Today, we got the official “no.” Not because the deal was weak. It wasn’t. Not because the numbers didn’t pencil. They did. It was something far simpler, and far more frustrating: the lender never really stepped into the story. They skimmed the cover, maybe flipped a few pages, and put the book down.
We didn’t lose a week. We lost a month. And not because we fumbled anything. We were ready. They weren’t.
Here’s what I think really happened:
They heard “food & beverage startup” and flinched. The credit admin, who never returned my calls, backed away on instinct, not insight.
They determined that 90% of food and beverage locations fail in the first year, which is so frustratingly untrue.
They leaned on a rigid collateral formula (“only worth 40%”), even though the deal carried an 80% state guaranty and real borrower capital at risk.
And they treated seasoned operators like rookies, ignoring the fact that one borrower ran a multi-million-dollar restaurant operation and the other scaled a 100-person logistics business from the ground up.
This wasn’t a cupcake shop or a feel-good dream café. This was a mature, structured deal:
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A third-party project manager overseeing construction.
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Six figures at risk.
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A proven franchise system.
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Detailed 24-month projections with a solid narrative.
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And a state guarantee program built for exactly this kind of financing gap.
Why does any of this matter? Because this is the part of lending most people never see: the quiet bias. The quick dismissals. The “we don’t like the industry” shrug from someone who never dug in enough to know what industry they’re talking about.
It’s lazy thinking. And lazy thinking blinds people to two truths:
1. Not all food concepts are the same. Systems matter. Margins matter. Location matters. Discipline matters.
2. Borrower commitment matters.
When the owners have money, reputation, and sweat equity tied to the outcome, the risk profile changes dramatically.
If you’re a business owner seeking capital and you feel dismissed, remember:
Sometimes the issue isn’t you. It’s the lens they’re using.
And if you’re a lender reading this: Do the work. Talk to the borrowers. Walk the site.
Understand the structure. Read the story before you write the ending.
We’re not discouraged. Not even close. I always keep two or three backup paths warm. And while some institutions get stuck in the “what ifs,” we’ve already mapped out the “here’s what we’ll do when.”
Here’s to the operators who keep pushing, and to the lenders who dare to look past the label and into the deal itself.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
