Ami Kassar was born in South Africa and moved to the United States
at age 8. He launched his career working for the largest issuer of credit
cards to small businesses. It was there that he was introduced to small
business and business financing. In 2008, Kassar was forced to fire
close to 1,000 people, and after that the board of trustees let him
go. The next day, Kassar used his home equity line of credit to start
MultiFunding LLC.
Kassar saw how bad financing could harm small businesses and had witnessed how companies claiming to help small business owners led them astray for their own financial gain. Kassar wanted to run a company that was different, one that would do what is right for the business owner, even if that meant sacrificing profit.
“The beginning years were tough, as they are for many startups, but Ami’s creativity, character and sense of humor saw us through,” Kassar’s staff said. “Twelve years later, MultiFunding has helped thousands of companies fund their dreams through responsible financing methods.”
MultiFunding is a business loan advisor and strategy company, helping businesses achieve growth through personalized funding solutions. The team leverages relationships with hundreds of lenders across the country to find entrepreneurs the best loans available. In 2021, the company did almost $85 million in SBA 7(a) loans, more than PNC Bank, Citibank and Capital One.
MultiFunding aims to double revenue in the next two years and then double it again in the two years after that, growing the pool of entrepreneurs that the company’s services help. Reaching those goals will require the business to evolve, just as Kassar pushes himself to evolve and grow, he said. “Becoming stuck in your ways is a surefire way to sink your business,” he said. “It’s essential not to take yourself so seriously and recognize you’re not always going to get everything right. As a leader, your employees need to know that you’re a human too. Without your employees on your side, success is tough to achieve.”
Kassar gives back in several roles, including as the learning chair for Entrepreneurs’ Organization Philadelphia for the past three years. He will assume the role of president this year.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kassar educated himself and shared his insight on the Cares Act, explaining the government program and PPP loans in daily webinars free of cost. He also started a community blog to share information with small business owners.
“I want to remain influential by continuing the work I love — helping small business owners and entrepreneurs,” he said.