October 19, 2015
The Evolution of An Industry
Walking into our office on 36th and 7th, it’s hard to believe that Fora Financial was once Paramount Merchant Funding, a small MCA startup company servicing low volume retail and restaurants. In an industry created around merchant services, a lender’s only security lied in a business’ future credit card sales. If the majority of your receivables did not come in through cards, chances are you were declined. This model has been very limiting to companies like ours, when looking at eligible business types. Today, with the economy on the mend and bank financing still just out of reach for the majority of small business owners, the demand for working capital has mounted. This drastic increase in demand has forced private financing firms like ours to come up with creative solutions for one of the biggest problems facing the entrepreneurial masses of this country today.
With the industry evolving, demand growing and the needs of our customers changing, we knew that Paramount Merchant Funding and its image as a small Cash Advance brokerage no longer represented who we are, what we do, or where we are headed. Today, our customer base is larger and more loan centric. The word “merchant,” often tied to credit card processing, excludes a big portion of the industries we now service, and is no longer a requirement to qualify for our products.
As we strive to meet the needs of our customers and maintain our position as one of the most innovative and creative firms in the area, we have rebranded; shedding our name and stepping out as Fora Financial. Meaning “marketplace” in Latin, the name represents the breadth of financial products we offer and clients we currently serve. With the introduction of our small business loan, we are now able to provide financing to nearly all industries regardless of how their revenue is received. This new product along with our Revenue Advance has opened the doors to dozens of business’ who were previously locked out financial opportunities. From medical and home healthcare to construction, manufacturing, and transportation, our once long and extensive restricted industry list has virtually disappeared.
Mirrored with the growth and diversification in the industry, we have more than quadrupled in size, space, and output over the past few years. Along with our internal growth, the expansion of our business development team has created an extensive network of partners, further solidifying our presence as one of the largest direct lenders in the country. So what does this mean for the future of our clients, our partners, and our company? With the newly established ability to not only service more industries, but larger industries as well, we have secured new lines of capital that will allow us to meet the increase in demand and provide our clients and partners with the most competitive rates in the space.