ITV #254: $52 Million in Business Funding- Here's How the Game Works | Inside The Vault

He helped entrepreneurs secure more than $52 MILLION in capital—and now Stedman Waiters is breaking down how the business funding game actually works.

In this episode of Inside the Vault with Ash Cash, Stedman explains how he went from professional football and an $80K engineering career to building Waiters Capital into a multimillion-dollar funding company.

Stedman pulls back the curtain on what banks actually look for, why entrepreneurs get denied, and how funding brokers connect business owners with lenders without putting up their own money. He breaks down 0% business funding, revenue-based lending, business lines of credit, SBA loans, equipment financing, CDFIs, bank relationships, and personal credit.

But getting access to money is only part of the game.

Stedman also shares how he transitioned from his 9-to-5 without recklessly quitting, why investing in mentorship accelerated his success, how marketing became the engine behind his seven-figure business, and the **3 M’s—More, Metrics & Manpower—**that he uses to scale businesses.

Ash and Stedman also discuss becoming the first millionaire in your family, why success can become lonely, acquiring existing businesses during the generational wealth transfer, using credit as leverage, and why entrepreneurs who learn to use AI may gain a major advantage.

The biggest lesson?

Banks are lending. The question is whether you understand how to position yourself—and your business—to access the capital.

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🎙️ Inside the Vault: @insidethevault

🎤 Host: @iamashcash

👤 Guest: @sted.waiters

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Chapters

00:00 – $50K–$75K at 0% interest?

02:12 – Meet Stedman Waiters

05:05 – From football to engineering to entrepreneurship

06:57 – Why mentorship is a cheat code

09:25 – The danger of getting too comfortable

10:18 – Investing $25K in mentorship

11:35 – Transitioning from a 9-to-5

16:19 – His first business: credit repair

17:09 – Discovering the funding industry

18:00 – How funding brokers make money

19:32 – Good credit vs. business revenue

21:36 – How 0% business funding works

22:46 – “Banks ARE lending money”

24:14 – Are Black entrepreneurs denied more funding?

26:00 – Using business funding responsibly

28:28 – Why marketing is everything

30:07 – Marketing strategies for beginners

32:28 – Can a funding company make $10K a month?

33:43 – Student goes from $50K to $200K/month

34:27 – The 3 M’s: More, Metrics & Manpower

38:13 – Obsession, discipline and success

39:06 – Why Stedman started mentoring

41:03 – Becoming the first millionaire in his family

42:15 – Why success can become lonely

45:58 – Building community for entrepreneurs

47:25 – The Funding Broker Workshop

48:30 – Impact over money

49:13 – His future in private equity

50:05 – Buying businesses with SBA funding

53:23 – The risks of acquiring a business

54:24 – Why entrepreneurs keep getting denied

55:47 – Do bank relationships matter?

57:43 – Why business funding gets called a scam

58:59 – Is credit the new economic inequality?

1:00:36 – Do you really need business credit?

1:01:47 – How Stedman uses AI in business

1:03:35 – AI and the future of funding

1:04:21 – Connect with Stedman

1:06:07 – Closing the Vault + Abundance Score

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