Henry Abenaim FUNDINGO

Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs, those who are building meaningful businesses, shaping their industries, and having an impact. I'm Taylor Baker Baker, your host, and excited today to be joined by Henry Abinam, the founder and CEO of Fundingo, and you can find them at fundingo.com. Henry, thank you so much for joining us today.

Oh, my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

And so give us the backstory for those who are getting to know you and the company, how you got into this space with this niche and who you're currently serving.

Yes. So I come from the lending space. That was my first job out of college and was a startup here in Los Angeles. And we went from ground zero to high volume of loans. And one day I remember fat fingering an extra zero on a wire transfer. Went to the wrong borrower and, uh, never got the money back. And from there we realized, you know, at first I thought I'd get fired, but then I realized something, something's got to change. And we did change it. We implemented, um, Salesforce as a software to manage and put the controls in place. And then very quickly realized that the industry, which is the non-bank lending industry— so historically loans come from banks, but the non-banks, private lenders, were all using spreadsheets and had similar issues to us and went and said, okay, I'm going to go solve this problem for the industry.

That's awesome. And how big is the team and organization now?

We're about 30 and we have about 180 customers.

Wow. And what would you say is driving growth for you guys?

Great question. So growth, first of all, we have a name in the industry that we've been around for a little bit and have you know, solved problems. So we have a lot of inbound, inbound demand coming through that we continue to drive through, through different, you know, search engine optimization and whatnot. But really, that's, you know, we saw we're solving a very clear problem for the industry and it resonates well with our customers.

Yeah, I can see that for sure. So looking back for you, what turning points, positive or negative, have molded the way you think about and run the organization?

Okay, a lot there, but, you know, in a nutshell, we have to stay true to what we're solving and what we do, what we specialize in. It's very easy to spread your focus and hear from customers. Today they need this, tomorrow they need that, and you're constantly feeling that urge, and I have that urge to problem solve, but really stick to what you do best and deliver the best value to them and be true to your commitment. And that's been a big part of what's, what's helped us, you know, what I've learned in the easy way and the hard way over the years that you need to stick to.

Gotcha. And what would you say has been working to attract and retain good clients? Yeah.

So, you know, we've, we've always, uh, done a good job of getting in front of customers, but I don't know that we did such, we've done such a good job at winning the right customers. Um, so We— number one, you got to win the right customers. And, and that connects to the earlier point around what's your differentiated value. And, and when you deliver well in your differentiated value, the customers are going to love you and you're going to have a great relationship. But when you're like not really dealing with your right customer base, or you bring on a customer because you need the deal for that quarter, you know, very often that ties up resources and really does not create a good win-win relationship. And we retain customers with that same concept, and that is we're constantly staying front and center, innovative, being able to look and say, okay, what is manual today that shouldn't be? And what are we still doing? And it's frictional in your process. So it's not a one and done event. I think it's an ongoing process with our customers. And if they see that we're there, there to be as a partner to help them be more competitive, like the relationship keeps growing and flourishing.

Yeah, and I love that point you made where you focus and deliver well on your differentiated value. It's like, don't deliver on what everybody else is delivering on.

Like, very easy to get distracted. Yeah, especially as a founder who's, who started the company based on looking around and understanding what else is out there that needs to be solved, right? So you got to sometimes got to stick to your, your focus, for sure.

Yeah. Now when it comes to your sales and marketing, your outreach, where do you still see more opportunity or money on the table?

Yeah. So we're, we're, you know, we're doing outbound campaigns now that are, that is, you know, really just starting, um, more trade shows, really just going to this similar customers and saying, hey, we solved this for your peers and now we have a track record. Let's go do it for you too.

That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. And with all the talk around AI and automation, where have you guys found ways internally to utilize it?

Okay, and first of all, I'm writing a book on augmented lending, how to run lending with AI. But we're going to talk about internal tools for a minute. We're using it in a couple very exciting ways, everything from connecting our code repository to our documentation to have one I think the biggest thing is have one central knowledge base where you could eliminate all those Slack messages back and forth and waiting for someone to come out of PTO to talk to them about a function. So we're centralizing knowledge as a huge area. And then obviously there's the AI for coding and Vibe Coding that is, that is making things a lot faster.

Yeah. When is your book coming out?

In the next, uh, 30 days.

Wow, that'll be exciting.

And so, yes, absolutely.

Because that's a big thing right now with all the AI lending and the just how to utilize those tools, but be safe because security aspect of that information. I mean, when ChatGPT first came out, it's like, oh, let's just upload my bank statement and it'll do my books for me. And he was like, not good.

Yes. And the concept is it augments judgment. It doesn't replace it. It makes humans stronger at making expensive judgment calls. But not replacing the human.

I love that— augments human judgment, that doesn't replace it. That is beautifully put, because yes, AI gets you so much further but doesn't get you complete.

Correct.

Yeah, wow. So as you look at the trajectory of the business, where it's going, if you had to focus on one constraint to solve over the next 90 days, what would it be?

Wow, that's a, a great question. Um, where do we start? I think the, you know, the biggest thing that we have in terms of challenges is we're dealing with complexity. And how do you scale complexity? Yeah. And, you know, the clue that we have is if you could create a repeatable motion and that complexity solved is built into our product, built into our motion. So we are still solving complexity, but we're doing it because we've solved it before and we're repeating that solve. That's, that's going to be a big, big change for the business. Something we're, we're very actively working on.

And so what does that look like in the next 90 days? You're like, this is how, like, is it tools? Is it software? Is it training?

A lot of it's all the above. Like it's, it's just being committed to that. So tools with AI, we're able to do so much more, like, you know, all the way from call transcripts to reading customers' documentation and developing and delivering much better and stronger and faster. And just in general, talking about differentiators, I think it all ties back to that. If we know where we're strong and we come in and we say, hey, we have a domain expertise in this area, we know how to solve for it, and we do it for customer A and B and C and D, you know, it's going to allow us to repeat the same kind of motion and deliver at a higher value. So we're looking at, we're looking at using tools, we're looking at leveraging the knowledge from previous engagements. We're looking at embedding more capability in the product so that those same complexities that we're seeing over time and time again, we don't need to solve for them for the first time each time. So those are, those are some, some exciting areas that we're focusing on.

That makes a lot of sense. And as you're growing your team, where have you found a good way to recruit the right people for your team?

You try to chase them away. Hey, this is not for you. This is not a great place for, for someone who's looking for, you know, a big enterprise job that you could come in and, and be one lane and stay in your lane. This is, this is one where you're going to wear many hats but be part of an exciting impact.

Oh, that's awesome. I love that. Chase them away and find the ones who want to stick through it. So as you are growing this business and developing it, where do you see it in the next 12 to 18 months?

Yeah, I mean, we are, you know, we're looking closely at our customers and, you know, we want the business to be one where we're a very recognizable brand, a leader in the category, and we have, um, we have a lot of, you know, movement in that area. But I think one that's most exciting is we are going a lot upmarket and having much larger, you know, enterprises which is a big validation to the mission statement and the track record of the company. So if there's one thing I would say, maybe a metric would be average contract value. Interesting to see that a lot higher than it is today.

Gotcha. Okay. And so when you look at your own journey, the wins, the mistakes, what lessons stand out to you?

I said this before and I say it again, the biggest lesson is comfort zone. Being able to not make decisions based on protecting your comfort zone and make decisions based on being willing to go out of your comfort zone, do something that may not be so clear in front of you. But that's where the big returns come, and that's how you propel forward. So, you know, still working on that. But it's a big lesson within increments that is being taken here for sure.

That is a lifelong endeavor for sure.

It's like, exactly. Yeah.

And I've never heard it worded the way you just put that. It's like protecting your comfort zone. Like, we all do that. Um, we do.

It's like, should we, should we part ways with a, with a vendor? Should we part ways with a, with an employee? Should we part ways? You know, sometimes dropping and cutting something is the hardest thing to do with when you're, when you're preserving your comfort zone. There's a lot of unknowns and you know you need to do it. Something tells you it's going to be good for the business, but you have to be willing to take that trade-off that you may lose some good stuff too. And, and, but the, the growth and the big, you know, the, the big propel forward won't happen without making that decision.

Yeah. So last question for you, as you think of the next stages of the business, what are you most excited about?

Most excited about is The ability to take what we've worked so hard on developing, building, learning, and being able to spread that to larger companies that, you know, everyone— it's an impact. We're making an impact on people's lives. We're making an impact on people's livelihoods. We're making an impact on people's customers. And to do that on a bigger scale, to do that on a larger scale where there's more resources and more impact is you know, is something very exciting, and we're only starting, you know, we're at the cusp of that, and continuing to grow into that area is a very exciting path.

That's awesome. And have you guys clearly identified who your ICP, ideal client, is? Like, this is who we want to target?

Yeah, we're, we're targeting lenders that have complex use cases. You know, a lender that can just buy a point-and-point solution off the shelf and plug it in and it works in a few weeks, those are not our customers. Because if they could do that and, you know, but a customer that values a platform, values a connected system that really is able to, you know, not tell you launch a new program, you're going to need to do that on a spreadsheet because we don't quite support those fees. Right. So being able to take nuances, be able to take complexity and keep it, keep it, you know, lenders that need one platform to handle all of that, Fundingo is the home for that. So it could sometimes show up in a customer that may be invested in similar platforms. That's why we're also built on Salesforce. Company that implemented Salesforce not just as a quick CRM, but as a business application usually values that connected system, that platform to take their complexities and put it in a more automated fashion. And that's our, you know, that's our ICP.

That makes sense. Makes a lot of sense. And so for those who want to learn more, who want to connect, LinkedIn obviously, but fundingo.com, anywhere else you want to send them?

You got it, fundingo.com. Just come to, just come reach out to us and we'll love to connect, love to chat.

That's awesome. Any final thoughts for our listeners or those on a similar journey?

Yes. So if you're on a similar journey, just, you know, I would say definitely push yourself. Your comfort zone, go out of your own limitations, and try to push it out slowly, day in, day out. And if you're a lending company and you find yourself doing things on different spreadsheets, and when your customer calls up and says, can I get a consolidated statement? And you're like pulling people together to get it done, you know you need to connect, create a connected system, and talk to Fundingo.

Yes, absolutely. Reach out. So And thank you to our sponsors of today's episode as well, Achieve Fractional, which provides fractional executive leadership for growing businesses. And if you enjoyed the episode, reach out to Henry and the team. If you're not sure, just get a consolidation, like just look and see what they have to offer and how they can simplify your process to help you shine. So reach out to Henry and the team from Ningo, and we'll see you all on the next episode of the Achieve Podcast.