IAM1479 – Fintech Founder Helps Entrepreneurs Access Competitive Financing Fast

Joe Camberato is the CEO and founder of National Business Capital – the leading fintech marketplace, helping entrepreneurs access competitive financing fast through an easy-to-use online platform and an experienced team.

Joe knows entrepreneurs because he is an entrepreneur. He started National Business Capital after realizing how challenging it is for business owners to access the funding they need to grow. With a strong vision, determination, and passionate leadership, Joe grew his firm from a small operation in his spare bedroom to a #1 top workplace on Long Island – all without one dollar of private equity.

• CEO Story: Joe understood the struggles of each business owner, like getting a business loan from a bank. Before founding National, his clients consistently asked him for ways to secure business loans, and his first thought was always, “Why don’t you go to the bank?” It wasn’t until he realized the challenges of business lending that he built his FinTech company to solve them, making the process seamless for business owners seeking to access capital. From starting the company in his spare bedroom to reaching $2 billion in funding, Joe has made a huge impact on the business community.
• Business Service: SBA loans, term loans, line of credit, equipment finance, inventory loans, and much more—matching the financing needs of every client.
• Secret Sauce: People and Knowledge. NBC trains its Business Finance Advisors through its National Business Academy.
• CEO Hack: Mindset is everything. Get yourself into the right mindset with exercise, meditation, and thinking time, including complimenting your accomplishments. Have amazing networks and relationships.
• CEO Nugget: All good things take time; patience is key.
• CEO Defined: Being a good leader. Committed to learning and growing. Helping others learn and grow. It’s not just about the CEO, but about the customer you are serving and the team helping serve those customers.

Website: https://www.nationalbusinesscapital.com

Youtube: GrowbyJoe

LinkedIn: growbyjoe

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Transcription

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00:25 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:53 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Joe Camberazzo of National Business Capital. Joe, super excited to have you on the show.

01:03 – Joe Camberato

Thanks for having me on the grass. I appreciate being here.

01:05 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, it should definitely be an awesome conversation. That's for sure and so before I jumped into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Joe so you can hear about some of the awesome things that he's working on Joe is the CEO and founder of National Business Capital, the leading FinTech marketplace helping entrepreneurs across competitive financing fast through an easy to use online platform and experience team. Joe knows entrepreneurs CEO and founder of Nation the leading fintech market across competitive financial and easy-to-use online PL team. Joe knows enterprise entrepreneurs. He started after realizing how business owners to access to grow. With a strong vision, determination, and passionate leadership, Joe grew his firm from a small operation in his spare bedroom to a number 1 top workplace in Long Island all without $1 of private equity. Joe, excited to have you on the show again, my friend. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:54 – Joe Camberato

Yes, I am looking forward to it.

01:56 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's get it started then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more about how you got started, and what I like to call your CEO story.

02:05 – Joe Camberato

Yeah, you know, I was in the consumer mortgage business. And a lot of my customers that were self-employed, they're business owners. And I watched them all use their home equity credit lines or refinance their house to use that money for their businesses. And a lot of them kept asking me for a business loan. I just didn't understand it. And I'd say, hey, it's not really what I do. Why don't you go to your bank? And they would all tell me how frustrating it was to deal with their bank. And, you know, I had a real interest in moving to the commercial side of the business and really wanted to work with business owners. 1 of those owners was like, Hey, you know, you got all these relationships, you know, can't you go to 1 of your banks and maybe point me in the right direction?

So there was a, it was a local restaurant owner. They had a catering facility. They wanted to open up another 1. Great business. So I brought it to a bank that had a commercial division. And I got this great deal, local customer restaurant, catering facility, I want to open up another 1. And they laughed at me. They said we'll never fund a restaurant. So I was like, oh, okay, well, can you point me in the right direction? So they pointed me to this private lender, another private lender. Ultimately, I wound up finding a lender that would finance them. I got them the money that they needed and I watched them grow their business.

And it truly fascinated me, right there in that moment, I said, wow, this is what I wanna do. I wanna work with business owners. I wanna help them access capital. And I found this whole world of private lending that really no 1 knew really existed. This was back in 05-06. I founded it in 2007, so it'll be 15 years this December. But in 05-06, a lot of these lenders didn't even have websites. And it was just still a fax machine then, which is just funny to even say now. And you know, no 1 really it was very hard to find a lender outside of like your local or national bank. And there were all these different lenders out there. Some of them were large institutions. Some of them were publicly traded.

And unless your advisor is like an attorney or accountant who had these types of relationships, then you have websites at the time. So you couldn't find them. And I said, you know what? I'm going to bring all these people together and I'm going to learn what their processes are. I'm going to learn what industries they love and I'm going to be the business consultant that helped you get money for your biz. So I did that in my spare bedroom, which was just literally 1 customer at a time. And then I really realized that I was onto something here and I just saw that every owner had the same challenge. You go to your bank, it 2 things happen. They do something with you. Then you outgrow them if you're growing fast.

And if you don't have enough collateral like real estate or really, really quality B2B receivables, the banks just don't want to work with you or they can't grow fast enough. And even today, banks want to work with big, big institutions and private equity has gone further upstream. So When I really understood this, I just started bringing them everything together in 1 place. And then last forward, I got out of my spare bedroom. I got, you know, it was initially a small office, shared some space, hired 1 person, then another person, and then moved to where we are today. We've utilized technology. We've become a full Fintech platform. Think rocket mortgage for small business lending.

And we've got over 75 lenders on the platform now. We've streamlined all the processes, digitalized the application process, and secured a bank connection. We do all these great things. And by following these great processes, systems, technology, and more importantly, really great people here at the company, we've helped secure $2 billion now in financing for all types of industries, all entrepreneurs, all across the country, which is really amazing.

05:49 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I definitely appreciate you, obviously, for, you know, working out of the bedroom and continuing to kind of grow that business. But I truly what kind of resonated with me, you know, very much so, like the story you told him being able to kind of grow was that restaurant that you kind of talked about. And when you rattle out that $2 billion, if you just think about that, just think about the impact to how many restaurants, how many other small businesses, it starts to really become something that you're creating, not just opportunity for resources, the capital that people need, but also for impacting lives and impacting the lives of the families and so on and so forth. So I appreciate you for being able to do that. And of course, being able to tell that story.

06:29 – Joe Camberato

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head, Gresh. And I appreciate you saying that and realizing that. That makes me feel good. And it's something that we've been talking about with just in general, really, especially in the last recent 2, or 3 years.

06:43 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I know we touched on it a little bit, but I want to drill down a little bit more and hear how you're serving clients, and how it all works. Could you take us through a little bit more about that?

06:52 – Joe Camberato

Yeah. So, you know, there's no 1 one-size-fits-all lender out there for your business. You can take 2 different businesses in the same industry, even a franchise, like let's say you own a Subway franchise or McDonald's or whatever. Those 2 owners may have different things that they want to do. 1 may want to buy another location, 1 may just need a credit line because they want to spruce up their current location, or 1 may need to buy equipment. So all of those things, 1 would be maybe an SBA loan, 1 maybe be a line of credit, 1 would be an equipment loan. So All the needs of every owner are really different.

So it's very hard if you go to 1 lender, they may approve you, but it may not be the best approval that's out there. So we bring all these great business-focused lenders together. We do everything from SBA loans to term loans to lines of credit to equipment financing to inventory loans to term loans. So you know, all those are in 1 simple place. So basically, if you are looking for financing, you can apply on the website, and we can call and reach out to the team. Whether you apply or call us, you know, we have a quick conversation with you. And you know, when people need money, they need it to get an opportunity in the challenge.

Sometimes the challenge is because there's happening. Like you're gr flows not keeping up and of filling those gaps. So we quick discovery call with a challenge. Sometimes the temporary challenge is because of opportunity happening. La fast, your cash flows not got to kind of fill those a very simple quick disco understand what's going o you looking to use money there will very simply te on his very easy convert know about your own business an SBA loan may make sense, or this makes sense for a revolving line of credit, or hey, if you're buying equipment, we can finance it over 5 years, low rates, and you can still utilize the appreciation. So we have these really cool conversations. Then based on the need, we explain what you'll probably match for. And then we'll tell you, you're going to need these financial docs, everything that you'll need.

09:05 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that's so huge. And I almost wonder if the thing that is your secret sauce is like that technology and also that awareness of all the different products and different options and the different ways that people can learn and understand and manage their money and the finances so that they can at the end of the day succeed. Do you feel like that kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

09:24 – Joe Camberato

That really is a big secret sauce of ours is people and knowledge. We have an amazing group of people. We have over 70 people internally, internally, and then we have a number of people externally. Training is, you know, we've created what's called the National Business Academy and we teach all the lender guidelines and products, but more importantly, we teach understanding business.

09:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. It makes so much sense and you almost think about it as business being a language, so to speak. And once you start to understand the language, not only does it help you, like you said, to make sure that you're able to kind of get those, you know, raise the best options and best products, but also helps you on an even deeper level, have that conversation with the people that are actually looking for that expertise and that knowledge. So I absolutely appreciate that. And so I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

10:26 – Joe Camberat

It's a good 1. I mean, there are a few different things that I do. A few hacks, I mean, I can give you 1. I think the mindset is really everything. You gotta get yourself into the right mindset. So always moving, working out, exercising, meditation, and then more importantly some thinking time to think about what I've got going on. Also, think about what I've accomplished because we beat ourselves up constantly to keep getting to the next thing. So measuring backward has really helped me especially lately as we moved through COVID, There are so many things that you're constantly accomplishing and you never, you know, you're always on to the next, on to the next, but if you don't appreciate what you've accomplished, you can kind of get deflated and burn yourself out. And then just, you know, my relationships and network is really everything. Like, you know, having amazing relationships has really helped me a lot in business and all types of relationships. A part of a group called YPO, it's Young Presidents Organization. I think it's really powerful having great, getting yourself around other business owners and leaders. That's been a big, big part of my success. Folks that are much bigger and better than me. And then next thing you know, you grow into that. So that's been a really great hack for me as well too.

11:43 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes so much sense. So Now you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for a CEO nugget. So it's a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I like to say you might tell your favorite client or if you were to hop into a time machine, you might tell your younger business.

11:57 – Joe Camberato

You know, culture has been everything in my business. We've built an amazing culture. We've been the number 1 top workplace on Long Island because of it for 3 years in a row. The last 3 years, we're gunning for the fourth year right now. I think what I would tell my younger self is all good things just take time. Patience is key. When I got started, I thought so many things were going to come together so much faster. And like the reality is I've been at this, it'll be 15 years this December. Things really didn't come together for me until about year 7. And things just constantly changing. So there's, you know, you think when you get to this certain, you know, point that it's all going to like work out or whatever. And it's just, it's a constant change. And, you know, just continue to keep changing, you know, and growing. But I really measure things now in five-year clips. What can I do in the next 5 years? Because you can only do so much in a year, just reality.

12:58 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I love that. And I always try to remind myself, and as we talked about the driven people, that the secret to overnight success is absolutely appreciated that. So now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. Rob and I have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Joe, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:15 – Joe Camberato

You know, being a CEO, to me, means being a good leader. And just, I'm like committed to learning and growing. And more importantly, now, helping others learn and grow. I really, you know, and I mean, I started this whole grow by Joe thing, which is, you know, a big initiative of mine. And it's really helping, you know, our customers grow, but it's also helping, you know, my staff and my team grow. And I need to be constantly learning and growing as well. So I think it's a big responsibility to be a CEO. And more importantly, it's not just about me. It's about the customers we're serving. It's about the team that's here helping serve those customers. And, and that's why I think we have, you know, the great culture and amazing, you know, place that we do. Cause I, I don't just say these things. I actually do them.

14:13 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. That makes so much sense. And I love how you kind of talked about leadership and how that manifests itself in so many different ways. Joe truly appreciates you for taking time out, and appreciating all the awesome things you're doing. What I want to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get hold of you to find out about all the awesome things you and your team are working on.

14:33 – Joe Camberato

The most important thing that I think I do is being prepared and anticipating where things are going. Anticipation is probably 1 of the biggest keys to success in business. So you gotta make sure that you got your capital right because the guy with the most money in a downturn in a recession will be the business that wins. You can go right to nationalbusinesscapital.com. And if you wanna follow me, you can check me out at Grow by Joe. Check out my YouTube, I've got hundreds of videos on there. Follow me on LinkedIn, on Instagram. I put a lot of content out all about the different financing options, but also about just things that I'm actually doing here in my own business that have helped me be successful. So if I can help you be successful and grow better and smarter, you know, that's that's my goal.

15:20 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And to make it even easier, Joe, we'll have the links and information in the show notes as well too so that everybody can get a, you know, hold of all the awesome things you're doing and of course be able to kind of contact your team. So truly appreciate you for doing that, my friend. And of course, appreciate your time. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

15:35 – Joe Camberato

Thank you, Gresh. Thanks for having me. And listen, thanks for everything that you're doing, you know, pulling all these great people together, you know, on your podcast and, and helping drop in all these clues around, you know, for everyone. You know, it's really great. I appreciate it.

15:48 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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