Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Severson.
Jason, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
This year is an exciting one for Primary Funding as we are celebrating our 25th year in business! It has been an amazing quarter-century with strong growth, many accomplishments and lots of lessons learned.
Twenty-five years ago, our founder Patricia Burns, had a vision to start a finance company that supports the growth of small businesses in San Diego and throughout California. She accomplished that by building a company with a great reputation for treating people right. She built a company that cares about its clients, referral sources, employees and community. Unfortunately, in October 2012, Pat suffered a massive stroke and has not been able to work since. That is when I left the traditional banking world in order to come over and run the family business. I am Pat’s son-in-law and I certainly felt an obligation to carry on the legacy of her business, but I quickly saw an opportunity to build upon the wonderful foundation she created.
Here we are seven years later and we have grown from a small group of four to a dynamic team of ten. We have also doubled the number of clients we work with and helped many of them grow and succeed and ultimately transitioned on to traditional bank financing. I feel very fortunate to be part of the Primary Funding team and I’m proud of what our team has accomplished.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
During the early years, Pat worked very hard to build the reputation of Primary Funding in the community. Over the years, Pat developed a referral network of bankers, service professionals and brokers that believe in what we do and how we do it. Pat was very active in the community. She was always attending networking groups, trade associations and doing presentations. While we continue to do those things today, we have new challenges that come with the growth of a small business. A growing business requires more structure and processes to make sure we stay close to our portfolio of clients in order to communicate effectively, both internally and with our clients. We also need to make sure we manage our risks appropriately. This requires new software and technology. As you can imagine, it is much easier to know your portfolio when it is smaller. It is critical for us to navigate this growth while staying flexible and nimble to keep service levels high.
As far as challenges go, the stroke that Pat suffered in 2012 created an enormous challenge. Primary Funding lost its leader. The Company had four employees at the time, including Pat. At the time, I was working for California Bank & Trust, a statewide business bank. I did not know anything about being an entrepreneur or running a business. Frankly, I had no idea what Primary Funding did on a day-to-day basis. I had to learn quickly. Over the years, we have attended our annual industry conference and taken many training courses facilitated by our trade association. We continue to learn and improve by surrounding ourselves with experienced people that share best practices.
In 2016 I began working with a CEO coach. I still work with him 1-on-1, but he also works with our management team. With his help, we have built Company Values that we take seriously. We have a set of Guiding Principles that represent the day-to-day actions that support our Values. This has helped us create a culture that we are proud of. There have certainly been bumps and bruises along the way, but today we have ten employees and we’re headed to new heights. We have a great team that continues to make us bigger, but more importantly, better.
Please tell us about Primary Funding Corporation.
At Primary Funding, we provide capital to growing companies so they can have the confidence and ability to take on new business. Our main product is accounts receivable financing, also known as “invoice financing”. This helps businesses that sell a product or service to other companies, but don’t get paid right away. It is common for a business to provide payment terms to their customers when they sell goods or services. Our clients issue an invoice for goods or services, but can’t wait the 30 or 60 days it may take to get paid from their customers. They need cash to pay vendors, make payroll, or buy more inventory for new orders.
Our team of former bankers achieves this without the underwriting restrictions that come with traditional bank financing. As a result, our financing solution is easier to put in place and allows us to scale quickly with our clients. We pride ourselves on providing transparent, easy to understand lending solutions that allow these businesses to grow. Also, if it is not the right fit for us, we maintain a network of other lenders in order to find a solution that will work. Our goal is to truly help these companies achieve their goals and dreams.
Most of our clients will use us as a bridge for a year or two as they build their company, then they transition on to a traditional bank. Unlike our competition, we celebrate our clients that move on to a bank. In our eyes, that is a success and we will even help facilitate that transition.
Contact Info:
- Address: 11545 West Bernardo Ct. #209
- Website: www.primaryfunding.com
- Phone: 858-530-1500
- Email: info@primaryfunding.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/primaryfunding
- Facebook: facebook.com/primaryfunding
- Twitter: twitter.com/primaryfunding
Image Credit:
Krista Mertz
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