Commercial Factor Q&A: Brian Center Outlines Newly-Launched Quasar Capital’s Mission

Brian Center is a mainstay in the factoring industry, having worked in the industry for 30 years. For his most recent endeavor, he founded and launched a brand-new business: Quasar Capital Partners. The company will provide factoring receives funding and asset-based lending solutions with a small business focus, but Center also wants the company to improve the lives of its clients. In an exclusive Q&A with Commercial Factor, Center discussed how the new company came to be, how he hopes to build success and why profits aren’t all the matter.

How did Quasar Capital Partners go from an idea to a business?

Brian Center: The disruption that occurred with COVID-19 affirmed my belief that a finance company’s mission should be to improve people’s lives. A number of good factoring companies do so today, yet I do believe it is time to embody and embrace that principle fully as a factoring company. Given the opportunity, I wanted to effectuate that kind of change through the services that Quasar Capital provides to its clients. The opportunity to improve the lives of others fuels me. My sincere passion is to improve the trajectory of life for our clients so that their dreams are fulfilled.

I believe the factoring community is special. So many great companies in our industry are performing so well and doing so much good. There is much room for so many companies to serve in our industry. The more we help people achieve their goals, the stronger the community of clients sees our contribution and the more robust and resilient our industry thrives. I seek to continue the legacy of service as exemplified by so many in our industry.

What was process of launching the business like?

Center: It has been chaotic, transformational and stressful. However, the support I have received from industry partners has been incredible. A CEO is always switching between different altitudes. At the highest altitude, I’m asking the questions regarding mission and strategy. At the lower altitude, I am ingrained with “on-the-ground” operations, discovering more efficient ways of executing all the while taking care of our clients.

I founded Quasar Capital in the midst of a pandemic where everything has fundamentally changed. A hallmark of our industry is change. Factors live change and are comfortable with the uncomfortable. Having founded and led companies before, I learned that repetition and consistency in your model helps with the ever-changing environment. Yet, this time, creating Quasar Capital felt different. There has been no better time and no better way to remind myself of my values, my purpose and long-term goals. The pandemic brought the need for more focus and more definiteness about next steps for me and, as a result, Quasar Capital.

What opportunities do you see in the market?

Center: Better industry relationships and filling the gap that, simply, fintechs cannot serve. I support innovation and I am in awe of the positive change with the influx of fintechs. Its waves have contributed to the factoring industry and have pushed us to get better at innovation. No question, clients have needs regarding timeliness and quality of information. However, with the influx of rapid and easy cash, many clients felt the void of “relationship.” That is what this great industry provides: relationships. The ability to answer the call or make the call and ask my favorite question: “Can we just talk?” No strings, no gotcha, no selling, just talk about your business and what Quasar can do to help. That's the opportunity in the market for Quasar Capital.

Are there unique niches you are hoping to fill?

Center: There is great opportunity for factors to become microlenders. If done right, there is a part of the market that has potential to be serviced in the manner that the reliability of factoring merges with the value of microlending and fintech. At Quasar Capital, we are creating a ‘cash transfusion tool,’ not necessarily unique, but that serves as a microloan offering for small businesses.

How will your previous experience in the industry influence how you run this company?

Center: I know it sounds so cliché, but it’s so true. The biggest lesson is to embrace failure. You can’t let past mistakes — and the fear of making more — paralyze you. So, with that in mind, two lessons for Quasar Capital from previous experience:

First, strike a balance between embracing others’ ideas and the lessons I’ve learned over 30 years. I tend to move out of the way and allow others to excel with their ideas and desire. Candidly, getting out of the way is a significant element to leadership, guiding people verses commanding people. Yet, I have recently seen times wherein I did not execute upon my own experiences and left significant value and wisdom untapped and unused. In so doing, valuable experience was lost and, ultimately, decisions were made solely based on what served select individuals versus the collective good.

Ultimately, I am a firm believer in a team where everyone is aligned in values and aspirations. Leadership can guide but if the entire organization does not share values and aspirations, the organization won’t prosper. At Quasar Capital, I aspire to build a team that aims to change people’s lives for the better.

Second, relationships work when you nurture them. Nurturing relationships takes continuous effort. This means to do business with anyone that needs help and is willing to get help as well. I think people want to do business that way.

What will separate Quasar Capital from its competitors?

Center: We are maniacal and relentless in our drive to serve our clients. We are honored to finance businesses that allow us to create relationships for life. Competition requires any company to adopt a new mindset. I believe that to get to the next stage of growth, we needed to overcome some ingrained perceptions within the industry and how we are perceived in the market. My goal is that Quasar Capital will set itself apart by demonstrating its responsibility to the industry and to its clients. Not all peers believe as I do that we have a responsibility that is greater than profit. Yet, we have the possibility to touch people's lives with positive outcomes and therefore influence outcome as an industry. That, in part, is what sets Quasar Capital apart. It supports its competitors and champions every industry participant who is committed to having accountability and responsibility to influence the legacy, regulation and reputation of our industry.

What are your goals, both in the short and long term, and how do you plan to accomplish them?

Center:

a) Be a positive change agent in our industry

b) Articulate a credible and achievable strategy for the company.

c) Maintain very strong growth over the next three to four years with our current

service approach

We will accomplish them by maintaining and enhancing my relationships with key partners such as Haversine Funding and Strategy Advisory Solutions. Those relationships empower Quasar Capital to develop long, lasting relationships with its clients, and allow us to accomplish our mission of improving their lives.