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Guest: Levi — Founder/Builder at Nav
Topic: Making business credit visible, useful, and fundable.
Key Takeaways
- Business credit ≠ consumer credit. The ecosystem is opaque; owners often don’t know what’s being scored—or why. Nav makes it legible and actionable.
- Visibility first, capital second. You can’t optimize what you can’t see. Pull your business credit data, fix errors, and understand how banks read your file.
- Cash-flow signals matter. The wrong checking account or weak deposits can silently disqualify you from entire categories of financing.
- Right product, right stage. Lines, cards, term loans, and revenue-based financing each fit different business seasons. Matching beats “spray and pray.”
- Data > guesswork. Nav’s approach reduces randomness by aligning real business data with lender criteria—moving you from “no idea” to “next step.”
What We Cover
- The “blind spot” in traditional small-business credit and how Nav closes it.
- How to build a real business credit profile (beyond your personal FICO).
- Cleaning up silent killers: bank account choice, thin files, mismatched signals.
- Funding ladders: which instruments to use and when to move up.
- The future of business credit data and where underwriting is headed.
Practical Actions for Owners
- Pull your business credit reports (all major bureaus) and correct inaccuracies.
- Bank where you build: choose accounts that strengthen underwriting signals.
- Sequence your funding: start with the product that fits today’s data, not tomorrow’s hopes.
- Separate personal and business credit early; establish consistent trade lines.
- Monitor monthly so you can course-correct before you apply.
Memorable Lines
- “You don’t know it’s eliminating you from financing—until someone shows you.”
- “Visibility isn’t vanity; it’s eligibility.”
- “Match the capital to the stage, not the dream.”
Resources Mentioned
- Nav – business credit visibility and funding matches.
- Major business credit bureaus (e.g., D&B, Experian, Equifax).
- Business credit cards, lines of credit, term loans, revenue-based financing.
About the Guest
Levi is the founder behind Nav, serving 2.4M+ small-business users and backed by $200M+ in capital. He’s an operator-investor who’s sat on multiple fintech boards and spends his time solving real owner problems with clean data and clear decisions.
More from Jim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mccarthyhatch/
https://www.mccarthy-hatch.com/
