ORLANDO, FL—A new company that links small businesses to sources of capital is looking to expand its reach through a network of affiliates that includes mortgage, real estate and financial services professionals.
By becoming MyCapitalAccess "financiers," these and other pros can increase their own revenue by facilitating relationships between small, cash-strapped companies and the Miami Shores, Fla.-based company.
In that the founders of MyCapitalAccess are mortgage industry veterans, it makes sense that they are pursuing mortgage brokers to carry their flag, especially since brokers themselves are feeling the effects of the down economy and are sometimes in need of a cash infusion of their own.
"My co-founders and I have watched mortgage brokers and other professionals suffer through extremely difficult conditions over the past two years," said one of the founders, Art Swiatkowski, a former vice president of business development for Interbay Funding and a trainer for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. "With our mortgage backgrounds, it was important to us to help those individuals find alternative sources of revenue."
Swiatkowski's partners in the new endeavor, which launched in June and claims to already have signed up two dozen affiliates, are Anthony Chao, chief operating officer of Allied Mortgage, and Leo Pardon, former chief executive officer at MetWest and at one time the nation's top originator of commercial loans.
Affiliates, which the company calls financiers, can earn some significant money, Pardon said here earlier this month at the Florida Association of Mortgage Professional's annual convention, where they were one of about 50 exhibitors.
Those who are "willing to work" can make six figures "easily," he said, whereas part-timers can bring in $50,000 to $60,000 annually. Added Swiatkowski, "They can make a lot of money and they don't have to shuffle a lot of paper to do it."
To become an MCA financier, brokers have to ante up $499. But MCA "does all the heavy lifting," Swiatkowski said. Financiers "create the relationship with the client and gather their information, and then we determine what the clients' needs are and try to meet them."
Right now, the mortgage industry veteran says, there is a crying need for the service his new company provides. With banks not lending, limiting credit lines and calling loans due, the need for capital couldn't be greater, he said.
Consequently, he added, "there's a great opportunity to bring two problem areas together and come up with a solution."
The company says it can provide everything from $20,000 cash advances to $900,000 commercial loans. However, it will not do any residential lending nor will it make personal loans. "It's all B2B," said Swiatkowski.
To be eligible, would-be borrowers must, among other criteria, have been in business for at least a month, possess a credit score of at least 550 and have monthly bank deposits of $20,000 or more.
Through the program, borrowers become members of MyCapitalAccess and are guided through the application process. Then a staff member helps them determine the best solution for their particular situation. "It's no secret that there are a significant number of small companies struggling to survive because they do not have access to the money they need to operate or grow their businesses," Swiatkowski said. He said his firm will be an advocate for these companies.
