In Episode 3 of The Charlotte Business Podcast, host Ashley Boti sits down with Patrick Pychynski, owner of Stacking Capital, to answer the question business owners ask most: how do I get funding to start or grow my business? Patrick found business credit during the pandemic through a Clubhouse chat room, spent heavily on courses and mentors, and learned the hard way that a lot of the advice online is incomplete or wrong.
He walks through what lenders look at, how 0% interest business credit cards work, how to prepare your credit profile, and the myths that trip founders up, from no personal guarantee promises to credit hacks and write-off advice. A recurring theme is that your personal credit does not stop mattering when you start a business. Patrick shares his own experience and views, so treat this as education and not personal financial advice.
“The personal credit is foundational, not only so that you can access funding, but so that you can save a lot of money throughout your life.”
Watch the full conversation above, or listen on Buzzsprout.
Patrick moved to Charlotte around 2010 from South Florida and has family here. During the pandemic he found himself listening in on Clubhouse rooms with well known business voices where business credit was the topic. He was fascinated that one could obtain between $50,000 and $150,000 of business credit by leveraging good personal credit.
His first attempt went badly. The person who took him through a round of funding applied for several personal products, which left him with no business credit and several new accounts on his personal profile that then had to season. He says he never had bad credit, only a profile not optimized for funding.
Patrick estimates he has spent over $50,000 on credit masterminds and courses. Even great courses, he says, do not get results for many people without one to one guidance, because fear and doubt stop people from finishing. Stacking Capital is built around guiding a client through every step, structuring the credit profile and business correctly, and treating a 0% round as the start of a longer business credit journey that can lead to term loans, equipment loans and SBA loans.
Patrick separates vendor or store credit, which is what Dun and Bradstreet and net 30 accounts mainly build, from major credit cards. He mentions tools like Nav and eCredible that can report trade lines for a monthly fee, and adds that you only need about three to four trade lines to generate a business credit score.
He stresses that FICO scores, not free app scores, are what lenders see, but free monitoring apps are still useful for alerts about new accounts and inquiries. He also shares the myth of a law forcing banks to lend $50,000 and the so called 153 credit hack. His take on the hack is that paying twice a billing cycle can lower utilization before the closing date.
The cards come from large banks, regional banks and credit unions. Patrick describes three steps: optimize, apply and get funded. Optimization is about the credit profile data points above plus age of credit history. In the application phase his team applies strategically, usually two per bureau, which can produce four to six cards with limits often between $20,000 and $50,000 each, or about $50,000 to $150,000 in total depending on comparable credit.
Patrick says most business cards do not report to your personal credit, leaving only inquiries, which his team often has removed. He notes a few exceptions, such as Capital One, which he avoids in a funding sequence.
Patrick says 0% capital is startup friendly and does not require revenue, since it can be stated income, though documentation can open the door to higher limits. Business lines of credit usually come later, once the business is about two years old with steady revenue of around $10,000 a month. He also explains that aggressive write-offs can hurt lendability, and shares that his own earlier metal recycling business grew slower because he never used business credit.
Patrick's goal is one for today and one for tomorrow: get funded now and set up the next round. He works with affiliate partners for marketing and tax help and is upfront about what he does not know. He is frustrated by social media misinformation, including the idea that you can buy a G-Wagon and write it all off, which the host says does not hold up without real business use and profit. Patrick offers a free 40 page guide that explains the process for anyone who wants to do it themselves, and a consultation for those who want one to one help.
Patrick recommends opening a business checking account early, even before you are ready to apply, so the business ages and shows deposits. He says Chase is one of his biggest hitters and describes cases where limits were moved to a new card to restart a 0% period. He suggests staying under about 70 percent of a limit and aiming to have balances below 40 percent before the intro period ends, and notes that to turn credit into cash for things like buying a business, there are structured liquidation options using partners.
Patrick says there are no challenging credit profiles, only challenging mindsets, and that in America most people get second chances to repair credit. Most of his clients are not in Charlotte, and he works with clients across the United States who have a Social Security number.
Patrick Pychynski is the owner of Stacking Capital, a boutique funding firm that helps business owners access 0% interest business credit and build toward larger financing. After discovering business credit during the pandemic, he built a one to one approach focused on optimizing personal credit, applying strategically and planning for the next round of funding. He says his firm has served over 200 clients in four years.
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