Building a Community for Women in Factoring

The International Factoring Association recently launched Women in Factoring, a new community created to connect, support, and empower women across the factoring industry. Open to women of all experience levels and professional backgrounds, the group is focused on creating meaningful opportunities for networking, mentorship, education, and collaboration.

To introduce the initiative, we spoke with the four founding committee members—Kim Haller, Kait Martin, Randi Villaverde, and Renee Williams—about why the group was created, who they hope to reach, and what they envision for its future.

1. What inspired you to help create Women in Factoring?

Kim: Women in Factoring began over Friday morning coffee. Renee Williams and I would meet before work each week and talk about the market, challenges we were facing, recent wins, and the people and changes shaping our industry.

One morning, we looked at each other and asked, “If we are meeting like this, who else is doing the same? Are other women looking for this kind of connection?” As we began asking around, we discovered that many women were searching for the same thing: a community where they could build genuine relationships, exchange ideas, and support one another professionally and personally.

Women have always known how to create community. We show up when a friend has a baby, when someone needs help at home, for church, for coffee, and during difficult seasons. We communicate, share experiences, and take care of one another.

Women in Factoring is our opportunity to bring that same spirit into our industry. We are creating a space where women can show up for one another, learn together, celebrate each other’s successes, and help one another grow and lead.

Kait: I came into factoring without a traditional background in the industry, so I learned by being thrown into just about every part of the business and figuring it out as I went.

As I was learning, I remember looking for a group where I could connect with other women in factoring, learn from their experiences, and build relationships outside of my own company. That kind of space really did not exist at the time.

Then I happened to connect with three other women who were looking for the same thing. Once we realized we all saw the same gap, it felt like something we needed to build.

I wanted to help build the kind of space I had been looking for myself. Not just networking for the sake of networking, but a place where women could share experiences, learn from each other, find mentors and advocates, and feel more connected to the industry as a whole.

2. There are many talented women working in factoring who aren't actively involved in industry organizations. Why do you think that is, and how can this group help change that?

Randi: I think sometimes it's simply a matter of exposure and access. Earlier in my career, I worked in factoring for eight years before I really understood the opportunities that existed to become involved in the broader industry. I knew conferences were happening, but they felt somewhat removed from my day-to-day role.

Industry involvement is incredibly valuable. It gives people access to education, relationships, new ideas, and a much broader understanding of what's happening in factoring beyond their own organization.

I think Women in Factoring can help create that entry point for more women. We can introduce them to the larger factoring community, encourage them to participate, and give them opportunities to build relationships and knowledge that ultimately benefits both their careers and the companies they work for.

Renee: A lot of talented women in factoring are heads-down running deals, managing portfolios, or building their book of business, and industry organizations can feel like an extra commitment on top of an already full plate. Many also came up the way I did, learning on the desk rather than through formal industry channels, so they never built the habit of showing up at conferences or joining committees. And if you don't see other women already in those rooms, it's easy to assume they're not for you.

Women in Factoring can change that by lowering the barrier to entry: giving women a reason to show up that isn't just networking for its own sake, but real connection with people who understand their specific challenges. Once a few women get in the room and see people like themselves, it becomes much easier for the next ones to follow.

3. Throughout your own career, were there people who helped you grow professionally? How has that shaped your commitment to mentorship and community?

Kait: Absolutely. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentors who invested in me along the way.

Tina Birchak was my first real mentor early in my career. She opened doors for me, pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and encouraged me to take on opportunities before I always knew I was ready. She taught me a lot about leadership, accountability, and continuing to challenge myself as I grew.

Brian Center has also been incredibly influential. He took me under his wing when I was still learning factoring, let me ask a million questions, challenged the way I thought, and became someone I could turn to during some of the harder moments when I needed perspective or encouragement.

They’ve shown me that mentorship can look different depending on what you need at that point in your career. Sometimes it’s someone opening a door, sometimes it’s someone teaching you, and sometimes it’s someone reminding you to keep going.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have those people in my life, and I hope Women in Factoring helps more women find that kind of support and eventually become that person for someone else.

Renee: Absolutely, and there were many. Dennis and Wood Kaufman taught me the business itself, but it was the women around me who showed me how to hold my own in it. 

Sherry Wood, co-founder of TBS Factoring Service LLC, was tough but tender, with a work ethic I've never seen matched. Tami Landis, our CFO for years, was smart, driven, and took no crap when it came to protecting the bottom line. Annie Lillard trained me from day one. She was like a ray of sun, shiny as a new penny, and her calm strength and generosity with clients and colleagues rubbed off on everyone lucky enough to work with her. TinaMarie Sulpizio was always on her game and never afraid to stand in front of a room and teach. Danielle LaPaglia helped every woman in factoring with her gentle voice and sunny disposition. She was the key behind FactorSoft. 

Some of these women are no longer with us, but what they gave me still shapes how I show up every day. That's exactly why mentorship and community matter so much to me. I had women who poured into me without expecting anything back. Women in Factoring is my way of making sure that keeps happening for the next generation, so their names and their generosity live on in how we treat each other.

4. Factoring professionals come from many different roles—operations, sales, underwriting, finance, credit, risk, executive leadership, and more. How do you hope Women in Factoring brings these different perspectives together?

Kim: Our hope is that Women in Factoring creates opportunities for all roles and perspectives to intersect. A salesperson can gain a better understanding of how underwriting evaluates risk. An operations professional can learn how early conversations shape client expectations. An emerging leader can hear how executives weigh growth, profitability, and culture when making decisions.

When we stay within our own functions, it is easy to see only one part of the business. Bringing women from different roles together helps us understand how decisions affect the entire organization. It also creates opportunities for members to discover career paths they may not have previously considered and to recognize how transferable their skills truly are.

Randi: One of the interesting things about factoring is how many of us, especially in smaller organizations, end up wearing a lot of hats. You may become an expert in one area and suddenly find yourself needing to understand something completely different.

That's where having this network becomes incredibly valuable. You can say, "I don't know this, but who does?" and have access to women across operations, sales, credit, risk, technology, finance, and leadership who are willing to share what they know.

We all bring something different to the table. Creating a space where those perspectives can come together gives all of us an opportunity to learn beyond our own roles.

5. Looking back on your own career, what is one piece of advice you wish someone had shared with you earlier?

Kim: Early in my career, I sometimes approached change like a bull in a china shop. I was focused on solving the problem and proving the value of my ideas, but I did not always slow down enough to listen, understand different perspectives, or consider how I was bringing others along.

I have since learned that strong leadership requires both conviction and humility. There will always be people in the room who know more than I do, and their perspectives can make my ideas and decisions better. I do not need to know everything, nor should I. My responsibility is to listen, ask thoughtful questions, make the best decision I can, and treat people with respect throughout the process.

Kait: One piece of advice I wish I had learned earlier is that you do not have to figure everything out on your own.

Lean on the people around you. Ask questions. Reach out to someone who has already dealt with the problem you are trying to solve. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel when someone else has already learned the lesson the hard way and is willing to share it with you.

Earlier in my career, I thought that asking for help meant I was admitting I didn’t know something I should. Now I see it completely differently. Some of the smartest people I know are also the quickest to ask questions and seek out other perspectives.

You can save yourself a lot of time, frustration, and unnecessary mistakes by being willing to learn from the people around you.

6. Finally, what's your invitation to women who are reading this and wondering whether they should get involved?

Kim: My invitation is simple: come as you are and join the conversation.

You do not need a specific title, a certain number of years in the industry, or a perfectly defined career plan. You can come to learn, to share, to find a mentor, to become a mentor, or simply to meet women who understand the industry in which you work.

Women in Factoring will become stronger through the different experiences and perspectives our members bring. Your story may help someone who is navigating a challenge you have already overcome, and another member’s experience may open a door you did not know was available to you.

Getting involved does not have to begin with a major commitment. It can start by attending one event, joining one conversation, or introducing yourself to one new person. We are building a community where women can grow, lead, connect, and empower one another, and there is a place for you in it.

Kait: Join us. You do not need to be an expert, have a certain title, or already know people in the group. If you work in factoring and want to meet more women in the industry, learn from others, share what you know, or feel more connected, there is a place for you here.

Sometimes the hardest part is just putting yourself in the room. Come as you are, get involved in whatever way feels comfortable, and see where the relationships take you.

Randi: Stay in the loop, see what we're doing, and tell us what you want from Women in Factoring. We don't want to build a community based only on what the four of us think women need. We want the women who join us to help shape it.

There will be something here for everyone, whether you want to mentor, be mentored, learn, network, participate in events, share your experience, or simply be connected.

Come on in. The water's fine.

Renee: My invitation is simple: get involved. Don't just read about Women in Factoring, join it, use it, and let it work for you. There's real value here: mentorship, connections, honest conversations, and it's yours for the taking if you show up.

 And if you bring other women with you, even better. There's room for all of us. The more women who join, the stronger this gets for everyone. Come as you are, bring who you can, and help build something bigger than any one of us.

Women in Factoring was created with a simple but meaningful purpose: to ensure women across the factoring industry have a place to connect, learn, and grow together. Whether someone is just beginning a career in factoring or has spent decades in the industry, the group aims to foster genuine relationships, encourage professional development, and create opportunities for more women to become engaged leaders shaping the future of factoring.

As these four founding committee members make clear, Women in Factoring isn't just about creating another networking group—it's about building a lasting community where women support one another, share their experiences, and help open doors for the next generation of industry leaders.

Want to get involved? The best place to start is by joining the IFA Women in Factoring LinkedIn Group and get connected!

Join Here.