeing you there!

broker fair 2023 is sold out

LAST CALL for Broker Fair Tickets!

April 24, 2023
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For inquiries or questions, email events@debanked.com



Last call to purchase tickets for Broker Fair 2023! Taking place at the New York Hilton Midtown on May 8th, this is the biggest annual event of its kind in New York City. (REGISTER HERE).

Broker Fair 2023 LogoSponsors hail from across the small business and commercial finance industries and include the following categories:

  • brokers
  • working capital lenders
  • revenue based financing providers
  • equipment financing providers
  • real estate lenders
  • factors
  • technology
  • accounting
  • collections & recovery
  • consultants
  • payments
  • and more…


john henry, loop

Only a Few Weeks Until Broker Fair 2023

April 13, 2023
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Broker Fair 2023 LogoThe clock is ticking. Broker Fair 2023 at the New York Hilton Midtown is just around the corner on May 8th. Once again, professionals from the small business lending, commercial financing, revenue-based financing, leasing, equipment financing, factoring, and mca industries, will come together in the heart of New York.

This is the biggest annual small business finance conference in Manhattan and the sixth one to have taken place since 2018.

Register here. For inquiries or questions, email events@debanked.com.




See last year’s sizzle reel:

John Henry to Keynote Broker Fair 2023

April 3, 2023
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John HenryEntrepreneur and investor John Henry is returning to Broker Fair. He previously spoke at Broker Fair’s virtual event in 2020. At the time he was the star of the TV show ‘Hustle‘ on Viceland. He’s since co-founded LOOP and this year attendees will have the opportunity to actually see him in person.

deBanked previously interviewed Henry in 2020 when it was still believed that Broker Fair that year would be held in person. The original un-updated bio and interview have been reposted below in their entirety:

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About John Henry

Voted to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Ebony’s Power 100 lists – John Henry is a Dominican-American entrepreneur and investor. Henry started his first business at 18, an on-demand dry cleaning service for the Film and TV industry in New York City, with clients such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Boardwalk Empire, Power, and more. Henry led the company through its acquisition in 2014 — founding and selling his first business by the age of 21. On the heels of his first win, Henry launched Cofound Harlem — a non-profit incubator that aims to foster a robust tech ecosystem North of 96th street in New York City. Cofound Harlem has launched numerous high-growth companies in Harlem, gaining recognition from Fast Company, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and more. He is a former Partner at Harlem Capital, a diversity-focused early stage venture capital firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship. Henry is also the host of VICELAND’s latest show, HUSTLE, which is Executive Produced by Alicia Keys and focused on helping scrappy entrepreneurs grow their business to the next level.

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Q (Sean Murray): You started your first business at 18 but what made you want to start one?

A (John Henry): It was driven by necessity more than a desire to be an entrepreneur, but I did exhibit some of the traits that pushed me towards that path. Entrepreneurs tend to have a history of non-conformity where there’s no pre-chartered path and in an environment that demands conformity, anyone that likes to express their own views comes up against a lot of friction. So, for me it was necessity but also part of my character to do things differently.

Q: What kind of lessons did you learn from running a business at such a young age?

A: It’s a serious game and it’s full of responsibility. I was telling myself at one point that I was just 18 and so the struggles I faced running a business could be overlooked because of my age, but the world doesn’t care how old you are. If you’re running a business, there’s no way around the responsibilities it demands.

The other thing is, when you come up against really tough situations, you need to be brave and have courage to go through those moments. I’m glad I had the courage in them. Once you take them head-on, you come out feeling better on the other side.

Q: As a former partner of a Venture Capital firm, what’s the #1 mistake you saw entrepreneurs and business owners make?

A: You’ve got to have macro understanding and micro-chops. Everything is connected, it’s not just knowing your business but knowing where you’re situated in the economic or market cycle and understanding what customer sentiment is. That’s what a lot of entrepreneurs miss. Like if your idea is to make a mobile app, that’s great, but how many apps are already out there? How long have apps been part of the market already? What’s going to make your app stand out from every other app? And this doesn’t apply just to startups, but also existing companies. Every 3 months, you should be asking yourself the business question and evolve if necessary. The hardest part though is when your gut is telling you you’re right but every other person out there is telling you you’re wrong. And that’s something you’ll really have to figure out.

Q: Why has helping minority entrepreneurs and businesses been so important to you?

A: I’m not usually asked why, but I was seeing less and less minority representation among entrepreneurs that were receiving capital. There are some systemic factors that make it harder to get ahead but at the same time people can become inclusive to the point where they’re becoming exclusive. So, I think it’s about helping those that are on their way to overcoming tremendous odds to get far.

Q: Real estate, what can you tell me about your foray into that market?

A: I can say it’s the best business that I have been in so far. Real estate is the #1 fundamental building block of wealth. When I first got into it, I was shocked that you could put down 20% and the bank would put in the other 80%. This is a game of physical assets and I’m glad I came across it when I did. I’m currently building a bedrock of business around real estate, my preference being residential multi-family apartments.


Register For Broker Fair 2023

BEFN: A New Networking Space for Black Equipment Finance Professionals

March 30, 2023
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Black Equipment Finance Network“The event’s theme, ‘forging inclusive excellence in equipment finance,’ set the tone for the group’s mission to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the industry,” said George Parker, Co-CEO at VenSource Capital LLC.

Newly formed in January, the Black Equipment Finance Network (BEFN), is a non-profit organization focused on increasing the attendance of black professionals in the equipment finance industry. While providing network opportunities for people in the industry, the organization assists in promoting business collaboration, industry support and outreach, professional development, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advocacy.

“I think the industry, given the mixer that we had last week in San Diego, is poised for [even more growth]. Many people showed up in support of what we’re looking to do,” said Lovern Gordon, National Sales Executive at Boston Financial & Equity Corp. “And that was a huge, huge, huge show of a vote of confidence that we’re headed in the right direction.”

The organization recently had their first inaugural mixer to kick off NEFA’s 4-day event, last week in San Diego. Filled with members and allies, the mixer dedicated a one-hour block to networking with people of color (POC).

“It was the most people that I and many others in the room have seen in terms of numbers for black people in the equipment finance industry in one space ever,” said Gordon.

For many POC, working in equipment finance can feel intimidating as the field is predominately a white-male led industry. The network is an all-around safe space for people that share in their likeness while being able to address issues of feeling left out of conversations or not feeling understood by their peers. The leadership team alongside Gordon (Secretary/Director), consists of George Park (President), Nancy Robles (Director), Kareem Jernigan (Treasurer/Director), Andre Olaofe (Director), and Eric McGriff (Director).

“This is a long overdue group of primarily black and people of color professionals in the equipment finance industry, that have just come together to form a small group within the industry to create an awareness of the black professional in the equipment finance industry,” said Andre Olaofe, President at Select Funding.

An active member of BEFN will typically attend monthly virtual meetings, have the option to be on panels, opportunity to come to regional and national events, advocate for laws and policies to improve within the industry, have access to the member directory, and mentorship.

“I’m on the steering committee,” said Cheryl Tibbs, CEO at Equipment Lease & Co. “The steering committee, we meet to set the agenda for the organization for our meetings. Just really to set the agenda for the group.”

The support from non-POC peers in the industry has been fantastic, Gordon explained. Several sponsors such as Dedicated Financial GBC, Wells Fargo Capital, North Mill Capital, and Wintrust Specialty Finance attended and donated, which contributed to pulling the mixer off. Tibbs noted the overwhelming response of non-black professionals that wanted to be involved who also saw a need for DEI within these organizations.

“The president of the National Equipment Finance Association, the board members of NEFA, the other members for funding sources, other brokers, all welcomed the group in San Diego, and came out to the mixer,” said Olaofe, “and were actively involved in at least sharing in the celebration of coming together and this inaugural mixer.”

deBanked CONNECT MIAMI Shines

January 26, 2023
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deBanked CONNECT MIAMI 2023The sun wasn’t the only thing shining in the beautiful city of Miami on January 19th. Attendees were beaming with energy to forge connections at deBanked CONNECT. The annual half day event took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The venue offered a nice mix of educational speaking content and networking opportunities.

Among the panels of the day were Preparing for 2023 and a Possible Recession, moderated by Sarah Kelly with panelists Jim Granat, Dylan Howell, and Patrick Ontal and Let’s Talk Big Deals moderated by Daniel Dames, with panelists Jason Solomon, Jay Keller, and Patrick Manning. Advice, conversation, and different perspectives were shared about what can be done to elevate one’s business in the current environment.

Ocrolus’ David Snitkof and Sam Bobley presented a tech demo followed by Kuboon’s Brysen Patridge and Dalton Franklin where a lucky winner went home with a brand new iPad. Steve Denis alongside Jesse Carlson spoke on the latest news on the state of the business and policy issues.

Broker Fair is just four months away and will be at the New York Hilton Midtown, Monday May 8th. Tickets have easily sold out the past couple of events so try not to wait until the last minute!