Beyond Banks by Cobalt Intelligence

Technology can analyze data, but it can't replace the phone call that tells you if someone's a payer or a non-payer. David Catton built Advance Funds Network into a 5.0-rated broker by combining cutting-edge AI with old-school relationship building. His prescreening AI and lender matrix ensure conversion rates stay high - they haven't had a 'your metrics are off' conversation w...

John Blizzard — president of Seattle Bank and founder of CD Valet — is proving that real disruption often happens quietly, deep in the plumbing of the financial system. In this episode, host Jordan sits down with John to explore how CD Valet is transforming one of the most traditional products in banking — the certificate of deposit — into a transparent, data-powered marketplace for modern savers....

In this episode, Jordan sits down with Ali Kidwai, Director of Product & Engineering at Bectran, to get the tactical, no-fluff answers. Ali provides a masterclass on how Bectran built a resilient platform that now processes billions in B2B credit weekly. This is a granular, "in-the-trenches" breakdown of how to apply AI to the real friction points of lending. In This Episode, You Wil...

In this episode, Matt Tomko (CRO, Happy Money) breaks down why 42% of Americans are stressed about debt but only 8% use consolidation loans. After 30 years building portfolios at MBNA, Sallie Mae, and OneMain, he's rebuilding Happy Money's capital model from credit union dependency to diversified funding across banks and credit funds. This episode covers the partnership opportunity in pers...

Michael Barnett, CEO of Loan Spark, breaks down the economics of white-label commercial lending and why alternative lenders keep missing this distribution strategy. Learn how Loan Spark reduces customer acquisition costs from $1,500-$3,000 per loan to $200-$500 by letting accountants, commercial brokers, and mortgage companies originate under their own brand while providing capital and compliance...

"Using personal guarantees is one of the worst risk decisions you can make as a lender." - Mike Mondelli, CEO of Verdata That's a bold claim from someone who built L2C, sold it to TransUnion for millions, then led their global alternative data strategy across 5 continents. In this episode, Mike reveals why personal credit scores simultaneously underestimate risk AND miss growth oppor...

This episode is about Kingsman Capital, and their 10-year trajectory through the Canadian market offering a rare operational blueprint, one that translates directly to current US market dynamics. This isn't theory - it's pattern recognition from a lender who navigated market concentration, regulatory shifts, and technology adoption while maintaining profitability. The insights extracted he...

Nancy Schneier's interview on Vikar Technologies offers insights into community bank modernization and technology adoption in lending. Market Data Covered: 8-year timeline, 20 financial institution client base analysis Core banking integration specifics: FIS, Fiserv, Jack Henry systems Four-module product architecture breakdown Commercial vs consumer market positioning strategy KYC automation and...

🏡 Janine Cascio knows her numbers and has the real experience to prove it. In this episode, the CEO of SimpLending Financial shares how her family office background gave her legitimate training you can't buy in the private lending space. What You'll Learn: ✅ How to scale real estate investors from 1 deal to 10-15 deals per year ✅ The four lending programs hitting the sweet spot: fix-and...

Mark Ross, CEO and founder of Dragin, explains how his company built automation technology for alternative business lenders. Ross describes their OCR system that reads any application format, email automation that processes deals without human intervention, and AI business verification that scrapes 1,000 databases. He details his path from Morgan Stanley VP to building technology that he says redu...

While most lenders obsess over funding speed, Todd Stichler built a crisis-proof lending operation by focusing on what really matters: catching the debt stacking epidemic before it kills your portfolio. In this deep dive, Todd exposes the 40% problem hitting working capital borrowers and shares the exact monitoring systems that saved his $50M+ portfolio through 3 market crashes. No fluff, just the...

Most lenders run from owner-dependent businesses. But what if those "risky" deals are actually your biggest opportunity? In this episode, Sarah Grossman, Owner of Baystate Business Brokers break down a counterintuitive lending strategy that's generating 5+ qualified leads daily for firms like Sarah's. Instead of waiting for perfect borrowers, these lenders are financing the transformation journey...

In this episode, we sit down with Jay Avigdor, CEO of Velocity Capital Group, who reveals his incredible journey from starting with just $17 in his bank account to leading a multi-office operation that has created over 25,000 jobs. Discover: The "Need It, Don't Want It" Philosophy: Jay's profound mindset that demands success as a necessity, not just a desire, which propelled Velo...

Grant Ferguson, acquisition entrepreneur and co-founder of Jumpstart Finance , breaks down the business acquisition landscape from an alternative lender's perspective. With experience at JP Morgan Chase and extensive financial services consulting, Ferguson reveals how demographic shifts are creating unprecedented opportunities for smart lenders. What You'll Learn: The Baby Boomer Exit Wave 12 mill...

In this video, Ira Zlotowitz, CEO of GParency , shares three critical modernization strategies for alternative business lenders: 1. Unbundling pricing from loan size2. Treating proprietary data as a separate revenue stream3. Building interconnected service ecosystems that increase customer lifetime value This interview exposes the gap between fintech marketing hype and actual lending operations. I...

In this podcast video interview, we sit down with Ryan from Ion Capital Solutions, a veteran alternative lender with over 11 years of experience who's changing broker education in the alternative lending space. Ryan shares his journey from working in television advertising to becoming a leader in merchant cash advance and business loan brokerage. What You'll Learn:- How Ryan built his broker train...

The private markets are now bigger than the public markets, with $4.45 trillion raised last year in the US alone. But the infrastructure hasn't kept pace, with thousands of disconnected funding platforms leading to fragmentation and inefficiency. Kore is the company solving this trillion-dollar problem. By building a blockchain-based "passport" for investors and a unified compliance layer, Kore en...

Michelle, a FinTech founder, shares her experiences in helping small businesses obtain growth funding by leveraging her background in consulting and commercial lending. Currently refining her value proposition, Michelle aims to become a definitive lender by specifying loan amounts, target sectors, approval probabilities, and terms. Building her own financial stability is a key focus, as Michelle b...

In this exclusive deep-dive, Kapitus CEO Andrew Reiser pulls back the curtain on nearly two decades of alternative lending strategy, revealing how to build sustainable lending operations that thrive during market contractions. With battle-tested experience through 2008's financial crisis, COVID-19 disruption, and today's interest rate environment, Reiser shares the strategic framework that institu...

In this episode, we dive deep into the hidden world of business fundability with Ty Crandall, CEO of Credit Suite. Discover the shocking truth behind why over 50% of business loan applications get denied before revenue or credit scores even enter the equation. We explore how modern lending's automated systems use entity recognition and pattern matching to validate business information across multi...

In this video interview, we highlight the industry's transformation from high-interest, predatory lending practices of the late 1990s (30%+ interest rates secured by personal property) to more responsible funding solutions that incorporate advisory services. Rios Business Funding is offering the Eye Level to High Level program. Rios describes a sophisticated approach that combines traditional...

Scale Your Floor Plan Portfolio by 20% Without Adding Staff: The Vero Technologies Story Alternative Lending's Hidden Giant: The $100B+ Floor Plan Financing Market In this episode, we dive deep with John Mizzi, the innovator behind Vero Technologies, who's transforming how lenders finance inventory for auto, equipment, power sports, and RV dealerships. For lenders managing floor plan portf...

Ex-banker Clint Weston reveals why he left a 20-year banking career to build Sureline Capital, focusing specifically on the trucking industry most lenders avoid like the plague. Discover the TRUTH about factoring rates, why banks are leaving small carriers high and dry, and how alternative financing is keeping America's supply chain moving despite tightening credit markets. Clint shares contro...

In this interview Justin Leto presents a genuinely innovative solution to a real problem in the legal industry. He's the attorney that made legal funding better for everyone! Justin identified a clear pain point for plaintiff lawyers who finance their own cases and created an insurance product (Level) to mitigate this risk. This evolved into Level Esq, which now offers both insurance and lending t...

In this episode, our guest is the Executive Director of the Small Business Finance Association, Steve Denis. With his Harvard education and extensive Capitol Hill experience, Steve has become a powerful advocate for an industry that's often misunderstood. We'll discuss the critical role alternative financing plays for those mom-and-pop businesses that traditional banks often overlook - from the lo...