Lender Lounge with Kevin Kim
The podcast that gives an exclusive look beyond the title of private lending industry leaders.
Latest Episode
Ask a Private Lending Leader: Navigating Company Culture | Kevin Werner & Greg Hebner
Step into the Lender Lounge as Kevin Kim leads a conversation between two of the private lending industry’s best: Kevin Werner, CEO of Renovo Financial, and Greg Hebner, Managing Director at Arixa Capital. From building a reputation for their companies as desirable workplaces to the intricacies of hiring top-notch talent and truly understanding client needs, these leaders delve into the core elements that define success for their companies. They offer valuable lessons on fostering a positive work environment, attracting and retaining employees, and ultimately using these tools to become a leader in the space. It’s a dialogue filled with insights that translate to practical strategies for growth and excellence and is a rare opportunity to gain a behind-the-scenes view of what makes these lending giants thrive.
Ask a Private Lending Leader: Navigating Company Culture | Kevin Werner & Greg Hebner
Step into the Lender Lounge as Kevin Kim leads a conversation between two of the private lending industry’s best: Kevin Werner, CEO of Renovo Financial, and Greg Hebner, Managing Director at Arixa Capital. From building a reputation for their companies as desirable workplaces to the intricacies of hiring top-notch talent and truly understanding client needs, these leaders delve into the core elements that define success for their companies. They offer valuable lessons on fostering a positive work environment, attracting and retaining employees, and ultimately using these tools to become a leader in the space. It’s a dialogue filled with insights that translate to practical strategies for growth and excellence and is a rare opportunity to gain a behind-the-scenes view of what makes these lending giants thrive.
Stay Updated
Sign up for the Lender Lounge Newsletter to be notified about new episodes, giveaways, behind-the-scenes content, and more!
Meet the Host
Kevin Kim, Esq.
Kevin Kim is a Partner with Geraci LLP and leads the firm's corporate & securities practice. His expertise lies in fund formation, private placements, and other securities offerings for private lenders, real estate developers, and investors of all sizes. Kevin and his team have advised and prepared hundreds of securities offerings including mortgage funds, structured debt offerings, real estate syndications, crowdfunding offerings, EB-5 projects, and Qualified Opportunity Funds. Kevin's passion lies in serving his clients as a pragmatic advisor focusing on real world solutions.
Kevin is also a nationally recognized expert in mortgage fund formation. Kevin is the lead instructor for the American Association of Private Lender’s Certified Fund Manager courses, where he teaches mortgage fund managers throughout the United States on fund management and securities laws.
Kevin hosts the podcast Lender Lounge with Kevin Kim, where he interviews industry leaders, friends, and colleagues in the private lending space to learn what makes them tick.
Previous Episodes
Act with Honor | William Tessar and Whit McCarthy, CIVIC Financial Services
“Act with Honor” is more than a catchphrase for the team at Civic Financial Services. In this episode, Kevin sat down with William Tessar and Whit McCarthy to discuss the company’s history, the backstory behind their recent merger, and their unwavering dedication to company culture.
What’s in a Name? I Zack Lofton, Loan Ranger Capital
On the road in Texas, Kevin visited with Zack Lofton with Loan Ranger Capital. He got to learn about their “garage band debt fund” and how Loan Ranger has grown rapidly in a short period of time in the central Texas market. Kevin and Zack also talked about building the brand, staying lean and mean, and growing a great company culture. He also got to learn about Zack’s background as a Chartered Financial Analyst and learn how he grew the business from a solo operation.
Entrepreneur at Heart | Vincent Balagia, Stallion Capital Management
For this episode, Kevin took a trip to visit with Vincent Balagia at Stallion Capital’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. Vincent shared more about the history of Stallion Capital and discussed his perspective on leadership and culture. They also had a lively discussion about the local market conditions in central Texas. Listen in to learn more.
Candid Chat with the Best Dressed Man in Lending | Peter Steigleder, Fidelity Mortgage Lenders
For this episode, Kevin interviewed Peter Steigedler, the best-dressed man in Hard Money! Listen in to learn more about Peter’s career path at the German consulate, to real estate broker, to principal at Fidelity Mortgage Lenders – one of the oldest shops in private lending. Kevin got know Peter as a person as well as they discussed his work with the Guardians of Los Angeles Jewish Home.
Innovate Special Edition | Kristina Sawyer, Arixa Capital; Ruben Izgelov, WeLend LLC; Vincent Balagia, Stallion Capital
Geraci’s Innovate Conference for 2021 was a massive success. While we were there with all of our wonderful clients and friends, Kevin had the opportunity to interview Kristina Sawyer with Arixa Capital, Ruben Izgelov with WeLend, and Vincent Balagia with Stallion Capital. The purpose of this episode was to get a better understanding of their local markets. All three individuals have immense expertise of their local and surrounding geographies and shared their insights on where the market was headed. One interesting point was how popular ADUs are in all three markets. Listen in and learn more!
Champion of Culture and Customer Service | Kevin Werner, Renovo Financial
For this episode, Kevin interviewed Kevin Werner with Renovo Financial. The Kevin’s discussed the history of Renovo, its values, and its steady growth over its 10-year life cycle. They went into a pretty deep discussion on this episode, talking about their expansion philosophy, their internal culture, and their obsession with customer service. Listen in to learn more.
Keeping It In-House | Scott Rerucha, Legacy Group Capital
For this episode, Scott Rerucha, CEO and founder of Legacy Group Capital in Washington state, joined Kevin to discuss the unique way the firm built their business and avoided a single foreclosure in their 10-year history. Scott discussed his background as a banker, investor, and private lender and how that has affected his ideas about the firm’s growth, the Legacy team, and values as a company.
From Soup to Nuts, Industry Passion from the Ground Up | Jason Gilbert at Armanino LLP
A partner at Armanino who leads the Real Estate Investment Fund practice, Jason Gilbert and Kevin go way back. Listen in to learn more about Jason’s story coming up at Armanino, serving the private lending industry, and becoming partner.
Journey to the Top | Melissa Martorella, Geraci LLP
In this episode, Kevin sat down with Melissa Martorella, Geraci LLP’s newest partner. As the department head for Geraci’s banking & finance team, Melissa shared the journey that brought her to embrace her new role. Listen in to learn more about Melissa as a person and her role at the firm.
The Sleeping Giant | Curt Altig, Builders Capital
For episode 6, Kevin interviewed Curt Altig, founding principal of Builders Capital, a national private lender focused on construction lending. Listen in to learn how Curt started Builders Capital and grew the company with the help of his world-class leadership team.
Facilitating Deal Flow | Eric Abramovich, Roc360
Eric from Roc360 joined Kevin for a great interview. They took a trip down memory lane, talking about the Private Lending Industry’s evolution from Eric’s perspective and how Roc has grown right alongside it. He learned about Roc’s holistic approach and drive to be a full-service capital provider to the space. Kevin and Eric also talked about the challenges in operating a business during COVID in New York.
See a Need, Fill a Need | Steven Trowern, Temple View Capital
For this episode, Kevin had the unique pleasure of sitting down with the CEO and Founder of Temple View Capital and MCM Capital: Steven Trowern. They talked a lot about Temple View’s history and growth over the years and discussed their focus on maintaining a startup mentality. Kevin and Steve also spent some time comparing the pandemic crisis to the global financial crisis of 2008 – and had some laughs around the TARP program of 2009.
Filling a Void in Private Lending | Rocky Butani, PrivateLenderLink.com
This time, Kevin sat down with the man himself – Rocky Butani with PrivateLenderLink.com. Rocky visited Kevin in his office before the California Mortgage Association summer seminar. Together, they discussed the evolution of PLL and where it’s headed. What Kevin found most interesting was learning about Rocky’s love for the space and his deep understanding of its dynamics.
True Independent Lender | Renee Lewis, Bloomfield Capital
This episode was so much fun! Renee discussed Bloomfield’s view on CRE finance and how they grew their business nationwide. Kevin learned about her disciplined approach as a partner at Bloomfield Capital as Renee explained their strong underwriting, utilization of data, and focused approach to capital used to build their national lending business. Kevin also learned about how Bloomfield expanded their business utilizing data and local intelligence.
Ahead of the Curve | Chris Hanson, Hanson Capital Group
Kevin sat down with Chris Hanson of Hanson Capital. He learned a lot about Chris’s story in building Hanson Capital since 2008! His inspiring bootstrap story was a true testament to adapting to the market. Chris also shared how he built their real estate investment business and what data drives his decision-making. Kevin also got to learn a little about the Hanson Capital team and how they built their flat, attitude-focused culture.
Adapting to Industry Changes | Michael Ramin, Sharestates
What’s better than a podcast on the fly? Kevin enjoyed catching up with Michael Ramin – a long-time friend and much-loved industry leader – when they sat down for an impromptu interview during sponsor set-up at our Captivate event. Kevin got to learn more about Sharestates’ history as a crowdfunding business and multi-disciplined lender.
Act with Honor | William Tessar and Whit McCarthy, CIVIC Financial Services
“Act with Honor” is more than a catchphrase for the team at Civic Financial Services. In this episode, Kevin sat down with William Tessar and Whit McCarthy to discuss the company’s history, the backstory behind their recent merger, and their unwavering dedication to company culture.
What’s in a Name? I Zack Lofton, Loan Ranger Capital
On the road in Texas, Kevin visited with Zack Lofton with Loan Ranger Capital. He got to learn about their “garage band debt fund” and how Loan Ranger has grown rapidly in a short period of time in the central Texas market. Kevin and Zack also talked about building the brand, staying lean and mean, and growing a great company culture. He also got to learn about Zack’s background as a Chartered Financial Analyst and learn how he grew the business from a solo operation.
