A True Entrepreneur: Remembering the Life and Times of David Rains

David Rains was one of the first dedicated recruiters for the factoring industry and helped place scores of professionals at some of the top factors in the United States before his untimely passing this year. But Rains’ impact went beyond the bottom line, as he was one of the industry’s greatest advocates and a source of joy to all.

BY PHIL NEUFFER

The factoring and asset-based lending industries lost a legend this year, as David Rains, the president and founder of Commercial Finance Consultants, passed away at the age of 64 due to complications from COVID-19. Rains was known throughout the industry for his quick wit, entrepreneurial spirit and his success as a recruiter within the factoring and ABL industries.

“David placed so many people in our industry. He must have placed a thousand people,” Allen Frederic, managing director of corporate finance at Infinity Financial Group and a long-time friend of Rains’, says. “And since David’s passing, I’ve talked to several colleagues that have said, ‘You know it just dawned on me how much David helped our company. He was instrumental in helping us grow because of the people he placed with us.’”

BEFORE FACTORING

Rains was born in Bridgeport, TX in 1955. At the age of 15, he ran away from home and enlisted in the Air Force with a falsified birth certificate. Two years later, as he was preparing to leave for Vietnam, a background check revealed he had not yet turned 18. He was discharged and invited to come back when he was of age.

During his time with the Air Force, Rains was introduced to the world of illegal drugs, which ultimately led to his incarceration. Rains spent 11 years in prison but left a changed man. During his sentence, he transferred to the only unit in the Texas penal system that would allow him access to higher education. Once there, he completed his degree in psychology and, upon his release, strived to live a life dedicated to his family and his religion, according to Debra Wilson-Zukonik, Rains’ younger sister and chief credit officer of Dare Capital, who says Rains vowed never to touch drugs or alcohol again and kept that promise for the rest of his life. Additionally, Rains was always forthright about his personal history.

“When he got out, it was really hard for him to get a job because he was unwilling to lie to anyone or to not tell anyone the entire truth about his past,” Wilson-Zukonik says.

Rains learned the cruel reality that faces many former prisoners, as he struggled to find work after being released. Wilson-Zukonik notes that he went into prison before the dawn of the internet age and returned when it had already begun, putting him behind the curve even more. However, a meeting with Mark Rednick, then a president of a local chapter of executive search firm MRI Recruiting, changed the trajectory of Rains’ life.

“David basically sat down in front of him and said, ‘I’m a very good salesperson. I know I could do this. I would be a great employee, but I have to be honest about my history.’ And he was. Mark hired him despite his history because he believed that David was a changed man,” Wilson-Zukonik says.

Rains rewarded Rednick’s faith with excellent production, winning numerous awards in his first year with the company. Wilson-Zukonik observed his success and encouraged Rains to start a recruiting business for the factoring industry. According to Wilson-Zukonik, at that time there were few if any recruiting operations within factoring.

“I told him that he should be a recruiter for our industry,” Wilson-Zukonik says. “It was difficult to find good people as there were no recruiters dedicated to our industry at that time. So he became one, a very good one. In fact, he was the best.”

For someone as entrepreneurial as Rains, the opportunity was too good to pass up. Rains approached Rednick, negotiated an exit from his contract and opened Commercial Finance Consultants, which he would lead until his death.

A TRUE ENTREPRENEUR

Frederic, who is also a managing director of Commercial Finance Associates, a subsidiary of Commercial Finance Consultants and a business partner with David and his son, Christopher Rains, at Commercial Finance Associates, was one of the first people David Rains met in the factoring industry. Their first introduction began the forging of a life-long friendship primarily because Rains, as always, was unabashedly himself.

Frederic knew Wilson-Zukonik through the factoring industry and met with Rains on her suggestion. Upon entering the room, Frederic was greeted by Rains, who said in his Texas twang, “Hi, I’m David Rains. My sister said a lot of good things about you. But you know, sometimes she’s not a good judge of character,” concluding with a laugh that Frederic affectionately describes as a “throaty howl.”

“You know when I think of him, I just start laughing because I think of all the funny things that happened over the years with David,” Frederic says. “I think of all of his jokes. I think about his laugh. I think literally about all the foolishness we talked about. David loved to make people laugh, loved to make people smile.”

Pat Haney, a former group president of Crestmark who has since retired, was another one of Rains’ first contacts in the industry and one of Rains’ first clients following the launch of Commercial Finance Consultants. Haney’s experience with Rains speaks to the success of Commercial Finance Consultants and Rains himself.

“David connected me with some of my very best employees over the years,” Haney says. “I think I was very fortunate to have worked with David because, again, looking back on our company’s success, as you well know, a company is only as good as its people, and David was very good at connecting us with good people.”

Haney was one of many factoring leaders who can attribute some of their success to Rains and his ability to connect companies with the right candidates. But Rains wasn’t just focused on getting someone in the door and collecting a check.

“He listened to people in order to try to help them, both the employee and employers, find the perfect match so that they could both be more successful,” Wilson-Zukonik says. “He worked hard to understand the culture of each company so he could place the right people with the right places so everyone was happy and successful.”

Beyond his dedication, Rains also had an in-depth knowledge of the industry and inherent traits such as his sincerity, integrity and energy, according to Frederic.

“David was very good at reading people. He could read body language,” Frederic says. “He was extremely quick on his feet. He could use wit, he could use humor. He could use a number of things to defuse a situation, to take control of a situation. He was the world’s greatest salesman.”

“One of his real strengths was that he just possessed a lot of data relative to the personnel within our industry,” Haney says. “Although there are a number of banks and private institutions that do what we do, David made it his business to know as much as anybody that I could speak to relative to what the situation would be for that type of person in any given market.”

Rains’ dedication stretched beyond his own company and encompassed the entire factoring industry. He and Wilson-Zukonik founded FactorHelp, which assists factoring companies with consulting, educational resources, audits, acquisitions and expert witness services. Rains also was a board member of the American Factoring Association, and willingly donated both his time and money lobbying on behalf of the industry. In addition, Rains was a staple at industry events and always left a lasting impression on the people he met.

“He literally could walk into a room of a hundred people, and by the time he’d get to you, he knew everybody’s name and what they did,” Frederic says.

“He was a walking Rolodex of the entire industry, but he knew much more than just names and company association. He cared about the people he served, so he remembered details about their families, their hobbies and such,” Wilson-Zukonik says.

LASTING IMPACT

As if his professional endeavors were not enough, Rains also was heavily involved in community service, particularly his work with the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, a non-profit organization that helps inmates by providing education and mentoring. For Rains, it was a chance to use his own life experience to teach and provide the type of opportunities that he didn’t have when he left prison.

“They expect people who go to prison to go back again and again. And it’s not a surprise that they expect that because once someone has gone to prison, it’s extremely hard for them to make it in the real world. It’s hard to get a decent job. It’s hard to repair relationships that their former lives have damaged,” Wilson-Zukonik says. “[David] was very passionate about the challenges that ex-convicts face. He knew that without marketable skills and a real change in your character, it’s very hard for ex-convicts to make it. He wanted to help pave the way for ex-convicts to be productive members of society.

“David always teased that, ‘He made me what I am today by being hard on me when I was a kid.’ He actually made me what I am today due to his steadfast belief in me and my abilities. That is the same gift he gave to so many people in the factoring and ABL industries and to the men in the PEP ministry. He believed in our potential and he gave consistent encouragement to reach it.”

Gail Reints, president of Sky Business Credit, echoes Wilson-Zukonik’s sentiment.

“David was a very good friend. He offered me a lot of guidance and important introductions over the years that helped facilitate the growth and success of my business,” Reints says. “I wasn’t even aware until recently that he had helped facilitate some opportunities for me that without his endorsement I would not have had. He did this because he cared about me and believed in me and for no other reason. He always had so much faith in my abilities in this industry.”

Regardless of whether he was recruiting for factoring companies, advocating for the industry, dedicating his time to community service or enjoying time with his family, Rains always had a smile, and in many ways that smile radiated across an entire industry.

“You always just saw this joyful person,” Frederic says. “It was kind of like he was spreading pixie dust all around; he was spreading joy wherever he went.”

“His goal both personally and professionally was to help people make positive changes in their lives, and he certainly did so,” Wilson-Zukonik says. “While he was at it, he helped take our entire industry to a whole new level.”

“David was a man that always told me I was family and he treated me that way since the day I met him,” Reints says. “I never understood why, but I knew I felt the same about him and the rest of his family. You don’t get to meet too many people that are so genuine and down to earth, so when you do you keep that relationship. I can’t imagine not being able to pick up the phone anymore and hearing that southern drawl say ‘Hey, darlin!’ David will be greatly missed. He probably had no idea the impact he had on my life and so many others. Thank you, David!” •