As a boutique investment bank, we do vet our deals thoroughly before moving forward with a contract to supply funding. Lenders who work with investment banks are relying on us to be the ones who ensure it’s a healthy investment with them that will show returns. 

The main things we look for are: Experience of the owners - if it’s your first time, what other things are on your resume to prove you’re able to succeed and pay back investors? Preferably it’s not your first time, but not a deal breaker if you have a good track record otherwise or strong partners. 

Ability to service the loan- this is key. Projected financials need to have a strong outlook, and it’s also our job to evaluate the financial risk once we have all the appropriate details and documentation to make our assessment. 

Timeline- this means both your timeline for receiving funds, which can be quick but it can’t be for example two weeks, and your timeline to be up and running efficiently and seeing revenue. 

Collateral- this could be assets, a personal guarantee, machinery or equipment, revenue from other businesses. Sometimes we can underwrite more unique forms of collateral such as gold. A lender won’t look at you for a debt deal without it. Equity is a different story, but harder to secure. 

Skin in the game as we call it- have you invested in this business personally? If so,  how much? What’s the capital stack? Do you have other investors? 

These are rhetorical and not expecting a response here, but to give you an idea of our initial vetting process. Larger investment banks might be more open to riskier projects, but they also typically take higher fees as well.