Access to Capital

Access to capital · for small business owners

Your AI cofounder knows
where the capital is.

SBA loans, community lenders, lines of credit, equipment financing, invoice factoring, grants, investors. Your AI cofounder works out which ones fit your business, gets your paperwork in order, and helps you apply, with your approval at every step.

Meet your AI cofounderListen to a funding conversation
12kinds of capital weighed side by side, not just the one your bank offers.
15 minto a first read on what fits your business, by voice or chat.
3proof levels on every answer, so lenders see numbers you can back up.
0applications sent without your approval.

Why it’s hard

Most owners know two ways to fund a business. There are at least twelve.

A bank loan, or your own savings. Meanwhile, community lenders say yes to businesses banks turn down, equipment can pay for itself, unpaid invoices can turn into cash in a day, and grants never have to be paid back.

Nobody walks you through it. So owners apply for the wrong thing, get turned down, and stop asking. The cheapest option that fits is rarely the one they ask for.

41%of turned-down applicants said too much existing debt was the reason
42%of small businesses that applied got all the financing they asked for
12kinds of capital your cofounder weighs before you apply for any of them

Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2024 report (debt) and 2025 report (full funding).

Listen

Hear your cofounder find the money.

Six businesses, six kinds of capital. Avery starts with what the books already show, makes a first guess, and asks only what’s missing. Every answer becomes a claim you can back up, and you hear the verdict at the end.

SBA 7(a)

Harbor Street Bakery

6 years in business. Wants $600K to equip a second location and cover working capital.

0:00 / 1:11
  1. Avery · AI cofounder

    You told me you want about six hundred thousand for the Fells Point location. My first guess is an SBA 7(a) loan. It fits a mix of equipment and working capital, and the terms run long enough to keep payments manageable. What were net income and depreciation on your 2024 return?

  2. Owner · Harbor Street Bakery

    Net about a hundred forty thousand. Depreciation around thirty-five.

  3. Avery · AI cofounder

    And your current loan payments, all in, per month?

  4. Owner · Harbor Street Bakery

    About forty-two hundred.

  5. Avery · AI cofounder

    Rough math: six hundred thousand over ten years is about seventy-five hundred a month. Your cash flow covers the combined payments about one point three times. Most lenders want one point one five to one point two five, so you’re right at the line. That means the tax returns have to back those numbers up.

  6. Owner · Harbor Street Bakery

    We think the new site does two hundred fifty thousand in year one.

  7. Avery · AI cofounder

    Lenders will want that projection, and I’ll build it with you. For a 7(a) over fifty thousand, the lender takes the collateral that’s available, and that often includes a lien on your home. That’s standard, but I want you to know it now. Do you own your home?

  8. Owner · Harbor Street Bakery

    Yes, with some equity.

  9. Avery · AI cofounder

    Then the numbers work if the returns confirm them. Upload 2022 through 2024 and I’ll check them against what you told me.

Illustrative interview · fictional business · AI-generated voices

Twelve kinds of capital

Your bank offers one kind of money. Your cofounder knows all of them.

Each one fits a different business, a different need and a different moment. Your cofounder weighs them side by side against your numbers and tells you which to pursue first, and why.

SBA 7(a) loan

Best forWorking capital, buying a business, refinancing

What it takesTwo years in business or a down payment, and cash flow that covers the payment

SBA 504 loan

Best forBuying your building or major equipment

What it takesAbout 10% down, and you occupy the property

SBA Microloan

Best forNewer businesses, inventory, small equipment

What it takesUp to $50K from nonprofit lenders who coach you along the way

Community lender (CDFI)

Best forBusinesses a bank turned down

What it takesCash flow to repay; flexible on credit when there’s a good explanation

Bank line of credit

Best forSeasonal swings in an established business

What it takesTwo or more years, profitable returns, receivables or inventory to borrow against

Equipment financing

Best forVehicles, machines and technology

What it takesThe equipment itself is the collateral

Invoice factoring

Best forWaiting 30 to 90 days for customers to pay

What it takesBusiness or government customers with good credit

Purchase-order financing

Best forA big order you can’t afford to fill

What it takesA confirmed order and a healthy margin

Revenue-based financing

Best forRecurring or online revenue

What it takesSteady monthly sales; you repay as a share of revenue

Grants

Best forResearch, mission-driven and local programs

What it takesEligibility, and the discipline to report. Never repaid

Angel and venture investors

Best forFast-growing companies

What it takesA big market, fast growth, and willingness to sell equity

Surety bonds

Best forContractors bidding public jobs

What it takesWorking capital, clean books and a track record

Get ready before you apply

Lenders say no for a handful of reasons. Your cofounder fixes them first.

What lenders check

  • Cash flow that covers the new payment, with room to spare
  • Existing debt, including merchant cash advances
  • Credit history, and the story behind any rough patch
  • Time in business and tax returns that are filed
  • Business money kept separate from personal money

What your cofounder does about it

  • Builds the cash-flow projection a lender asks for
  • Flags the expensive debt to pay off before you apply
  • Drafts the letter that explains a past credit problem
  • Sets up the business account and books that make sales provable
  • Gathers the four or five documents that back up what you said

How it works

From “can I get funding?” to a submitted application, together.

Every answer carries a proof level: said in the conversation, shown in a document, or connected straight from your books. Lenders see numbers you can stand behind.

01

The conversation

Ten to fifteen minutes, by voice or chat. Your cofounder opens with what it already knows about your business and a first guess at what fits, then asks only what’s missing.

02

The documents

A short checklist right after: the handful of documents that back up your answers. Upload them, or connect your books and skip the paperwork.

03

The applications

Your cofounder assembles each application from what you’ve already shared, with the numbers checked against your documents, so nothing gets typed twice.

04

You approve. Then it goes out.

Nothing is sent until you approve it. Then it goes from your own email to the loan officer you choose, with a secure link to your numbers. If a lender only takes applications on its own site, you submit it there with everything ready.

Questions owners ask

Straight answers.

Is CoFounder.AI a lender?
No. CoFounder.AI doesn’t lend money or make credit decisions. Your cofounder finds the capital that fits and gets your application ready. The lender decides.
Will this hurt my credit?
Talking with your cofounder doesn’t touch your credit. A lender may check your credit when you apply to them.
Does it apply for me?
It does everything up to the send. Your cofounder prepares each application, you review and approve it, and it goes out from your own email. When a lender only accepts applications on its own website, you submit it there with everything your cofounder prepared, then tell your cofounder the answer when it comes.
Who sees my documents?
You, and the lenders you choose: the ones you approve an application to, or send a packet link. A packet link expires in two weeks, shows you every view, and includes your documents only if you say so.
I’m bidding on a contract. Can it help me fund it?
Yes. Share the RFP and your cofounder works out how much cash you need before the buyer pays, whether you have it, and the cheapest proof the bid will accept, like a bank letter, a line-of-credit commitment or factoring. Then it drafts the financial capacity section with you.
Do I need a business plan or a pitch deck?
No. Your cofounder builds what a lender asks for from what it already knows about your business.
What if I’m not ready yet?
Most owners aren’t, the first time. Every gap becomes a task on your board, and your cofounder works through it with you until you are.

Your next step

Stop guessing where the money is.
Ask your cofounder.

Tell it what the money is for. It will tell you what fits, what you need, and what to fix first, then help you apply.

Meet your AI cofounderListen to a funding conversation

Not a lender · No credit check to get started · Applications submitted only with your approval