With the economy gaining back some momentum I wanted to share with you some thoughts and plans for us in 2020 and beyond.
Funder Intel was started in 2019 with the goals of giving Funders more access and information on ISOs and being a central platform for sharing information, ratings, reviews and other intel for the industry. We then moved quickly to include features for ISOs to take part in and grow their reputation.
Information about companies in the MCA industry is spread out, as everyone is going to different venues or platforms to find the answers to common questions about any given company.
Wouldn't there be an advantage for there to be a place to centralize information, ratings, and reviews so it's one click of a button instead of endless keyword searching through Google, message board threads, social media groups or other mass ratings sites that not all companies are listed?
It's a very simple concept yet not done to any success in the MCA space.
So for example you may share a question or an experience about an ISO on a message board but then write the same thing in a Facebook group and maybe even a Linkedin group. If that message pertains to a specific ISO listed in our system, that exact message can be copied on the company profile on our site so there is one main living history of feedback from approved members. Approved members being the key, as it prevents spam or bots as members are vetted manually. Then if you want to respond to a comment you can have a ongoing dialogue.
It's not to take away from what you are currently doing or places you share intel like facebook groups, message boards and Linkedin. We are not in direct competition with those platforms. They are all good and have their purpose. It's to combine certain information from all of those.
When you continuously fund deals with certain ISOs and Funders why not give them a rating monthly so their reputation and brand grow?
This is where the ratings system and our recently introduced FI Score come into play.
Seemingly every day there is a company asking you to rate them or a product on their platform.
When you take an Uber you rate the driver and the driver rates you. That score is crucial to your future rideshare usage as well as the drivers ability to earn a living.
Amazon asks you to rate every product because product and seller ratings have a huge impact on what is presented to customers when searching for products which leads to what customers buy.
Why not have a go-to scoring system for the MCA industry?
Some ISOs and Funders pay careful attention to ratings and reviews of their own company using other platforms like Google or Trustpilot, but who checks those besides business owners?
If you are signing up a new ISO, do you check their profile on Trustpilot? Likely not, and most aren't even listed.
If you are an ISO do you check what Google Reviews says about Funders? Not often.
Its likely you will ask others on Facebook or a message board what their experiences are and who a contact is at the company.
So we want to provide this platform for progress, bringing the industry closer together, unlocking collaboration and positive change. We have to do this in a way to provide reliable, valuable information so we made it only for approved members who are vetted. Our platform is different because the ISO profiles are behind a member wall, and only members can rate them as well as Funders.
Once the economy reopened partially during this pandemic and deals were able to be funded again, we have seen higher participation in ratings from funders which makes ratings more valuable, especially in the FI Score.
Also you may have seen some new features such as ISOs being able to
claim their profile and invite funders to rate them.
We have other exciting plans for the future including offering an API for integrations, annual recognition to the highest rated ISO, and a deal board that fits the needs of new and experienced loan brokers.
If you want to make a difference in this industry you have to take action. Its not enough to ask for regulation as some brokers and funders have, or say regulation is coming, or pray someone else does something to make things better. Or worse, complain when someone else does something that, because you have poor business practices, could hurt your business.
Of course, even with a superb scoring system, there are still going to be Funders that work with ISOs and ISOs that work with Funders regardless of their reputation, FI Score, ratings, or other info like criminal history.
And therein lies the challenge. How do we get behaviors and practices to change, to reduce the poor performing companies who will do anything and work with anyone and reward the ones who have great business practices and represent themselves well.
Its never been more important to know who are the good players in the MCA space, as demonstrated by recent news of some funders being held to account as the FTC has taken aim at Yellowstone Capital and the FBI at Par Funding. There will be more to come in the near future I'm assuming. As well as more cases of fraud from the SBAs Paycheck Protection Program that may have been funneled through ISOs.
I invite you to take more action today by joining and participating in rating companies.
Par Funding article- https://www.readingeagle.com/news/state/federal-judge-fires-the-leaders-and-employees-of-par-funding-and-a-better-financial-plan/article_823fc873-8a3c-5d6d-b09c-92313e78d2b1.html
Yellowstone Capital article- https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/feds-crack-down-lenders-targeting-small-businesses-high-interest-loans-n1236167