BBIF Client Spotlight: Veteran Owned Business Goes From Financially Vulnerable to Increased Revenue & New Loan Recipient Thanks to the BBIF Management Consulting Program

FermiTron, Inc. (FermiTron), is a full-service electronics products design corporation. The company, established in 2012, is owned and operated by veteran entrepreneur Guilford Cantave.  The corporation provides support to companies ranging from promising entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms. FermiTron has a reputation for excellence and is proficient at transforming customers’ innovative concepts into high quality products.

Despite FermiTron being a well-known player in its industry, Guilford could not secure the capital he needed to grow his business. Like many entrepreneurs, Guilford was forced to turn to the only entity that would give him a loan: a predatory lender.

 The predatory loan resulted in a substantial loss of available capital each month. This capital was vital for reinvestment back into his business. Unfortunately, the high loan interest rate absorbed the capital required for growth.

As business continued, FermiTron’s cash flow shortages grew. Despite many challenges, Guilford knew he would need the right support to move forward and grow his business. The first step to improving his financial position would be finding a fair and responsible small business loan.  That’s when he turned to BBIF Florida (BBIF).

BBIF is Florida’s leading non-traditional small business lender. BBIF is a non-profit, community development financial institution (CDFI), which specializes in growing small, local businesses through access to capital and management coaching. 

When Guilford started at the BBIF Management Consulting CEO Roundtable (CEO Roundtable) in June of 2018, BBIF’s team of expert business consultants held his hand through the process of financial stabilization & growth. The CEO Roundtable provided Guilford with financial training, mentorship and accountability.

Despite the impact of the predatory loan, he was able to improve FermiTron’s cash flow, increase its customer base, and increase sales by over 40% in just a few short months. With the help of BBIF Florida, FermiTron became eligible for a small business loan. Guilford was able to refinance his predatory loans, which improved his available capital by reducing his monthly loan expense by 86%.This new available capital will help him create several full-time jobs, buy much needed equipment, and pursue higher value contract opportunities.

His story demonstrates that entrepreneurs thrive when provided the capital and management coaching they need to succeed.

About BBIF

Created in 1987, BBIF provides loan capital, financial technical assistance, and business development services to support business owners. As a mission-driven lender, BBIF helps businesses grow by offering capital solutions and specialized guidance tailored to their needs. BBIF is a CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) and CDE (Community Development Enterprise) certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury CDFI Fund. The organization is also a Community Advantage and Micro Loan lender certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration, a Money Smart for Small Business collaborator with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and holds an AERIS rating of triple star, A.

Since its inception, BBIF has provided over 1,185 loans totaling $103.6 million and received over $200MM in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC)  awards, for a leveraged impact of over $625 million in NMTC investments. These efforts have created/retained over 15,000 jobs, while maintaining a historical loan loss rate of 4.08%. Learn more at www.BBIF.com.