July 26, 2022 • 29 mins
The Month End provides emerging inventory-based brands real life knowledge in the accounting, finance, and operational world. Our guests are not only similar brand founders and owners, but key stakeholders and contributors to the industry. Each episode provides a glimpse into the vast experience and insight from its guest’s unique background in a casual, conversational tone.
• • •
In episode twenty three, Accountfully's CEO and Partner, Brad Ebenhoeh, sits down with Grant Christopher of Bridge Finance Group to talk about financing for early-stage, high growth CPG companies. The company was founded after Grant and his brother saw a need for equipment financing and leasing without the classic constraints. This is a must watch for founders seeking capital in order to grow, and in search of a knowledgeable partner in the industry.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Ebenhoeh (00:00):
Welcome to Episode 23 of The Month End.
(00:02):
Really excited about havingGrant Christopher on the podcast
today. Grant is the co-founderand partner at Bridge Finance
Group. How are you doing todayGrant?
Grant Christopher (00:10):
Doing well, Brad, thanks for having me on
today.
Brad Ebenhoeh (00:14):
Yes, I'm super excited. We're gonna kind of get
into the topic of equipmentfinancing for CPG brands, which
I think is a topic that maybenot a lot of people have even
thought about, or, or kind ofdived into. So I'm really
excited about it. So before weget into more details and
specifics on that topic, let'sget a little bit of a background
(00:36):
on you Grant. So Grant, what'syour, what's your background in
the CPG space? Why BridgeFinance, just kind of give us a
little understanding of whereyou come from?
Grant Christopher (00:44):
Yeah, appreciate it, Brad. So I kind
of fell into the equipmentfinancing business. I did an
equity investor in the space forclose to 12-13 years, kind of a
family industry. My brother is aserial entrepreneur in the
space, Clayton Christopher. Sohe created a couple of brands
(01:04):
within CPG. And we had beeninvesting on the equity side.
And one of the companies that wewere invested in, was growing
and needed capital to expandtheir production facility. And
we were fortunate enough to beinvolved on the inside of this
business. We saw a couple of theterm sheets come across and
(01:26):
looked at each other and kind ofthought to ourselves, you know,
I think there is an opportunityhere to have an equipment
financing and leasing businessthat's focused on early stage,
hybrid CPG companies. There'snot a lot of equipment, leasing
and financing companies outthere that are focused on the
(01:48):
space. They're kind of industryagnostic. One day, they may be
leasing IT servers, the nextday, they be may be leasing
truck trailers, and then all ofa sudden, they're looking at a
CPG company and manufacturingand production equipment there.
So we felt like we had an edgethat we knew the industry in
(02:10):
these businesses better than theother ones did. So that's kind
of how we got our start aboutsix years ago.
Brad Ebenhoeh (02:18):
Awesome, awesome.
Glad, super excited for thischat, like, as I say, as an
accountant in here and seeingall the the debt versus equity
amounts in the various balancesheets is up for clients. It's
always interesting. So kind ofstepping back from just overall
like equipment financing, right,so Bridge, you guys are in
(02:40):
Dallas, Texas. Do you guyssupport clients locally?
Nationally? What's yourportfolio of clients?
Grant Christopher (02:46):
Yeah. So we're all over the US, I would
say, you know, when we first gotour start, we were pretty
heavily concentrated within theTexas kind of Austin area, as
you well know, that's kind ofbecome a hotspot for CPG. I
would say outside of Boulder,it's it's, you know, it's
pretty, pretty large hub withinfood and beverage. So when we
(03:07):
first got our start we werepretty heavily concentrated
within Austin, but since thenwe've grown, we're all over the
US, I would say that themajority of our business, and I
say majority, it's not over 50%.
But it's probably in California.
We're doing business across thespectrum to brands that are, you
(03:29):
know, anywhere between one to 2million in top line annually,
you know, working with a brandthat will probably eclipse 80
million this year as well.
Brad Ebenhoeh (03:40):
Good to know, good to know. So like as we kind
of go through this thoughtprocess of just CPG brands,
right? Hey, I'm finding orcreating a product, I'm working
with co-mans or different peopleto produce the products. So from
your perspective and experiencein the space how should the
decision making of I guess thethe CEO or the founder of that
(04:04):
brand go through from whether ornot to leverage a finance shop
like you to lease or buy anequipment versus kind of just
going straight to co-man, Iguess, kind of can you walk
through the lifecycle a littlebit in that kind of thought
process of where it could be agood point for them to kind of
start thinking about this?
Grant Christopher (04:20):
Yeah, sure.
You know, we we work with brandsthat do all of their
manufacturing in house and alsowork with brands that use a
co-packer because there areplenty of times where they're
using a co-packer but thatco-oacker just isn't willing to
purchase that piece of equipmentspecifically for that brand. You
know, so we work with a handfulof companies where they may use
(04:44):
10 pieces of equipment at aco-packer facility but they may
own or in this case leaseanother 2-3-4 pieces and but
they're using, you know, theco-mans labor across the board.
So, you know, it kind of varies.
I've had this question come upin the past of you know, when
should we? Or why should we goand manufacture 100% in house or
(05:05):
use what come in? Or, you know,what have you? I think it just
kind of varies and depends onthe company. You know, I think
more if you're alcohol based,you definitely there's more of a
trend for you manufacturing inhouse, as opposed to using a co
packer, whether it's craft beerkombucha, and I say alcohol but
(05:26):
not on out as well. Kombucha themajority is is in house is
manufactured in house, you know,and then food products as well,
I think it depends on the typeof food product that you're in
the space and subcategory thatyou're in, within food can kind
(05:47):
of drive you to, to manufacturein house mean, especially if
it's some sort of proprietaryprocess. That of course, you
know, always leads tomanufacturing in house, but we
see that trend you know, ofspecifically on food products
of, you know, coming out ofprobably a shared kitchen or
commissary kitchen, and thenthey have to make that decision
(06:08):
of whether to go to cut back orout or manufacture in house. I
mean, I don't think I'm sayinganything that people already
don't know. It's margin atcreative to factor in house.
However, it has its challengesas well. So I think it just
depends on the company and thebrand.
Brad Ebenhoeh (06:29):
Yeah, we definitely see the spectrum open
house versus turnkey co-manversus mixed supply chain and
different decision points ofkind of where you're at. And
they all make sense at differentventures in different products
as well as different, you know,ages of the business.
Grant Christopher (06:47):
Sorry, sorry, Brad, one point I want to thank
you gotta have the expertise tobe able to manufacture in house,
you know, it just kind ofdepends on the strength of the
management team, and the withinthe CEO and entrepreneur.
Brad Ebenhoeh (07:00):
Yep. I agree.
From you guys providing, youknow, financing as well as
leasing, right. So there's likedifferent ways that they can own
the property on the equipment,you guys finance it, or you guys
can own it, and they can leaseit or how does that work?
Grant Christopher (07:13):
Yeah, we really structure everything as
an equipment lease, where we ownthe equipment. And we we lease
it to the brand.
Brad Ebenhoeh (07:25):
Gotcha, gotcha over a two to three to four year
period or whatever makes sense.
Grant Christopher (07:29):
On average we're anywhere between two to
four years.
Brad Ebenhoeh (07:32):
Gotcha. And then when it's paid off, do they then
own it? Is it a capital lease?
Grant Christopher (07:36):
Yeah, no. So it depends, you know, for the
most part, there is a buyout atthe end. That's one way we
differentiate ourselves, I thinkfrom a lot of other leasing
companies out there is that thebuyout is predetermined, and is
typically at a higher amount. Sowe like to, we structure these
(07:59):
as operating leases, just giventhe buyout can be anywhere from
25 to 50%. And, you know, at theend of the term, they have the
option to exercise that buyout,or they can extend the lease.
And then at which point at theend of the extension, there's
another buyout option, or theycan revert to a month to month
or return the equipment.
Brad Ebenhoeh (08:21):
Gotcha. Oh, that makes sense. So, if somebody is
going to come to you and startthe conversation, what is the
like request list? What do youguys need to underwrite? Review?
Like, what do we all need toprepare? Before we even come to
have a conversation with you?
Grant Christopher (08:35):
Yeah, good question. You know, it's nothing
out of the ordinary, especiallyif you've run a process to
either raise equity or look atyou know, your traditional ABL
type facility. We're going tolook for you know, historical
financials, P&L, balance sheet,cash flow statement, also be
looking for forecast, as wellwith those, those three
(08:56):
financial statements, you know,the type of equipment, of
course, we're gonna underwritethat, you know, cap table, we
want to see the list ofinvestors, we typically work
with brands that areinstitutionally backed by some
venture capital or privateequity firm. That's not saying
that's a prerequisite but that'stypically the type of companies
(09:19):
that we work with. You know, andoutside of that, it's just you
know, your Certificate ofFormation again, nothing nothing
really out of the ordinary, Iwould say one probably diligence
item that we do requests thatyou may not get from another
equipment finance company, oreven lender is we do ask for
(09:40):
velocity reports. You know,that's a big deal to us. We like
to see how the other productsmoving on the shelf.
Brad Ebenhoeh (09:48):
Yep. I mean, that that definitely makes sense. And
that's, that is a kind of anabnormal request, I guess for
you know, a facility likeyourself, when you're looking
at, you know, an underwritingand reviewing the the financials
in the numbers clearly, likejust by saying last year, you're
gonna sales. I mean, is therelike a couple top metrics? Or
like should our clients befocusing? Or should these folks
(10:08):
be focusing focusing onprofitability on top line
growth? And cash on hand? Youknow, inventory turn, is there
specific things to kind of thinkup for this? Or is it, you know,
consolidation of everything intoone and figuring out, you know,
our analyzing that way?
Grant Christopher (10:24):
Yeah, it's a mix. I wouldn't say that, you
know, 90% of the businesses thatwe work with are unprofitable.
That's, that's pretty much whywe started this business was
that we just, we saw a trend ofcompanies that, you know,
weren't profitable yet. They'regrowing top line, they're trying
to capture as much market shareas they can. And so they're
(10:46):
burning money on a monthlybasis. But they weren't bankable
from a traditional bankingstandpoint, you know, because
they didn't check every box,kind of post '08-'09 that you
have to check in order to go geta loan from your Wells Fargos or
your Bank of Americas and soprofitability, you know, is is
something that, you know, welike to see visibility towards
(11:09):
profitability, we don't want to,you know, invest in a brand or
lease equipment to a companythat is just going to be burning
money in perpetuity. I think weall agree, that's not really
viable these days. And so, youknow, we look at the investor,
the cap table, how much money inequity they've raised in the
past, you know, top line growth,kind of margins, you know, like
(11:33):
to see some strong margins. Andthen yeah, the velocity reports
is something that we dig into,as well. You know, it's, it's,
it's something that if a companyhas to, has to trench, you know,
and kind of hunker down andsurvive, and they're selling
well, within stores, you know,they're not going to get cut. So
something we look at.
Brad Ebenhoeh (11:54):
Gotcha. General question. Because we have a tax
team here, as we deal with a lotof just CPG brands, tax returns,
entity structure. Is there aspecific entity structure that
you guys prefer? And maybe folksin industry? Do you prefer a
C-Corp, LLC, partnership? Ordoes that not matter? Because
there's a ton of nuance, there'sa ton of reasons why you do it.
(12:17):
There's a lot of people thatstart as LLCs and become a
Delaware C-Corp over time, butI'm just wondering if you guys,
you know, from from your, likerequirements or best practices,
like prefer anything?
Grant Christopher (12:28):
Yeah, we've seen it across across the
spectrum. So we've got nopreference, we work with
Delaware C-Corps we work withTexas based LLCs, California
based LPs. So we've seen itevery which way, and we really
don't have a preference there.
Brad Ebenhoeh (12:45):
Do you guys do anything internationally?
Grant Christopher (12:48):
We do not. We have looked at a few companies
that are based internationallyand have a presence here and a
facility here, actually more onthe co-packer side than the
braand side. But we haven'tgotten one across the goal line
yet.
Brad Ebenhoeh (13:04):
Gotcha. That makes sense. What is like
average, like, you know, leaserate, interest rate? Like, what
is something to think or justgive us a range?
Grant Christopher (13:16):
Good question, you know, what one
that one way that we get reallycompetitive is we've got a, what
I feel is a strong advance rate.
So we can go up to 95% advancerate on on the equipment. So,
you know, as an example, if it'sa million dollars worth of
equipment, we can, you know,potentially go up to $950,000
(13:38):
our rates are typically in thelow to mid teens. So, again,
while we're not going to be ascheap as your traditional
lenders from a bank, we havezero covenants or non recourse,
which means we don't ask forpersonal guarantees. And then
again, our strong advance rightso we actually do win
(14:01):
opportunities over banks becauseof what I feel those three
reasons.
Brad Ebenhoeh (14:08):
Absolutely. I mean, with your industry
experience as well as those thehigh advanced rate, that means
there's minimal cash out thedoor up front, which really
helps a small business, youknow, just succeed and then
clearly or, you know, you'releveraging or your your
collaterals that piece ofequipment really at the end of
the day.
Grant Christopher (14:27):
Yep, exactly.
Brad Ebenhoeh (14:28):
Awesome. The other kind of question a couple
of things in terms of like, isthere a world where as you we,
you know, a brand moves forwardand they're working with you in
12 months? Do you require likerenewals? Are things that can be
conscious of outside of justpaying your bills month over
month? I'm sure your leasebills, but is there anything to
(14:49):
kind of keep clear of as duringthis two or three year lease
period that you have or anyrequirements you have for
brands?
Grant Christopher (14:55):
Yeah, no, we try to stay as hands off as
possible, you know, as long asas you're making your payments,
we don't want to get involved inyour business. So as long as
you're making the payments,we're happy. You know, one of
the things I would, I would sayis that we do work with
companies during their entirelifecycle. You know, I mean,
we're we just actually signedour seventh schedule with a
(15:19):
brand out in California, that westarted working with about four
years ago. So they justcontinued to expand, and we've
just expanded with him. So it'sbeen a great partnership.
Brad Ebenhoeh (15:30):
Awesome. Yeah, I was gonna, I was gonna ask that
is your life cycle, like,clearly, you know, increasing or
buying more equipment, leasingmore equipment to brands? Do you
guys do, you mentioned at thestart that you guys had an
equity investment, and thendecided or found out like, this
is a great opportunity. Do youguys also, will you do equity
investments in these brands?
When you're already kind of adebt holder or a finance startup
(15:53):
for them?
Grant Christopher (15:53):
We typically don't, you know, we don't ask
for warrants on on our, on ouroffers. You know, there's a
couple of companies that wereinvested on the equity side,
too, we just, we kind of like tokeep separation there. In the
event of a conflict, you know,so if we, if we want to chase it
on the equity side, we will. Butyou know, if we want to chase on
(16:16):
the debt side, it just dependson kind of what we feel may be
the best return for us. So wejust like to kind of keep it
keep it separated so there's notany conflict, though, for the
most part.
Brad Ebenhoeh (16:29):
Awesome. Do you guys have any plans at any point
to get outside of CPG? Are youjust gonna, kind of hunker down
in that in that space?
Grant Christopher (16:37):
Yeah, I still think there's a lot of
opportunity within CPG, I feellike we're just kind of
scratching the surface here. Imade I made a hire for vice
president of businessdevelopment, recently, and he's
out there just pounding thepavement, making phone calls,
going to conferences. So I feellike there's still a lot of
opportunity within CPG. But, youknow, we like to keep our
(16:59):
options open. We'reentrepreneurial at spirit. And
so you know, not going to turnaway on opportunity within a
different category, if it makessense for us to go into it.
Brad Ebenhoeh (17:11):
Yeah, love it.
Love it. I'm just question I'mthinking here. And I'd love to,
I'd love to hear and I'm nottrying to put you on the spot.
But is there a kind of twoquestions. Number one is, is
there like a scenario or asituation that through Bridge,
you know, your brand here inyour relationship where you feel
(17:31):
like, you've saved somebody or,you know, they came out of a
really bad situation, because ofhow the finance, you know,
structure works versus in thepast? And I'm going to ask you
on the other side, is therealso, like a nightmare scenario,
or a bad scenario that exists?
And again, like this, you know,this is anonymous, but I'm just
wondering, just kind of somegeneral kind of thoughts or, you
(17:52):
know, lessons learned from that.
Grant Christopher (17:54):
Yeah, I mean, we pride ourselves on our
reputation. You know, I thinkwe're very borrower friendly.
And so we work with brands allthe time, we understand the
challenges that they face, as anearly stage kind of high growth
company. In 2020, we worked witha couple of companies that ran
into liquidity issues, where wejust deferred their payments for
(18:18):
several months, until they wereable to get the liquidity and
equity that they needed tocontinue operations. So we feel
like, you know, again, we kindof pride ourselves on our
reputation. I think if you wentand talked to any of the CEOs or
founders that we currently workwith, they would say that, and I
(18:39):
hope they would, that we try tostrive to be a good partner for
them. And then on the on theflip side, you know, of course,
there's been scenarios where,unfortunately, a brand has gone
out of business, but we'veworked with those companies to
(19:01):
get those assets, and then, youknow, replace them or, you know,
release them or sell them toanother company. But again, I
like to like to think ofourselves as good partners,
always keeping the thecommunication line of
communication open, and tryingto solve problems together.
Brad Ebenhoeh (19:22):
Awesome, awesome.
Since COVID, I mean, you bringit up in the last two years has
been crazy, just in the entireworld, you know, and then,
filtering down in the CPG space,has there been any kind of
trends from what you guys see inthis space? And from, you know,
from a co-man or supply chainstandpoint, clearly supply
chains have been impacted,globally, across all industries.
(19:43):
But I wonder if there are anytrends or things that you guys
have seen from your perspectivefor the last like two and a half
years in terms of where we'reat?
Grant Christopher (19:52):
Yeah, I mean, I would say generally, most
companies, if they did tosurvive through COVID came out
stronger. You know, think mostpeople would agree within the
industry that, you know, there'sprobably a lot of fat to be
trimmed. And they did that. Andso if they were able to survive
through through COVID, you know,they came out stronger, better
(20:14):
margins, able to produce morewith less headcount. And so
obviously there are challengesright now within the supply
chain, raw materials, shipping,etc. But I feel like, you know,
the companies that we've talkedto, I mean, even as recently as
(20:35):
the last four to five to sixweeks, I feel like we've kind of
hit our peak a little bit onthat, and things are starting to
get a little bit better, for themost part, not saying that's,
you know, 100% across the board,but most companies are that
we've talked to said, yeah, Ithink we've kind of hit our peak
on supply chain issues and rawmaterial cost increases.
Brad Ebenhoeh (21:02):
Yeah, that's kind of the general feel.
Grant Christopher (21:05):
Are you guys, I mean, you talk to a lot more
brands than we do. So are youfeeling the same way?
Brad Ebenhoeh (21:12):
Yeah, I feel like there was a really tight period
for a minute and really longdelays, high costs, little
unknown circumstances, it feelslike we're getting getting back
to more of a normalcy. Again, Iagree. It's this is not across
the board, but it just feelslike there's more known aspects
related to costs related tosupply chain situations. So I
(21:32):
would agree with you on that.
From a lead time perspective,just with you guys, like what is
the turnaround time of getting,you know, coming in the door,
getting approved so how long asit takes to get the equipment?
You know, what does that looklike?
Grant Christopher (21:44):
Yeah, good question. You know, for us
internally, our processtypically takes about three to
four weeks, you know, once weget that, the diligence items
that we need, we'll underwriteit here, internally, go to our
investment committee, and thenturn around a term sheet to the
to the company. Once we'veagreed upon terms, it's a it's a
(22:05):
pretty seamless process afterthat. We do about 98% of our
underwriting before we offer aterm sheet. So, you know, I
think there's some companies outthere that may just offer a term
sheet and they kind of start theunderwriting process. We try to
avoid that, where we'll do allof our underwriting pre-term
(22:25):
sheet, then once we have asigned term sheet, it's it's
pretty standard documentationfor our lease agreements, and we
can close on--we've closedwithin, you know, 48-72 hours
after a signed term sheetbefore.
Brad Ebenhoeh (22:39):
So how long does it take to get the equipment?
Grant Christopher (22:41):
Yeah, it just kind of depends. That's, you
know, one of the things that hasunfortunately come out of COVID
is that the lead times onequipment have definitely gotten
longer. It depends on theequipment, if it's coming from
overseas, you know, whether it'sa canning line, or some tanks or
packaging line, overseas,definitely, it's going to take
(23:03):
longer, we've probably seen leadtimes on that stuff double,
unfortunately, over the past 12months, you know, the last
couple of releases that we'vegotten into the lead times have
been 12 months. But then again,if it's, you know, within the
US, that that could be adifferent story, we just got
into a lease where the lead timewas, you know, three months. So
(23:26):
it again, it just kind of varieson the type of equipment and
where it's coming from.
Brad Ebenhoeh (23:31):
Yep, yep, I figured that. Is there any
questions that I should beasking you that our CPG brands
should be asking you?
Grant Christopher (23:40):
Yeah, I think one thing that again, we can
offer two types of leases. Oneof them them is a sale
leaseback. If you have existingassets that you've already
purchased in there at yourfacility or at a co-man's
facility, we can buy thoseassets from you. That will
provide you some some capitaland then lease them back to you.
(24:00):
And we can also do what we liketo call an interim funding or a
drawdown type lease where you'reordering a new piece of
equipment that may have a 12month lead time and we're able
to make those payments, whetherit's you know, a downpayment, a
couple progress payments, we'reable to make those. And, you
know, once the equipmentarrives, that's when the lease
(24:20):
begins.
Brad Ebenhoeh (24:21):
Gotcha. Yeah, super cool. Definitely more
opportunities there for moreflexibility standpoint, and I
think it's super, again,creative ways that, you know, an
entrepreneur or a brand ownercan kind of look at their assets
and if they are struggling withcash or it could be an
opportunity to refinance a pieceof equipment and get some money
(24:43):
to help support the business andworking capital. So, super cool.
Well, Grant, I really enjoyedthe chat as we kind of roll off
here. I always ask two questionsto the crowd. So number one is,
you know, what is one CPGindustry do for the listeners
out there?
Grant Christopher (25:00):
Yeah, I think that if you are within CPG, and
this kind of goes to more so onlike founders or management
teams, I would be more of alearner and a listener than a
knower. That's the kind ofpeople that we'd like to to work
with. And that would be my pieceof advice on doing more would
(25:25):
be. Be more of a learner orlistener type attitude, as
opposed to just thinking thatyou know everything. There's a
reason we've got two ears andone mouth, you know.
Brad Ebenhoeh (25:39):
It sounds like great marital advice there.
Grant Christopher (25:41):
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I think maybe
I got that from my wife.
Brad Ebenhoeh (25:46):
Yeah, I get it.
All right. And then the lastside, what is that one industry
don't?
Grant Christopher (25:52):
I would say, for brands, think hard about, I
guess, don't think you need tobe in all 50 states. I would
rather be partnered or on theequity side invested in a
company that's deep and narrowwithin their market, as opposed
(26:16):
to shallow and thin. You know, Ithink COVID really hit that. If
you're able, in a lot of brandsdid have to hunker down and just
sell within your state or yourregion, and you can have a great
business doing that. I mean,there's brands that are just
based in Texas, and have sold tostrategics. So, just don't think
(26:38):
that you got to be in everystate, and you got to be in
every Walmart or Kroger or WholeFoods or in every state. I would
just a word of advice is justkind of dominate the market that
you're starting out in and thengo from there.
Brad Ebenhoeh (26:55):
Yeah, it's it's definitely sage advice. And it's
never been easier to be wide,across multiple platforms,
across multiple sales channelsthat literally yield zero
results, more overhead, morestress, cause impacts on your
inventory, your supply chain,and all that stuff. So it's
(27:16):
always good for people to alwayskind of revisit that and think
of, you know, maybe I can justdominate here, versus these 10
other areas. So great advice.
Grant, I really, really enjoyedthe chat, I've learned a ton
more just about the equipment,finance space. If a brand's
listening and is interested inlearning more about you guys or
reaching out to have aconversation or start a
(27:37):
relationship, what's the bestway to do that? What's the best
way to reach out?
BridgeFinanceGroup.com. There'sa contact form there. I think it
goes to my e-mail, and our VicePresident of Business
Development, Hudson Penn, aswell. And so, I'd be happy to
(27:57):
talk with you guys. I mean, evenif you don't have equipment
financing needs, I would stillbe open to chatting with you,
with a company or brand on how,we may be able to help within
our own network. We've got ahandful of I think kind of value
add partners that we haverelationships with.
(28:19):
Yeah, and definitely I could see that's a
great strategic, kind ofintangible and working with you
guys. It's just the industryexperience and the knowledge and
the relationships, the networkof connections, you can leverage
people. It's always good, youknow, one thing I'll always say
is, you know, kind of the oldadage you know, when it's
raining outside the banker isn'tgoing to give you an umbrella,
(28:41):
but when it's not raining iswhen you should be asking for an
umbrella. So just to the folks,creating a relationship up front
maybe not asking right away butgetting your ducks in a row,
getting your due diligenceitems, and talking to someone
like a Grant or other you know,entities and businesses out
there like you know, Bridge andstuff just because it's it's
good to know. Especially whenyou're getting close to that
(29:02):
need of financing or betterequity to ask because they have
information. They know you,you've build a trustworthy
relationship. So you know, andI'm sure you can attest to that
situation as well.
Grant Christopher (29:13):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Brad Ebenhoeh (29:16):
Well, Grant I really appreciate that. Really
appreciated the conversation,the information and the
insights. And again, foreveryone out there. This is The
Month End podcast episode number23. With Grant Christopher from
Bridge Finance Group, hope youenjoyed it.
Grant Christopher (29:31):
Thanks, Brad.
Really enjoyed being on!
Brad Ebenhoeh (29:34):
Thanks Grant.
Welcome to Episode 23 of The Month End.
(00:02):
Really excited about havingGrant Christopher on the podcast
today. Grant is the co-founderand partner at Bridge Finance
Group. How are you doing todayGrant?
Grant Christopher (00:10):
Doing well, Brad, thanks for having me on
today.
Brad Ebenhoeh (00:14):
Yes, I'm super excited. We're gonna kind of get
into the topic of equipmentfinancing for CPG brands, which
I think is a topic that maybenot a lot of people have even
thought about, or, or kind ofdived into. So I'm really
excited about it. So before weget into more details and
specifics on that topic, let'sget a little bit of a background
(00:36):
on you Grant. So Grant, what'syour, what's your background in
the CPG space? Why BridgeFinance, just kind of give us a
little understanding of whereyou come from?
Grant Christopher (00:44):
Yeah, appreciate it, Brad. So I kind
of fell into the equipmentfinancing business. I did an
equity investor in the space forclose to 12-13 years, kind of a
family industry. My brother is aserial entrepreneur in the
space, Clayton Christopher. Sohe created a couple of brands
(01:04):
within CPG. And we had beeninvesting on the equity side.
And one of the companies that wewere invested in, was growing
and needed capital to expandtheir production facility. And
we were fortunate enough to beinvolved on the inside of this
business. We saw a couple of theterm sheets come across and
(01:26):
looked at each other and kind ofthought to ourselves, you know,
I think there is an opportunityhere to have an equipment
financing and leasing businessthat's focused on early stage,
hybrid CPG companies. There'snot a lot of equipment, leasing
and financing companies outthere that are focused on the
(01:48):
space. They're kind of industryagnostic. One day, they may be
leasing IT servers, the nextday, they be may be leasing
truck trailers, and then all ofa sudden, they're looking at a
CPG company and manufacturingand production equipment there.
So we felt like we had an edgethat we knew the industry in
(02:10):
these businesses better than theother ones did. So that's kind
of how we got our start aboutsix years ago.
Brad Ebenhoeh (02:18):
Awesome, awesome.
Glad, super excited for thischat, like, as I say, as an
accountant in here and seeingall the the debt versus equity
amounts in the various balancesheets is up for clients. It's
always interesting. So kind ofstepping back from just overall
like equipment financing, right,so Bridge, you guys are in
(02:40):
Dallas, Texas. Do you guyssupport clients locally?
Nationally? What's yourportfolio of clients?
Grant Christopher (02:46):
Yeah. So we're all over the US, I would
say, you know, when we first gotour start, we were pretty
heavily concentrated within theTexas kind of Austin area, as
you well know, that's kind ofbecome a hotspot for CPG. I
would say outside of Boulder,it's it's, you know, it's
pretty, pretty large hub withinfood and beverage. So when we
(03:07):
first got our start we werepretty heavily concentrated
within Austin, but since thenwe've grown, we're all over the
US, I would say that themajority of our business, and I
say majority, it's not over 50%.
But it's probably in California.
We're doing business across thespectrum to brands that are, you
(03:29):
know, anywhere between one to 2million in top line annually,
you know, working with a brandthat will probably eclipse 80
million this year as well.
Brad Ebenhoeh (03:40):
Good to know, good to know. So like as we kind
of go through this thoughtprocess of just CPG brands,
right? Hey, I'm finding orcreating a product, I'm working
with co-mans or different peopleto produce the products. So from
your perspective and experiencein the space how should the
decision making of I guess thethe CEO or the founder of that
(04:04):
brand go through from whether ornot to leverage a finance shop
like you to lease or buy anequipment versus kind of just
going straight to co-man, Iguess, kind of can you walk
through the lifecycle a littlebit in that kind of thought
process of where it could be agood point for them to kind of
start thinking about this?
Grant Christopher (04:20):
Yeah, sure.
You know, we we work with brandsthat do all of their
manufacturing in house and alsowork with brands that use a
co-packer because there areplenty of times where they're
using a co-packer but thatco-oacker just isn't willing to
purchase that piece of equipmentspecifically for that brand. You
know, so we work with a handfulof companies where they may use
(04:44):
10 pieces of equipment at aco-packer facility but they may
own or in this case leaseanother 2-3-4 pieces and but
they're using, you know, theco-mans labor across the board.
So, you know, it kind of varies.
I've had this question come upin the past of you know, when
should we? Or why should we goand manufacture 100% in house or
(05:05):
use what come in? Or, you know,what have you? I think it just
kind of varies and depends onthe company. You know, I think
more if you're alcohol based,you definitely there's more of a
trend for you manufacturing inhouse, as opposed to using a co
packer, whether it's craft beerkombucha, and I say alcohol but
(05:26):
not on out as well. Kombucha themajority is is in house is
manufactured in house, you know,and then food products as well,
I think it depends on the typeof food product that you're in
the space and subcategory thatyou're in, within food can kind
(05:47):
of drive you to, to manufacturein house mean, especially if
it's some sort of proprietaryprocess. That of course, you
know, always leads tomanufacturing in house, but we
see that trend you know, ofspecifically on food products
of, you know, coming out ofprobably a shared kitchen or
commissary kitchen, and thenthey have to make that decision
(06:08):
of whether to go to cut back orout or manufacture in house. I
mean, I don't think I'm sayinganything that people already
don't know. It's margin atcreative to factor in house.
However, it has its challengesas well. So I think it just
depends on the company and thebrand.
Brad Ebenhoeh (06:29):
Yeah, we definitely see the spectrum open
house versus turnkey co-manversus mixed supply chain and
different decision points ofkind of where you're at. And
they all make sense at differentventures in different products
as well as different, you know,ages of the business.
Grant Christopher (06:47):
Sorry, sorry, Brad, one point I want to thank
you gotta have the expertise tobe able to manufacture in house,
you know, it just kind ofdepends on the strength of the
management team, and the withinthe CEO and entrepreneur.
Brad Ebenhoeh (07:00):
Yep. I agree.
From you guys providing, youknow, financing as well as
leasing, right. So there's likedifferent ways that they can own
the property on the equipment,you guys finance it, or you guys
can own it, and they can leaseit or how does that work?
Grant Christopher (07:13):
Yeah, we really structure everything as
an equipment lease, where we ownthe equipment. And we we lease
it to the brand.
Brad Ebenhoeh (07:25):
Gotcha, gotcha over a two to three to four year
period or whatever makes sense.
Grant Christopher (07:29):
On average we're anywhere between two to
four years.
Brad Ebenhoeh (07:32):
Gotcha. And then when it's paid off, do they then
own it? Is it a capital lease?
Grant Christopher (07:36):
Yeah, no. So it depends, you know, for the
most part, there is a buyout atthe end. That's one way we
differentiate ourselves, I thinkfrom a lot of other leasing
companies out there is that thebuyout is predetermined, and is
typically at a higher amount. Sowe like to, we structure these
(07:59):
as operating leases, just giventhe buyout can be anywhere from
25 to 50%. And, you know, at theend of the term, they have the
option to exercise that buyout,or they can extend the lease.
And then at which point at theend of the extension, there's
another buyout option, or theycan revert to a month to month
or return the equipment.
Brad Ebenhoeh (08:21):
Gotcha. Oh, that makes sense. So, if somebody is
going to come to you and startthe conversation, what is the
like request list? What do youguys need to underwrite? Review?
Like, what do we all need toprepare? Before we even come to
have a conversation with you?
Grant Christopher (08:35):
Yeah, good question. You know, it's nothing
out of the ordinary, especiallyif you've run a process to
either raise equity or look atyou know, your traditional ABL
type facility. We're going tolook for you know, historical
financials, P&L, balance sheet,cash flow statement, also be
looking for forecast, as wellwith those, those three
(08:56):
financial statements, you know,the type of equipment, of
course, we're gonna underwritethat, you know, cap table, we
want to see the list ofinvestors, we typically work
with brands that areinstitutionally backed by some
venture capital or privateequity firm. That's not saying
that's a prerequisite but that'stypically the type of companies
(09:19):
that we work with. You know, andoutside of that, it's just you
know, your Certificate ofFormation again, nothing nothing
really out of the ordinary, Iwould say one probably diligence
item that we do requests thatyou may not get from another
equipment finance company, oreven lender is we do ask for
(09:40):
velocity reports. You know,that's a big deal to us. We like
to see how the other productsmoving on the shelf.
Brad Ebenhoeh (09:48):
Yep. I mean, that that definitely makes sense. And
that's, that is a kind of anabnormal request, I guess for
you know, a facility likeyourself, when you're looking
at, you know, an underwritingand reviewing the the financials
in the numbers clearly, likejust by saying last year, you're
gonna sales. I mean, is therelike a couple top metrics? Or
like should our clients befocusing? Or should these folks
(10:08):
be focusing focusing onprofitability on top line
growth? And cash on hand? Youknow, inventory turn, is there
specific things to kind of thinkup for this? Or is it, you know,
consolidation of everything intoone and figuring out, you know,
our analyzing that way?
Grant Christopher (10:24):
Yeah, it's a mix. I wouldn't say that, you
know, 90% of the businesses thatwe work with are unprofitable.
That's, that's pretty much whywe started this business was
that we just, we saw a trend ofcompanies that, you know,
weren't profitable yet. They'regrowing top line, they're trying
to capture as much market shareas they can. And so they're
(10:46):
burning money on a monthlybasis. But they weren't bankable
from a traditional bankingstandpoint, you know, because
they didn't check every box,kind of post '08-'09 that you
have to check in order to go geta loan from your Wells Fargos or
your Bank of Americas and soprofitability, you know, is is
something that, you know, welike to see visibility towards
(11:09):
profitability, we don't want to,you know, invest in a brand or
lease equipment to a companythat is just going to be burning
money in perpetuity. I think weall agree, that's not really
viable these days. And so, youknow, we look at the investor,
the cap table, how much money inequity they've raised in the
past, you know, top line growth,kind of margins, you know, like
(11:33):
to see some strong margins. Andthen yeah, the velocity reports
is something that we dig into,as well. You know, it's, it's,
it's something that if a companyhas to, has to trench, you know,
and kind of hunker down andsurvive, and they're selling
well, within stores, you know,they're not going to get cut. So
something we look at.
Brad Ebenhoeh (11:54):
Gotcha. General question. Because we have a tax
team here, as we deal with a lotof just CPG brands, tax returns,
entity structure. Is there aspecific entity structure that
you guys prefer? And maybe folksin industry? Do you prefer a
C-Corp, LLC, partnership? Ordoes that not matter? Because
there's a ton of nuance, there'sa ton of reasons why you do it.
(12:17):
There's a lot of people thatstart as LLCs and become a
Delaware C-Corp over time, butI'm just wondering if you guys,
you know, from from your, likerequirements or best practices,
like prefer anything?
Grant Christopher (12:28):
Yeah, we've seen it across across the
spectrum. So we've got nopreference, we work with
Delaware C-Corps we work withTexas based LLCs, California
based LPs. So we've seen itevery which way, and we really
don't have a preference there.
Brad Ebenhoeh (12:45):
Do you guys do anything internationally?
Grant Christopher (12:48):
We do not. We have looked at a few companies
that are based internationallyand have a presence here and a
facility here, actually more onthe co-packer side than the
braand side. But we haven'tgotten one across the goal line
yet.
Brad Ebenhoeh (13:04):
Gotcha. That makes sense. What is like
average, like, you know, leaserate, interest rate? Like, what
is something to think or justgive us a range?
Grant Christopher (13:16):
Good question, you know, what one
that one way that we get reallycompetitive is we've got a, what
I feel is a strong advance rate.
So we can go up to 95% advancerate on on the equipment. So,
you know, as an example, if it'sa million dollars worth of
equipment, we can, you know,potentially go up to $950,000
(13:38):
our rates are typically in thelow to mid teens. So, again,
while we're not going to be ascheap as your traditional
lenders from a bank, we havezero covenants or non recourse,
which means we don't ask forpersonal guarantees. And then
again, our strong advance rightso we actually do win
(14:01):
opportunities over banks becauseof what I feel those three
reasons.
Brad Ebenhoeh (14:08):
Absolutely. I mean, with your industry
experience as well as those thehigh advanced rate, that means
there's minimal cash out thedoor up front, which really
helps a small business, youknow, just succeed and then
clearly or, you know, you'releveraging or your your
collaterals that piece ofequipment really at the end of
the day.
Grant Christopher (14:27):
Yep, exactly.
Brad Ebenhoeh (14:28):
Awesome. The other kind of question a couple
of things in terms of like, isthere a world where as you we,
you know, a brand moves forwardand they're working with you in
12 months? Do you require likerenewals? Are things that can be
conscious of outside of justpaying your bills month over
month? I'm sure your leasebills, but is there anything to
(14:49):
kind of keep clear of as duringthis two or three year lease
period that you have or anyrequirements you have for
brands?
Grant Christopher (14:55):
Yeah, no, we try to stay as hands off as
possible, you know, as long asas you're making your payments,
we don't want to get involved inyour business. So as long as
you're making the payments,we're happy. You know, one of
the things I would, I would sayis that we do work with
companies during their entirelifecycle. You know, I mean,
we're we just actually signedour seventh schedule with a
(15:19):
brand out in California, that westarted working with about four
years ago. So they justcontinued to expand, and we've
just expanded with him. So it'sbeen a great partnership.
Brad Ebenhoeh (15:30):
Awesome. Yeah, I was gonna, I was gonna ask that
is your life cycle, like,clearly, you know, increasing or
buying more equipment, leasingmore equipment to brands? Do you
guys do, you mentioned at thestart that you guys had an
equity investment, and thendecided or found out like, this
is a great opportunity. Do youguys also, will you do equity
investments in these brands?
When you're already kind of adebt holder or a finance startup
(15:53):
for them?
Grant Christopher (15:53):
We typically don't, you know, we don't ask
for warrants on on our, on ouroffers. You know, there's a
couple of companies that wereinvested on the equity side,
too, we just, we kind of like tokeep separation there. In the
event of a conflict, you know,so if we, if we want to chase it
on the equity side, we will. Butyou know, if we want to chase on
(16:16):
the debt side, it just dependson kind of what we feel may be
the best return for us. So wejust like to kind of keep it
keep it separated so there's notany conflict, though, for the
most part.
Brad Ebenhoeh (16:29):
Awesome. Do you guys have any plans at any point
to get outside of CPG? Are youjust gonna, kind of hunker down
in that in that space?
Grant Christopher (16:37):
Yeah, I still think there's a lot of
opportunity within CPG, I feellike we're just kind of
scratching the surface here. Imade I made a hire for vice
president of businessdevelopment, recently, and he's
out there just pounding thepavement, making phone calls,
going to conferences. So I feellike there's still a lot of
opportunity within CPG. But, youknow, we like to keep our
(16:59):
options open. We'reentrepreneurial at spirit. And
so you know, not going to turnaway on opportunity within a
different category, if it makessense for us to go into it.
Brad Ebenhoeh (17:11):
Yeah, love it.
Love it. I'm just question I'mthinking here. And I'd love to,
I'd love to hear and I'm nottrying to put you on the spot.
But is there a kind of twoquestions. Number one is, is
there like a scenario or asituation that through Bridge,
you know, your brand here inyour relationship where you feel
(17:31):
like, you've saved somebody or,you know, they came out of a
really bad situation, because ofhow the finance, you know,
structure works versus in thepast? And I'm going to ask you
on the other side, is therealso, like a nightmare scenario,
or a bad scenario that exists?
And again, like this, you know,this is anonymous, but I'm just
wondering, just kind of somegeneral kind of thoughts or, you
(17:52):
know, lessons learned from that.
Grant Christopher (17:54):
Yeah, I mean, we pride ourselves on our
reputation. You know, I thinkwe're very borrower friendly.
And so we work with brands allthe time, we understand the
challenges that they face, as anearly stage kind of high growth
company. In 2020, we worked witha couple of companies that ran
into liquidity issues, where wejust deferred their payments for
(18:18):
several months, until they wereable to get the liquidity and
equity that they needed tocontinue operations. So we feel
like, you know, again, we kindof pride ourselves on our
reputation. I think if you wentand talked to any of the CEOs or
founders that we currently workwith, they would say that, and I
(18:39):
hope they would, that we try tostrive to be a good partner for
them. And then on the on theflip side, you know, of course,
there's been scenarios where,unfortunately, a brand has gone
out of business, but we'veworked with those companies to
(19:01):
get those assets, and then, youknow, replace them or, you know,
release them or sell them toanother company. But again, I
like to like to think ofourselves as good partners,
always keeping the thecommunication line of
communication open, and tryingto solve problems together.
Brad Ebenhoeh (19:22):
Awesome, awesome.
Since COVID, I mean, you bringit up in the last two years has
been crazy, just in the entireworld, you know, and then,
filtering down in the CPG space,has there been any kind of
trends from what you guys see inthis space? And from, you know,
from a co-man or supply chainstandpoint, clearly supply
chains have been impacted,globally, across all industries.
(19:43):
But I wonder if there are anytrends or things that you guys
have seen from your perspectivefor the last like two and a half
years in terms of where we'reat?
Grant Christopher (19:52):
Yeah, I mean, I would say generally, most
companies, if they did tosurvive through COVID came out
stronger. You know, think mostpeople would agree within the
industry that, you know, there'sprobably a lot of fat to be
trimmed. And they did that. Andso if they were able to survive
through through COVID, you know,they came out stronger, better
(20:14):
margins, able to produce morewith less headcount. And so
obviously there are challengesright now within the supply
chain, raw materials, shipping,etc. But I feel like, you know,
the companies that we've talkedto, I mean, even as recently as
(20:35):
the last four to five to sixweeks, I feel like we've kind of
hit our peak a little bit onthat, and things are starting to
get a little bit better, for themost part, not saying that's,
you know, 100% across the board,but most companies are that
we've talked to said, yeah, Ithink we've kind of hit our peak
on supply chain issues and rawmaterial cost increases.
Brad Ebenhoeh (21:02):
Yeah, that's kind of the general feel.
Grant Christopher (21:05):
Are you guys, I mean, you talk to a lot more
brands than we do. So are youfeeling the same way?
Brad Ebenhoeh (21:12):
Yeah, I feel like there was a really tight period
for a minute and really longdelays, high costs, little
unknown circumstances, it feelslike we're getting getting back
to more of a normalcy. Again, Iagree. It's this is not across
the board, but it just feelslike there's more known aspects
related to costs related tosupply chain situations. So I
(21:32):
would agree with you on that.
From a lead time perspective,just with you guys, like what is
the turnaround time of getting,you know, coming in the door,
getting approved so how long asit takes to get the equipment?
You know, what does that looklike?
Grant Christopher (21:44):
Yeah, good question. You know, for us
internally, our processtypically takes about three to
four weeks, you know, once weget that, the diligence items
that we need, we'll underwriteit here, internally, go to our
investment committee, and thenturn around a term sheet to the
to the company. Once we'veagreed upon terms, it's a it's a
(22:05):
pretty seamless process afterthat. We do about 98% of our
underwriting before we offer aterm sheet. So, you know, I
think there's some companies outthere that may just offer a term
sheet and they kind of start theunderwriting process. We try to
avoid that, where we'll do allof our underwriting pre-term
(22:25):
sheet, then once we have asigned term sheet, it's it's
pretty standard documentationfor our lease agreements, and we
can close on--we've closedwithin, you know, 48-72 hours
after a signed term sheetbefore.
Brad Ebenhoeh (22:39):
So how long does it take to get the equipment?
Grant Christopher (22:41):
Yeah, it just kind of depends. That's, you
know, one of the things that hasunfortunately come out of COVID
is that the lead times onequipment have definitely gotten
longer. It depends on theequipment, if it's coming from
overseas, you know, whether it'sa canning line, or some tanks or
packaging line, overseas,definitely, it's going to take
(23:03):
longer, we've probably seen leadtimes on that stuff double,
unfortunately, over the past 12months, you know, the last
couple of releases that we'vegotten into the lead times have
been 12 months. But then again,if it's, you know, within the
US, that that could be adifferent story, we just got
into a lease where the lead timewas, you know, three months. So
(23:26):
it again, it just kind of varieson the type of equipment and
where it's coming from.
Brad Ebenhoeh (23:31):
Yep, yep, I figured that. Is there any
questions that I should beasking you that our CPG brands
should be asking you?
Grant Christopher (23:40):
Yeah, I think one thing that again, we can
offer two types of leases. Oneof them them is a sale
leaseback. If you have existingassets that you've already
purchased in there at yourfacility or at a co-man's
facility, we can buy thoseassets from you. That will
provide you some some capitaland then lease them back to you.
(24:00):
And we can also do what we liketo call an interim funding or a
drawdown type lease where you'reordering a new piece of
equipment that may have a 12month lead time and we're able
to make those payments, whetherit's you know, a downpayment, a
couple progress payments, we'reable to make those. And, you
know, once the equipmentarrives, that's when the lease
(24:20):
begins.
Brad Ebenhoeh (24:21):
Gotcha. Yeah, super cool. Definitely more
opportunities there for moreflexibility standpoint, and I
think it's super, again,creative ways that, you know, an
entrepreneur or a brand ownercan kind of look at their assets
and if they are struggling withcash or it could be an
opportunity to refinance a pieceof equipment and get some money
(24:43):
to help support the business andworking capital. So, super cool.
Well, Grant, I really enjoyedthe chat as we kind of roll off
here. I always ask two questionsto the crowd. So number one is,
you know, what is one CPGindustry do for the listeners
out there?
Grant Christopher (25:00):
Yeah, I think that if you are within CPG, and
this kind of goes to more so onlike founders or management
teams, I would be more of alearner and a listener than a
knower. That's the kind ofpeople that we'd like to to work
with. And that would be my pieceof advice on doing more would
(25:25):
be. Be more of a learner orlistener type attitude, as
opposed to just thinking thatyou know everything. There's a
reason we've got two ears andone mouth, you know.
Brad Ebenhoeh (25:39):
It sounds like great marital advice there.
Grant Christopher (25:41):
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I think maybe
I got that from my wife.
Brad Ebenhoeh (25:46):
Yeah, I get it.
All right. And then the lastside, what is that one industry
don't?
Grant Christopher (25:52):
I would say, for brands, think hard about, I
guess, don't think you need tobe in all 50 states. I would
rather be partnered or on theequity side invested in a
company that's deep and narrowwithin their market, as opposed
(26:16):
to shallow and thin. You know, Ithink COVID really hit that. If
you're able, in a lot of brandsdid have to hunker down and just
sell within your state or yourregion, and you can have a great
business doing that. I mean,there's brands that are just
based in Texas, and have sold tostrategics. So, just don't think
(26:38):
that you got to be in everystate, and you got to be in
every Walmart or Kroger or WholeFoods or in every state. I would
just a word of advice is justkind of dominate the market that
you're starting out in and thengo from there.
Brad Ebenhoeh (26:55):
Yeah, it's it's definitely sage advice. And it's
never been easier to be wide,across multiple platforms,
across multiple sales channelsthat literally yield zero
results, more overhead, morestress, cause impacts on your
inventory, your supply chain,and all that stuff. So it's
(27:16):
always good for people to alwayskind of revisit that and think
of, you know, maybe I can justdominate here, versus these 10
other areas. So great advice.
Grant, I really, really enjoyedthe chat, I've learned a ton
more just about the equipment,finance space. If a brand's
listening and is interested inlearning more about you guys or
reaching out to have aconversation or start a
(27:37):
relationship, what's the bestway to do that? What's the best
way to reach out?
BridgeFinanceGroup.com. There'sa contact form there. I think it
goes to my e-mail, and our VicePresident of Business
Development, Hudson Penn, aswell. And so, I'd be happy to
(27:57):
talk with you guys. I mean, evenif you don't have equipment
financing needs, I would stillbe open to chatting with you,
with a company or brand on how,we may be able to help within
our own network. We've got ahandful of I think kind of value
add partners that we haverelationships with.
(28:19):
Yeah, and definitely I could see that's a
great strategic, kind ofintangible and working with you
guys. It's just the industryexperience and the knowledge and
the relationships, the networkof connections, you can leverage
people. It's always good, youknow, one thing I'll always say
is, you know, kind of the oldadage you know, when it's
raining outside the banker isn'tgoing to give you an umbrella,
(28:41):
but when it's not raining iswhen you should be asking for an
umbrella. So just to the folks,creating a relationship up front
maybe not asking right away butgetting your ducks in a row,
getting your due diligenceitems, and talking to someone
like a Grant or other you know,entities and businesses out
there like you know, Bridge andstuff just because it's it's
good to know. Especially whenyou're getting close to that
(29:02):
need of financing or betterequity to ask because they have
information. They know you,you've build a trustworthy
relationship. So you know, andI'm sure you can attest to that
situation as well.
Grant Christopher (29:13):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Brad Ebenhoeh (29:16):
Well, Grant I really appreciate that. Really
appreciated the conversation,the information and the
insights. And again, foreveryone out there. This is The
Month End podcast episode number23. With Grant Christopher from
Bridge Finance Group, hope youenjoyed it.
Grant Christopher (29:31):
Thanks, Brad.
Really enjoyed being on!
Brad Ebenhoeh (29:34):
Thanks Grant.
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