This week marks the finale of The Art of SBA Lending podcast, and Ray Drew brings it home by reuniting with his original mentors and colleagues from the era that shaped his career: the Mercantile Capital team. Listen as they reminisce about the "good old days" of 2011–2013, an era defined by reinventing business after the 2008 crash.

The panel discusses how Mercantile Capital was built around the niche business of 504 interim lending (an industry they essentially invented). They recall the unique office culture, characterized by healthy competition, daily in-person mentoring sessions, frequent celebration of birthdays, and bizarre marketing tactics (shiny envelopes and stress-ball brains). The alumni highlight the competitive, yet collaborative, environment where young talent was actively taught the business.

The episode features hilarious and nostalgic stories, including the infamous "Find My iPhone" conference incident involving a police car and a hungover apartment owner. Tony shares lessons learned from the creative ways he structured deals, while Carolyn explains how she fell in love with SBA lending by serving small business owners.

🎯 In this episode:

• The Startup Grind: How the team pivoted after the 2008 crash to focus on the ultra-niche 504 interim lending space.

• The Last Chapter of the "Good Old Days": Remembering a pre-virtual, pre-AI era of paper packages, fax machines, and in-person mentorship.

• Learning the Ropes: The harsh but valuable lessons learned from veteran lenders, including don't pretend to know the answer and "let's shorten that up a little bit".

• Culture, Competition, and Camaraderie: How working together to navigate uncertainty created a special bond and connection within the team.

💬 What's your favorite memory of a mentor helping you out with a deal? Share your story in the comments.

🎙This episode is sponsored by:

CORPSMART

Want to win over your closing team? Next time you pick up a deal involving titled assets, go to corp-smart.com/artofsba and request a quote for tax, tag, and title so you can structure your loan correctly right from the jump. When it comes to titling vehicles, boats, and aircrafts, CORPSMART has the knowledge to assist you confidently. CORPSMART offers full-service titling solutions, working directly with the local agencies to get your titles processed accurately and on-time. If you've struggled with recording titles, reach out to support@corp-smart.com to learn more about their services.

Rapid Business Plans

Rapid Business Plans is the go-to provider of business plans and feasibility studies for government guaranteed small business lenders. For more information, or to set up a Get Acquainted call go to https://rapidbusinessplans.com/art-of-sba

This week on The Art of SBA Lending, we sit down with Live Oak Bank CEO and founder, Chip Mahan, to discuss the revolutionary ideas that transformed the SBA landscape. Chip Mahan, who started the bank in 2008, disrupted the existing SBA playbook by focusing on nationwide industry vertical lending.

Chip details the bank's founding during the 2008 financial crisis , when he was told by the FDIC to liquidate the bank. He reveals the unique philosophy that led to the bank becoming a top SBA lender, including: rejecting the traditional commission-based compensation model to properly align interests , developing a "theory of verticality" by targeting specialized industries like veterinarians and chicken farmers , and using data from the Freedom of Information Act to determine which industries pay back their loans. He argues that a floating rate 7(a) loan is the "best asset that anybody can put on any bank's books."

The episode also covers the bank's commitment to technology, the importance of perfecting the "handoff" between the lender, underwriter, closer, and servicer , and the future of banking in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Chip explains how AI will dramatically affect determining SBA loan eligibility and create an "automatic credit memo".

🎯 In this episode:

• Founding Under Fire: The story of getting a bank charter in May 2008 and being told to liquidate the bank in March 2009 by the head of the FDIC in Atlanta.

• The Verticality Edge: Why Live Oak focused on niche industries and hired domain experts to create an "unbeatable" credit box.

• No Commissions: Why a compensation model based on stock and growth is superior to commissions, citing Charlie Munger's famous quote on incentive plans.

• The Future of SBA: Chip's prediction on the future of the 7(a) program and why he believes the loan size limit should be increased to $10 or $20 million.

• AI & Banking: How artificial intelligence will automate the credit memo, cash flow analysis, and dramatically simplify SBA eligibility determination.

💬 Do you agree that the floating rate 7(a) loan is the best asset for any bank's books? Let us know in the comments!

🎙This episode is sponsored by:

Lumos

Lumos empowers your small business lending growth with cutting-edge analytics and streamlined applications that optimize your performance.

If you're ready to take your small business lending to the next level with cutting edge analytics visit https://lumosdata.com/

Shatterbox

Learn how Shatterbox can help you hire and invest in bright young talent without breaking the bank. Go to https://shatterbox.io/artofsba and set up a discovery call today.

Head to http://www.artofsba.com for more information and to sign up for our must-read monthly newsletter to stay up to date with The Art of SBA Lending.

This week on The Art of SBA Lending, we go behind the scenes with Heidi Whitesell to unpack the leadership, culture, challenges, and ultimate wind-down of a successful SBA lending division. Ray Drew sits down with Heidi, who he calls one of the best leaders he's ever worked for, to discuss the philosophy that created a legendary, family-like culture in a fully virtual, non-bank setting.

Heidi shares the vision for her former venture, Fund-Ex, which quickly climbed the national rankings without losing its unique team culture. She reveals her leadership principles, including the powerful belief that "love always works," and explains how relentless positivity, transparency, and providing resources ahead of revenue were the keys to their success—even in a highly complex industry. The conversation takes a raw and emotional turn as Heidi opens up about navigating the intense, uncertain process of a company sale and eventual wind-down while privately battling a serious health crisis, revealing why she chose to stay and fight for her team.

🎯 In this episode:

• The Vision for Culture: How a fully virtual SBA team built a top-25 lending operation with a "family" culture using the principles of People, Process, and Product.

• Leadership Secrets: The power of transparency, collaboration, and why staying positive and putting the team first are non-negotiable for a leader.

• The Resource Strategy: Why investing in resources before revenue is essential for speed and service, and how this investment combats costly employee turnover.

• The Ultimate Test: Heidi's emotional account of leading the company through the stress of a sudden sale, a liquidity crisis, and the difficult process of a year-long wind-down.

• A Leader's Sacrifice: The incredible story of how a commitment to her team kept her fighting while undergoing chemotherapy.

💬 What do you think is the hardest part about building a strong culture in a virtual environment? Share your thoughts below!

🎙This episode is sponsored by:

CORPSMART

Want to win over your closing team? Next time you pick up a deal involving titled assets, go to corp-smart.com/artofsba and request a quote for tax, tag, and title so you can structure your loan correctly right from the jump. When it comes to titling vehicles, boats, and aircrafts, CORPSMART has the knowledge to assist you confidently. CORPSMART offers full-service titling solutions, working directly with the local agencies to get your titles processed accurately and on-time. If you've struggled with recording titles, reach out to support@corp-smart.com to learn more about their services.

Rapid Business Plans

Rapid Business Plans is the go-to provider of business plans and feasibility studies for government guaranteed small business lenders. For more information, or to set up a Get Acquainted call, go to https://rapidbusinessplans.com/art-of-sba. Find out why so many top-producing BDOs recommend Rapid to their small business borrowers.

Loving The Art of SBA Lending episodes? Make sure to follow along with our sister shows, The BDO Show and SBA Today, each week with the links below! https://www.youtube.com/@TheBDOShow https://www.youtube.com/@SBAToday

Head to http://www.artofsba.com for more information and to sign up for our must-read monthly newsletter to stay up to date with The Art of SBA Lending.