Meet CAN Capital’s New CEO

CAN Capital announced this morning the appointment of Edward J. Siciliano as its new CEO.

“There is still a huge delta between the need for capital for small businesses and the capital that banks are willing to provide,” Siciliano said. “And this creates an enormous opportunity for CAN to expand its business.”

Siciliano comes to CAN Capital from the equipment finance and small business lending company Marlin Business Services, based in New Jersey. He worked there for a decade in several roles including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Sales Officer.

“Ed is a proven leader with deep industry knowledge and a strategist who is skilled at driving business growth,” said CAN Capital’s founder and Executive Chairman Gary Johnson. “Throughout his career, he has served the needs of small businesses while building loyal teams that deliver innovative products and a great customer experience.”

Siciliano is relocating from Princeton, NJ to live near CAN Capital’s headquarters in Kennesaw, GA, near Atlanta. In September 2018, the company announced that it would be moving its finance and executive functions to Kennesaw from New York City. A CAN Capital spokesperson at the time said that Parris Sanz, the former CEO, did not want to move to the Atlanta area for personal reasons. Now, Siciliano said that there is no longer a New York City office, but there is a roughly eight person finance team in White Plains, NY, that will eventually be moved to the Georgia headquarters.

“I really value the work that [Sanz] has done…and we’re going to stay the course out of the gate. However, I’ve been tasked with accelerating the business,” Siciliano said.

In this effort, Siciliano said he will continue to invest in technology, but will also focus on the small business customer rather than a specific product. Instead, Siciliano said that he would like to see CAN Capital expand its product offerings to serve more needs of small business customers.

He also said that he would like to expand the company’s referral partners beyond brokers to include other players such as manufacturers, attorneys and accountants.

For Siciliano, there are two key elements to focus on for any funding company. The first is credit, or underwriting.

“CAN is one of the very few fintechs that lived through 2008, the recession. You get information about your credit portfolio and your credit model in stressful times like that, that is invaluable…I feel like we have great credit models, which will constantly be enhanced and will always be a focus. Your credit model is the Achilles heel of any lending company.”

The other element that Siciliano focuses on is lowering customer acquisition costs. He said he wants to broaden product offerings to attract different and more partners who will, in turn, bring their small business customers to CAN Capital.

Currently, Siciliano said that the company originates $25-30 million a month and 95% of the business is providing working capital and business loans while the remaining 5% is merchant cash advance. CAN Capital works with brokers but also has an internal sales team. There are about 100 employees at the Kennesaw headquarters, including the company’s executive, marketing, and analytics teams. There is also a technology team of about 20 people located in Costa Rica and Siciliano said that the company works with business development people who work independently throughout the country.

Founded in 1998, CAN Capital has provided more than $7 billion to more than 81,000 small businesses.

CAN Capital to Grow Team and Business with New Facility

CAN Capital CEO Parris Sanz at Broker Fair May 2018

CAN Capital announced today that it agreed to a financing transaction of up to $287 million, provided by Varadero Capital. This is CAN Capital’s second facility with Varadero Capital. The first one came in July 2017. This financing will be used to fund more small business loans and to invest in talent and technology to enhance customer experience. The company plans to grow the size of its team with this new facility.

“We look forward to utilizing this funding to expand our ability to provide access to capital for small businesses, enhance our technology stack, and continue to build a dedicated, customer-driven team,” said Parris Sanz, CEO of CAN Capital.

CAN Capital also announced today that it has now provided small businesses with access to over $7 billion of working capital through more than 190,000 funding transactions with over 81,000 small business owners.

“Reaching $7 billion in working capital is a significant milestone for us,” Sanz said. “We are excited to use our deep experience and data to enable even more small business owners to grow with streamlined access to capital.”

CAN Capital makes business loans from $2,500 to $250,000 that last between 6 and 18 months. And they provide merchant cash advance financing, also from $2,500 to $250,000. They also work with broker partners to fund deals.

Founded in 1998, CAN Capital is among the oldest alternative lending companies. After an issue plagued them in 2016, the continued growth and confidence in the company from Varadero Capital is noteworthy. The company is now growing when it was making layoffs less than two years ago. Currently, CAN Capital’s headcount is 142.

“Since our initial facility, we’ve been impressed by the work ethic and dedication of CAN Capital’s staff, which have driven consecutive quarters of business growth and boosted confidence in the company’s fundamentals,” said Fernando Guerrero, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Varadero Capital.