Three out of four OnDeck borrowers surveyed went to a nonbank lender without applying to a bank first. That caught my attention in the latest OnDeck and Ocrolus cash flow report. It’s a specific group of borrowers, not a snapshot of every small business, but it’s worth understanding what brought them there. In this video, I break down the numbers and one question I’d ask a business owner: What comes due before your customer pays? If you work with business owners, what are you seeing? Do they try a bank first, or come straight to you?

In this episode of Funding Talk, Funder Intel’s Shane Mahabir sits down with Mark Ross, CEO of Dragin, to talk about his path from Wall Street to building technology for the business lending industry. 0:00 Introduction 1:02 From Wall Street to Alternative Finance 8:39 The Morgan Stanley Trading Model 11:14 How Dragin's Story Began 14:10 Why Mark Left Morgan Stanley 16:07 Dragin's Industry Innovations 27:37 Mark's Relationship with Jay Avigdor 31:38 The 'Funder is Involved' Concern 34:15 Dragin Today 39:23 The Future Mark shares how his early career inside large financial institutions shaped the way he thinks about data, financial modeling, technology, and solving problems at scale. He also discusses what eventually pushed him toward entrepreneurship, including the growth of his coaching work and the realization that he wanted to build something that felt more aligned with who he was. The conversation then moves into Mark’s introduction to the alternative business lending and merchant cash advance industry, the relationships that helped him better understand the market, and how those experiences ultimately contributed to the creation and growth of Dragin. Today, Dragin develops software and technology designed to help brokers, funders, and other businesses in the commercial finance ecosystem improve their operations, workflows, and use of data. Shane and Mark also discuss what Mark learned working inside major financial institutions, the importance of creating measurable value, building strong relationships in a relationship-driven industry, and the opportunities he sees for technology within business lending.

If you’ve considered Close before and haven’t pulled the trigger yet, now’s a great time to take another look. I work with teams that want their CRM to actually drive sales—not slow them down. Close remains the fastest tool I’ve found for turning leads into revenue without the usual CRM complexity. Here’s why teams switch (and stick with it): No clunky setup or add-ons Built-in dialer, email, and SMS Smart Views and Workflows that keep reps focused Practical AI that speeds up work and removes admin If you're serious about simplifying your sales process and increasing results, Close is worth another look. https://refer.close.com/bt75nyp6taud-fetl0j

Are you turning away clean deals or cutting offer sizes just because capital ran tight on a heavy funding week? Institutional syndication allows direct MCA, RBF, and commercial funders to rent an institutional balance sheet on a flexible, deal-by-deal basis, without relying on dozens of fragmented retail participants Key Takeaways for Business Funders: Full Platform Control: Retain 100% authority over your origination, underwriting decisions, loan servicing, and merchant relationships . Single Counterparty: Replace the hassle of chasing individual retail wires with one clean institutional relationship . Maximize Economics: Earn origination and servicing income on paper even when using outside capital . No Commitments: Zero minimum volume flow requirements—use outside balance sheet strictly on the files where you want it . 3 Steps to Get Introduced: Submit basic details about your funding platform at Funder Intel . Get reviewed (typically within 2 business days) . Receive a direct introduction to the institutional capital team 👉 Submit your platform details here: https://www.funderintel.com/syndication-partner