Axent-Midwest Capital, LLC

Axent-Midwest Capital, LLC, is in the business of providing short-term cash infusions to its customers, (“Merchants”) by advancing a lump-sum amount to a Merchant in exchange for the purchase of future receipts of such Merchant, a form of factoring. These are commonly known as Merchant Cash Advances (“MCA”). The Merchant contracts with Axent-Midwest to allow us to debit a daily fixed amount, from the Merchant’s revenue in exchange for the funds advanced. Through Axent-Midwest’s long-standing syndicate relationship, the company will purchase future sales from qualified Merchants (“Merchants”) throughout the country.

Merchant Cash Advances are frequently utilized by small-to-medium sized businesses, including law firms, janitorial services, restaurants, retail stores, and the like. MCAs often serve as gap funding for companies pursuing projects which require the timely purchase of inventory, or the addition of employees. Though the Axent-Midwest’s first merchant advance was in 2003, the 2008 financial crisis, and subsequent tightening of bank lending requirements, led to the MCA industry becoming mainstream. Between 2015 and 2018, the MCA industry annual volume grew from approximately $8.6 Billion to over $18 Billion. The Merchant Cash Advance product exists as an alternative to conventional bank lines of credit – which can be cumbersome and involve a lengthy application process.

Managing Director

Paul C. Miller

Managing Director of Axent-Midwest Capital, LLC

Paul Miller, a graduate of Creighton University, is the Founder and CEO of Axentia Card Solutions and its Merchant Cash Advance business, AxentAdvance Capital (collectively “Axentia”), the predecessor to this Company, Axent-Midwest. During his thirty-seven (37) plus years of banking experience, Miller has been a business, financial, and entrepreneurial innovator, including being a Founder, Board of Directors Member, Loan Committee Member, and Audit Committee Member of First Business Bank of Kansas City, a de novo Federal Bank Charter (1988) that was successfully grown, sold, and is currently owned by BMO Harris Bank.

In 1985, Mr. Miller founded Plaza Mortgage Company, a residential mortgage company, that he grew and successfully sold. That same company continues to be owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Miller has also owned other businesses, including various angel investing ventures, a document storage and shredding company, which was a precursor to industry leader Iron Mountain, (sold), the largest potato repackaging and distribution company in the country (sold to an ESOP), and founded the predecessor company to Factory Direct Appliances, one of the fastest growing companies in the greater Kansas City area and by far the largest independent distribution source for a wide variety of appliance products in the areas it serviced, including Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines - (sold to Ferguson Enterprises).

With the founding of Axentia Card Solutions, Miller quickly became an industry leader in the merchant credit card transaction processing business, having established relationships with the largest processors and banks in the sector, including First Data Merchant Processing and Wells Fargo Bank. When merchant clients of Axentia’s transaction processing business sought Miller out to meet their short-term cash flow shortfall needs, Miller began advancing his own funds to assist his clients in these transactions. These early advances, beginning nearly twenty (20) years ago, led Miller to be on the forefront of the Merchant Cash Advance industry and the creation and growth of Axentia and its Merchant Cash Advance business, AxentAdvance Capital, and its portfolios. As a result of his leadership in the specialized financial services industry, Miller has been provided a Money Service Bureau (MSB) license issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Less than a dozen individuals and companies have this same level of license.

Over the years, Miller and Axentia have partnered with the industry’s top organization, through a well-defined syndicate model, providing cradle-to-grave funding and platform services for the Merchant Cash Advance business. Through this platform, in 2018 and 2019, the syndicate had approximately 8,000 new and separate Merchant Cash Advance contracts, funding over $800 Million in transactions.

Mr. Miller is married, with six children, and two grandchildren, and continues to reside in the Kansas City area. Miller’s community involvement includes board level positions at various charitable organizations, including a local high school, Creighton University, and stays involved in various local organizations focused on bettering the lives of those less fortunate, and education.

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72nd Street Partners, LLC

Director-Member

72nd Street Partners, LLC, located in Manhattan, has been active in the banking Capital Markets space for over forty (40) years, starting in 1980. Mr. Levine has managed large portfolios of mortgages and consumer debt where the exist strategy was either securitization or a secondary market trade to other investors. He has worked with large banks and funds where they provided the capital that allowed for a "buy and hold" strategy. Mr. Levine has always been on the debt side of the market - bringing liquidity to his companies and partners, in all economic cycles.

Scott W. Callahan

Director

Scott Callahan, a 1987 graduate of Ball State University, is the founder of Midwest Business Funding – a boutique commercial finance company based in Fishers, Indiana. Founded in 2008, MBF has become a unique short-term funding source for small-to-medium size growing businesses throughout the Midwest.

Merchant Cash Advance

Merchant Cash Advances are NOT loans; they provide funds today by purchasing a defined amount of the merchant’s future sales.

The Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) Industry serves as an alternative form of funding for small-to-medium businesses who have neither the time, nor resources, to deal with conventional, cumbersome, and unwieldy bank loans.

The MCA industry started slowly in the late 1990s and has since grown to nearly $20 Billion in annual volume in 2019, up from an estimated $8.6 Billion in 2015. This growth rate is expected to continue at over 20% annually.

MCAs vs. Traditional Business Lending

Axent-Midwest obtains security interests, specifically UCC-1 fillings, in the merchant’s bank account, credit card processing accounts, and certain other assets.

The range of benefits that come from choosing a Merchant Cash Advance as a source of funding is large and includes:

Comparatively simple process from application to funding.
Direct interaction with the underwriting team, expediting the approval process.
Quick funding, usually within a few days of application as opposed to weeks, months, or never with banks.
No onerous points or upfront fees.
No business use restrictions.
Daily or weekly remittances on the Advance, leveling out the repayment cycle.

Legal & Regulatory Standing

Merchant Cash Advances have been recognized by the courts and legislatures as legal, legitimate, and important forms of funding for companies.

Merchant Cash Advances are NOT loans and are not governed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, or other laws and regulations concerning loans. Merchant Cash Advances are a purchase of a percentage of a merchant’s future sales. Basically a different form of factoring.

Our Operations

Team

Paul C. Miller
Managing Director

72nd Street Partners
Director

John Miller
Chief Financial Officer

Greg Ikhilov
Chief Operating Officer

Nadeesha Gabriel
Cash Management

Ben Cohen
Cash Management