February 21, 2015 – This week we are preparing your franchise brand for financing. We are talking with funding experts and are going to analyze the steps to getting your franchise house in order! We are weighing in on why lending is the key to expansion. As the market progresses lots people are excited about owning a franchise. Taking the right precautionary steps in accurate financing is essential to your business. We brought in financial experts to give their opinions on how you can be successful owning a franchise.
Denise explained during our interview that the banks are looking for assets claims. The banks want to make sure that you are financially secure and will be able to handle the responsibility for repayment. Banks want to help small business and make you financially successful. “Capital access is there” she says.
Frank Gallagher had similar advice. He stressed the importance of being organized and making a good impression on the banks. “Have all your paper work, and documents in place. The more complete your information is you have less chances for delay.” This is really important if you plan on starting your business really soon. Make sure that your financial advisor is proficient in the up keep of your documents.
Lastly Ron Feldman stresses the important of the SBA. The Small Business Administration is a great tool on finding out advice and getting quality information on your business. Ron utilizes the SBA for his clients and tells them research extensively on your business. “The more information you have, the better off your business will be.”
Join the restaurant brokers and the experts on franchise financing as they discuss the great tips on keeping your financial house in order. Tune into the entire restaurant radio show live on Atlanta radio station WGKA 920 The Answer on Saturday at noon or the rebroadcast Sunday at 1 PM on Biz 1190.
This Week’s Guests:
Denise Thomas – ApplePie Capital
Denise Thomas, CEO and Co-Founder of ApplePie Capital. Headquartered in San Francisco, ApplePie Capital is a marketplace lender that provides a fresh new approach to franchise financing. The franchise loan marketplace enables franchise entrepreneurs to efficiently access the capital they need to start or expand their
businesses. This previously difficult-to-access asset class of franchise loan investments offers investors the ability to earn attractive risk-adjusted returns with the brands they know and trust. ApplePie Capital believes in the power of the franchise industry to create economic growth and jobs, and is committed to fueling that growth by bringing market participants together in a whole new way.
Denise founded ApplePie Capital to create a new, more efficient source of capital for franchise businesses. Denise has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in business and market strategy development. Her public and private company expertise spans the financial services, technology, healthcare, hospitality and online services industries, and she has led companies backed by leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins, Mohr Davidow and Sequoia Capital.
Denise has founded three other companies, and held executive and management positions with SharesPost, Healthiest You, Navigenics, LesConcierges, OffRoad Capital, Onyx Microcomputer, Post Communications, Kao Infosystems, and National Semiconductor. She has been a guest lecturer at both the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley.
Frank Gallagher – United Community Bank
Frank Gallagher, the Senior Vice President and SBA Manager of Franchise Lending at United Community Bank. United Community Banks, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Blairsville, Georgia, with $7.4 billion in assets. The company's banking subsidiary, United Community Bank, is one of the Southeast region's largest full-service banks,
Frank joined as the SBA Franchise National Manager. Frank has more than 15 years of experience in SBA lending, with a focus in the franchise lending space and over 25 years’ experience in lending to small and middle market companies. Prior to United, Gallagher served primarily as a Regional Account Manager for CIT and has also held positions in risk management, business development, credit underwriting, portfolio maintenance, and loan closing, collections and loan closing.operating 102 offices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The bank specializes in providing personalized community banking services to individuals, small businesses and corporations. Services include a full range of consumer and commercial banking services, including mortgage, advisory and treasury management products. United Community Bank is consistently recognized for its outstanding customer service by national survey organizations.
Ronald Feldman – FranData
Ronald Feldman is Chief Development Officer at FRANData. Ron Feldman utilizes his knowledge and experience with
franchise finance to improve the flow of capital to the franchise community. His efforts build upon FRANdata’s financing solutions for franchisors that assist their franchisees with the financing process. Feldman is also a principal at Franchise America Finance and Siegel Financial Group and continues to serve as their Chief Brand Strategist.
He is often called upon to be a keynote speaker at franchise-related events, and has appeared on television programs championing the cause of small businesses. Feldman has been published numerous times in trade magazines, and is the instructor-of-choice and subject matter expert on financing and capital access to the International Franchise Association (IFA)
.