LVRG Business Funding 2026: A More Strategic Way Forward

A Message from Charles M. Barr, Founder & CEO

Over the past two decades, LVRG has facilitated over $1 billion in financing to more than 10,000 businesses nationwide through direct lending and strategic partnerships with 50+ of the nation's leading banks and commercial lenders.

We've grown organically, year after year, by doing what's right: operating with complete transparency, delivering real results, and building genuine relationships with serious business owners who share our values.

As we enter 2026, we're making a strategic evolution in how we serve our clients. Starting in January, we'll be implementing an engagement fee for strategic financing engagements, including SBA loans over $500K, conventional bank financing, business acquisitions, commercial real estate deals, and creative financing structures. This is becoming standard practice across our industry as firms recognize that strategic advisory work has value independent of loan placement.

This change strengthens our ability to deliver the exceptional, personalized service our clients have come to expect while ensuring we're working with business owners who are equally committed to the success of their transaction.

Why We're Making This Change

The business financing landscape has transformed dramatically. The proliferation of online lending platforms and automated loan marketplaces has fundamentally altered how business owners approach financing—and not for the better.

Business owners are now shopping for business loans the same way they shop for t-shirts on Amazon. A $2 million loan isn't a commodity. The difference between the right capital structure and the wrong one can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the financing—in interest, restrictions, personal guarantees, and lost flexibility.

Every successful business must evolve with the times. At LVRG, we've always operated as a true partner to our clients, not a transaction processor. That approach requires a model that ensures both parties are invested in the outcome from day one.

The Reality We're Addressing

Five years ago, we'd work 10 deals and close 6. Today, we work 17 deals to close 1.

That shift isn't about our capabilities—we're stronger and more capitalized than ever. It's about what's happening in the market:

The shopping problem: Business owners use our analysis, term sheets, and strategic guidance as free consulting to negotiate better deals with multiple other lenders simultaneously. Our expertise becomes leverage in someone else's transaction.

The ghosting problem: We invest 10, 20, sometimes 50+ hours over weeks and months—early mornings, late nights, weekends—and clients disappear without explanation. No follow-up. No courtesy. Just silence.

The third-party risk problem: We represent buyers in acquisitions. Sellers increasingly back out at the last minute after months of intensive underwriting. The deal dies through no fault of ours or the buyer's, but the work is done and gone—months of analysis, structuring, and lender coordination that delivered zero outcome for anyone.

The disclosure problem: Critical information surfaces late that should have been disclosed by clients upfront—liens, lawsuits, tax issues, undisclosed debts. Sometimes we can restructure around it. Often it kills the deal entirely. Either way, we've spent weeks or months on a transaction that was never viable because the client wasn't honest from the start.

The fraud problem: We're seeing an alarming increase in fabricated bank statements, forged tax returns, fake financials, and intentionally deceptive documentation. Business owners attempting to commit loan fraud waste our resources and expose our firm to serious legal and regulatory risk.

People don't value what they don't pay for. When there's no skin in the game, there's no accountability. If someone isn't willing to invest a modest engagement fee for the value, time, expertise, and resources we dedicate to their success, they're not the type of client we want to work with in the first place.

The engagement fee isn't just filtering for seriousness—it's filtering for honesty.

The Double Standard

Here's what makes this particularly striking: the business owners engaging in this behavior would never tolerate it themselves.

If a client ghosted you after weeks of work, you'd be frustrated. If someone used your proposal to negotiate with five competitors, you'd feel used. If a prospect lied about critical information that surfaced later, you'd question their integrity.

Yet many business owners operate this way without hesitation when seeking financing—as if professional standards don't apply when they're the customer.

We're not asking for special treatment. We're asking for the same respect, transparency, and commitment that business owners expect in their own professional dealings.

What This Means for You

When you engage LVRG for strategic financing, you're not just getting loan placement—you're getting a true partner invested in your success. We succeed when you succeed. Our compensation comes at closing, which means we're entirely focused on getting your transaction funded. The engagement fee ensures you have skin in the game—that you're as committed to the outcome as we are.

Strategic Deal Analysis: After our initial review confirms your transaction is viable, we conduct comprehensive financial analysis that includes a 2-4 page executive summary of your business and a detailed 5-10 page financial deep dive covering cash flow modeling, debt structure analysis, risk assessment, and optimal positioning strategy. This institutional-grade analysis—work that financial consultants and accounting firms routinely charge $5,000-$15,000 to produce—is yours to keep regardless of whether the transaction ultimately closes.

Expert Structuring: We leverage our relationships with 50+ top-tier banking partners to structure optimal terms, rates, and conditions that align with your business objectives—often securing pricing and terms you couldn't access on your own.

White-Glove Service: You work with a small team of highly experienced, industry-leading lending professionals who are with you every step of the way—not a call center, not a rotating team—from initial consultation through closing.

Proactive Communication: We provide complete transparency at every stage. If we identify challenges or opportunities, you hear about them immediately. No surprises. No runaround.

Professional Documentation: We prepare institutional-quality loan packages, executive summaries, and financial presentations that position your transaction for success with our banking partners.

The engagement fee—typically ranging from $500 to $2,500 depending on transaction complexity and timeline—covers the strategic work and analysis we deliver regardless of whether the transaction ultimately closes.

Our Commitment to Excellence

LVRG is a boutique firm by design. We're not a high-volume operation, and we're not trying to be. We provide personalized, strategic service to serious business owners who value expertise, transparency, and results.

We're more capitalized than at any point in our history. We have deeper banking relationships. We have a stronger team. The constraint has never been our capacity—it's ensuring we're dedicating our resources to clients who are genuinely committed to moving forward.

This evolution allows us to focus our energy where it creates the most value: working intensively with business owners who appreciate the partnership approach that defines LVRG.

We're Not For Everyone (And That's Intentional)

If you're shopping term sheets across a dozen lenders to save half a point on the rate, we're not your firm.

If you're looking for someone to provide free consulting while you play lenders off each other, we're not your firm.

But if you're a serious business owner who values strategic guidance, expects transparency, and wants a true partner in your financing journey—we're exactly who you need.

For the right clients, we deliver an experience and outcome that sets a different standard.

Moving Forward

This change reinforces what we've always been: a trusted advisor and partner to business owners who are serious about achieving their goals.

If you're that business owner, we welcome the conversation.

Charles M. Barr
Founder & CEO, LVRG