How To Survive and Thrive in Financial Crises With Ami Kassar

Ami Kassar is the Founder and CEO of MultiFunding LLC, a financial consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses secure creative funding solutions. With a career spanning the dot-com era to the 2008 financial crisis, he has transformed challenges into opportunities, building a resilient company that thrives in helping others. Ami is the author of The Growth Dilemma, host of the AmiSights Podcast, and an active speaker, contributing to entrepreneurial communities like EO, Vistage, and YPO. His expertise has been sought by organizations like the White House, Federal Reserve Bank, and Treasury Department, and his insights are regularly featured in leading media outlets such as The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal.

Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:

• [2:32] Ami Kassar discusses the impact of immigration and starting businesses in a new country
• [5:23] Lessons from Ami’s first dot-com startup
• [9:38] How Ami became Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer
• [12:14] The impact of the 2008 financial crisis on Advanta
• [15:14] The vision behind founding MultiFunding LLC
• [17:36] Challenges in launching MultiFunding LLC during a tough economic period
• [21:39] Building the EO GRIT community for entrepreneurs and its rapid growth
• [24:52] The various factors contributing to the current economic challenges
• [30:50] How Ami balances supporting entrepreneurs with running his own company
• [34:36] The importance of having a community to provide support and help businesses

In this episode…

Small business owners face daunting challenges, from navigating financial crises to securing funding in a volatile economy. Many struggle with cash flow, rising interest rates, and adapting to rapid market changes, leaving them unsure about their venture’s growth and stability. Amid this uncertainty, finding innovative and sustainable financial solutions is critical for survival and long-term success. Ami Kassar, a thought leader in business finance, offers practical strategies to address these challenges, prioritizing profit and cash flow over unchecked expansion. Drawing on his experience navigating multiple financial crises, Ami advocates for personalized funding solutions that align with a business’s unique needs rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. He also stresses the value of fostering resilience through community support, as demonstrated by his creation of the EO GRIT community, which provides resources and a collaborative space for entrepreneurs facing economic hardships. Tune in to this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast as John Corcoran interviews Ami Kassar, Founder and CEO of MultiFunding LLC, about tackling financial obstacles. Ami recounts his early experiences with entrepreneurship and the valuable lessons he learned from triumphs and setbacks, including a failed dot-com startup and navigating corporate restructuring during the 2008 financial crisis. His story serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and innovation in the face of adversity.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• John Corcoran on LinkedIn
• Rise25
• Ami Kassar LinkedIn | Website
• AmiSights Podcast
• MultiFunding LLC
• EO Philadelphia

Special Mention(s):

• Michael Brady on LinkedIn
• Ryan Tansom on LinkedIn | Website
• Independence by Design™

Related episode(s):

• How To Intentional Grow Your Business With Ryan Tansom

Quotable Moments:

• “If 51% of the decisions we make are good decisions, we’re probably doing pretty well.”
• “Sometimes when you’re building a company, you feel like you’re walking on a tightrope.”
• “Concentrate on profit and cash flow. Don’t necessarily think you’re just going to save the world.”
• “There are some things that happen in life that no matter how smart we think we are, we can’t control.”
• “The more you give, the more you get.”

Action Steps:

1. Explore diverse funding options: Consider a variety of funding sources such as SBA loans, alternative lenders, and crowdfunding. This approach can help businesses overcome challenges in a tough lending environment by opening up opportunities that may not be available through traditional bank loans.
2. Focus on cash flow management: Keep a close eye on your business’s cash flow to ensure sustainability, especially during economic uncertainties. Effective cash flow management can help businesses navigate fluctuations in the market and avoid potential financial crises.
3. Build a supportive community: Join or create a network of fellow entrepreneurs to share experiences, advice, and support, much like the GRIT community within the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. This can provide valuable insights and encouragement, helping businesses address challenges collectively rather than in isolation.
4. Reevaluate business models regularly: Continuously assess and adapt your business model to adapt to changing market conditions. This proactive approach can help identify areas for improvement and innovation, ensuring your business remains competitive even during economic downturns.
5. Emphasize profitability over growth: Prioritize building a profitable and sustainable business rather than chasing rapid growth. This focus can help ensure long-term success and stability.

Sponsor: Rise25

At Rise25, we’re committed to helping you connect with your Dream 100 referral partners, clients, and strategic partners through our done-for-you podcast solution. We’re a professional podcast production agency that makes creating a podcast effortless. Since 2009, our proven system has helped thousands of B2B businesses build strong relationships with referral partners, clients, and audiences without doing the hard work. What do you need to start a podcast? When you use our proven system, all you need is an idea and a voice. We handle the strategy, production, and distribution – you just need to show up and talk. The Rise25 podcasting solution is designed to help you build a profitable podcast. This requires a specific strategy, and we’ve got that down pat. We focus on making sure you have a direct path to ROI, which is the most important component. Plus, our podcast production company takes any heavy lifting of production and distribution off your plate. We make distribution easy We’ll distribute each episode across more than 11 unique channels, including iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. We’ll also create a copy for each episode and promote your show across social media. Cofounders Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran credit podcasting as being the best thing they have ever done for their businesses. Podcasting connected them with the founders/CEOs of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars,  YPO, EO, Lending Tree, Freshdesk,  and many more. The relationships you form through podcasting run deep. Jeremy and John became business partners through podcasting. They have even gone on family vacations and attended weddings of guests who have been on the podcast. Podcast production has a lot of moving parts and is a big commitment on our end; we only want to work with people who are committed to their business and to cultivating amazing relationships. Are you considering launching a podcast to acquire partnerships, clients, and referrals? Would you like to work with a podcast agency that wants you to win? Contact us now at [email protected] or book a call at rise25.com/bookcall. Rise25 Cofounders, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran, have been podcasting and advising about podcasting since 2008.

Episode Transcript

John Corcoran: 00:00 Today we’re talking about how to find creative funding solutions for your business. So whether you want to buy another business, whether you want to sell your business, when you get funding to expand or to purchase inventory, this will be for you. My guest today is Ami Kassar. He is the Founder of MultiFunding. I’ll tell you more about him in a second, so stay tuned. Intro: 00:20 Welcome to the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, where we feature top entrepreneurs, business leaders, and thought leaders and ask them how they built key relationships to get where they are today. Now let’s get started with the show. John Corcoran: 00:36 All right. Welcome, everyone. John Corcoran here. I’m the host of this show. And you know, each week I get the privilege of talking to smart entrepreneurs, CEOs, founders of all kinds of companies. If you check out our archives, we’ve got Netflix and Grubhub, Akamai Technologies, Redfin, Gusto, you name it. Lots of great episodes there as well. And in particular, I was thinking of this episode, you might want to check out my episode with Ryan Tansom, who told the story of turning around their family business, which was generating $21 million a year but was losing money. He helped to turn it around and then sell it for eight figures. So check him out. Also, check out his Independence by Design company and his podcast. All right. In this episode, of course, brought to you by our company, Rise25. We’re helping B2B businesses to get clients referrals and strategic partnerships with done-for-you podcasts and content marketing. You can learn about our new podcast Copilot platform by going to Rise25.com, or emailing our team at [email protected]. All right. I’m excited for our guest here today. His name is Ami Kassar. He’s the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MultiFunding, which is a financial consulting firm that helps businesses find creative funding solutions. He’s also the author of The Growth Dilemma and speaks nationally to entrepreneurs and business owners and host of the podcast. He’s based in Pennsylvania, and he also is a member of Entrepreneurs Organization like I am and was the Founder of a subgroup within that that’s helping different businesses to adapt in this interesting economy that we’re experiencing as we record this at the end of 2024. So we’re going to talk about that, of course. But Amy, pleasure to have you here today. And you know, I love to know a little bit more about my guests and where they started, what they were like as a kid. And, and you actually were born in South Africa, and you moved to the States when you were eight years old. Let’s start there, because I think that’s always fascinating. I moved around a lot as a kid, although just domestically within the United States, and I think it really shaped who I am. What was that like for you, you know, moving to a new country at that young age? Ami Kassar: 02:32 I definitely think that being a son of an immigrant or actually an immigrant, but as a child and being a part of an immigrant community, as different people moved over over the years and watching many people figure out how to get situated in the United States and start businesses in the United States, and hearing all that chatter as people restarted or rebuilt their lives? Definitely. Without question. Ingrain some entrepreneurial values or insight or wisdom into me. John Corcoran: 03:08 Yeah. Ami Kassar: 03:09 No. No doubt about it. And one of the many things I’m grateful for are a lot of the lessons I learned from that community. Many of them who turned out to ultimately be very successful. John Corcoran: 03:22 And did your family leave because of what was going on with apartheid in South Africa at the time? Ami Kassar: 03:29 We left shortly after the Soweto riots, and my dad, who passed away five and a half years ago or thereabouts, was a doctor, and there was going to be a change in the immigration laws in the states. So it was going to make it much more difficult for doctors to come in. And so he got in just in the nick of time and got a green card, and we came over and started to rebuild our lives. John Corcoran: 03:55 And was it one of one of those things where parents just kind of woke up one day and said, we’re leaving? Did you prepare for it? Ami Kassar: 04:01 What was it like for some time? There was a chicken flight full of doctors who flew from Johannesburg to JFK, and they stood in line for 12 or 16 hours to get their green cards, sort of by the deadline. And then he came back. And then I think within 6 or 9 months we were living in the States. John Corcoran: 04:19 Wow. Wow. And you as a kid said you did candy routes selling things like that. So a little. Ami Kassar: 04:26 Hustle. I remember my brother and I starting trying to do AutoCAD services out of our basement in San Diego. And in college, having a couple businesses going around the dorm selling candy bars with my friend and another business, we went around the town and sold ads and a coupon book that we distributed to, you know, the dorms. So there was no doubt that I had the entrepreneurial bug. John Corcoran: 04:52 And was it motivated or was it? Was it motivated, do you think, by just wanting to make a buck because you didn’t have a lot of money? Was it motivated because you were just around the culture? Sometimes the recent immigrants do it because that’s the way to make money. You see, you see the older generation. Ami Kassar: 05:09 The culture. Yeah. The culture. John Corcoran: 05:10 Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So you end up actually later, after graduating from college, you did a startup in the the.com days. So take us back to that period of time. Ami Kassar: 05:24 Yeah. So I graduated from college and I worked and I went to business school and I worked and I saved every other paycheck. And then I did my first startup and we did this startup called Shop to Give, which was in the.com bubble days. And it was like this affiliate shopping model and a percentage of what you bought went to the charity of your choice. John Corcoran: 05:52 And it doesn’t seem like a radical idea. Ami Kassar: 05:54 Now it doesn’t seem like a radical idea. Now it seemed like a fairly radical idea. Down then. And that happens. John Corcoran: 05:59 A lot, right? You know, I mean, even you look at websites like Webvan or Pets.com or something like that. Some of these ideas were just kind of too early for their time. Ami Kassar: 06:07 And I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. But I raised, I think, $1.3 million and went through a couple rounds and met a lot of interesting people and built the team. And right around the time I was getting married and having a baby. But ultimately, the whole thing shut down, and that’s okay. John Corcoran: 06:27 And was it after the.com meltdown? It looks like it was. Ami Kassar: 06:32 Sort of shut down as part of the.com meltdown, but we never really had any significant traction. I mean, I got a lot of PR out of it. I think our revenue and top revenue is like 75,000 bucks or something. We never really got that engine to spin. John Corcoran: 06:50 Yeah. Well, this is what I mean from an e-commerce perspective, that’s super early days, right? In the late 90s. I mean. Ami Kassar: 06:57 It was so early. John Corcoran: 06:58 Amazon was primitive in selling books. So maybe that’s it at that point. Ami Kassar: 07:03 It was so, so early. Yeah. John Corcoran: 07:05 And people didn’t didn’t trust, like parting with their credit card numbers online at that point. Ami Kassar: 07:10 Lots of lessons and lots of learning. And I would do it all over again. Sure, there are things I would do differently. Like, it feels like a lifetime ago. John Corcoran: 07:23 Okay, so we’ll get to the founding of MultiFunding. But what were some of those lessons that you took from that experience that you later took to your later companies? Ami Kassar: 07:35 Concentrate on profit. John Corcoran: 07:38 Concentrate on profit. Okay. That’s a good one. Ami Kassar: 07:41 And cash flow. And have a plan and don’t don’t necessarily think you’re just going to save the world. And they’re There are probably 100 lessons. Look, I was young and green and naive and all those things, but all, all all all good. No, no, no, it was what it was. It was all good. John Corcoran: 08:13 So your father was an ophthalmologist, which is a fairly traditional role job kind of thing. And you come from this entrepreneurial community. What was it like for you as the company shop is not getting traction, and you’re thinking you’re going to have to shut it down. You know, what was it like? Were there feelings of shame? What was it like going back to that community, you know, explaining it to your father and that sort of thing? Ami Kassar: 08:42 Yeah, I think he was just relieved because I went and got a job. John Corcoran: 08:47 Okay. Ami Kassar: 08:49 But. Maybe I blocked it out, but I don’t really remember. I mean, it was around the time my first son was born and I gave it everything I had, and I did everything I humanly could for my investors and for my team. And when it was over, it was over. I generally don’t spend too much time crying over spilled milk in my life. I’ve definitely had some setbacks, but I just kind of moved on. John Corcoran: 09:27 Yeah. And so you actually end up leveraging that into a role as chief innovation officer for a credit card company. Tell me a little bit about that. Ami Kassar: 09:39 So. One of my mentors and actually investors in my company at the time was the CEO of a credit card company. And the founder or his dad was, but he essentially built it from 40 people at 1.7 thousand. Wow. And in the Philadelphia area. And I remember sending an email out to my list, sort of the company’s done. And I’m trying to figure out the next thing in my life. And he said, why don’t you come visit me in Philadelphia and see what you can do for us here at the credit card company? And I did, and it was certainly an adventure that we moved across the country with a six month old baby from this little.com of eight people to a regulated, publicly traded financial institution. John Corcoran: 10:35 From San Diego to Pennsylvania. Ami Kassar: 10:38 From LA at the time to Philadelphia. John Corcoran: 10:40 Wow.