CapNet Grows by Linking Businesses with Funds

No. 1 Fastest Growing Company Overall Capital Network Leasing Corp. Sherman Oaks Fastest Growing Company Under $5 Million (125.9 %) Considering the large color photo of the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004 in the reception area at Capital Network Leasing Corp., it’s no surprise that the two principals in the company talk in baseball metaphors and analogies. A .300 hitter may make it to the Hall of Fame, said President Blake Johnson, but he still failed 70 percent of the time. And sales is a game of failure. In developing the sales force of 72 at the company headquarters in Sherman Oaks and satellite offices in Orange County and Arizona, Johnson and CEO Dustin White have learned more from the salespeople who didn’t make it than those who have stayed. Sales is the heart of the CapNet mission to provide fast and efficient funding for equipment leases for large to small companies in 35 industries. The progress of the young sales force in meeting monetary goals is tracked on the large boards hanging in a hallway. The work of the sales force led CapNet to the No. 1 spot on the Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Private Company List. Between 2005 and 2006, the company had 125 percent revenue growth, from $2 million to $4.6 million. This year looks as though revenues will exceed the previous year hitting $3.6 million as of June 30. The flexibility and ease of the loan process brings clients to CapNet. No detailed financial history or tax returns are necessary. Instead, credit history and the ability to make the lease payments are important. CapNet is quick, too. Turnaround on an application can be done in 24 hours. That is particularly helpful for some industries, such as entertainment, where equipment is needed right away and bringing in money from day one. “The companies are buying the equipment because it will produce income for them,” White said. White founded the company in 2000 and incorporated a year later. He had been working in sales for an insurance group in Encino and left because he preferred being in the business-to-business sector. In the early years, CapNet had no more than a dozen employees. Rather than going overboard with hires, White instead focused on getting marketing and processes in place to support the sales force, building relationships with banks, and the technology and equipment necessary for the paperwork involved in making loans and leases. A plan was developed to prove the company could make it on a small scale. “You just don’t start a company and hire 70 people,” White said. Satisfied CapNet was going in the right direction, Johnson was brought on board to grow the sales staff. CapNet uses a recruiter to seek out salespeople but Johnson gives the final say. There are certain qualities he and White want perseverance, dedication to hard work, and a long-term determination to win. To that end, the company is prone to hiring former college athletes. “We have a blue collar work ethic and bring it to a white collar environment,” Johnson said.