Growth on Your Terms: Funding the Next Stage Without the Bank

The opportunity was there. The capital was not. Most business owners have a version of this story. A contract they could have taken. Equipment that would have doubled capacity. A competitor's book that came up for sale. Stock at a price that would not come again. The business was ready. The funding was six to eight weeks away, conditional on last year's tax returns, and secured against the family home. So the answer became no. Paul Boyd Skinner has spent his career on the other side of that conversation. Through NoBnk he has settled hundreds of millions in funding for Australian businesses, working entirely outside the major banks. In this session he opens up how that funding actually works: what it costs, how fast it moves, what it is secured against, and which structure fits which growth problem. This is not a lending pitch. It is a working session on capital structure for owners who intend to grow. What we cover • The seven funding structures available to Australian businesses outside the banks, and the growth problem each one solves • How lenders assess your business on current turnover rather than historical tax returns • Funding against your debtor book, your contracts, your equipment and your commercial property • What genuinely fast settlement looks like, and what has to be true for it to happen • Options that do not require your home as security • Where ATO debt sits, and why it is not the automatic decline most owners assume • The real cost comparison: private lending against equity dilution, against the opportunity you passed on • How to structure funding so it supports the next stage rather than constraining it Who this is for Owners and directors of established Australian businesses with growth in front of them. You will get the most from the room if you are: • Turning over $250k p.a. or more • Carrying a specific growth plan, contract, acquisition or capital purchase you want funded • Frustrated by bank timeframes, documentation demands or security requirements • Weighing debt funding against bringing on an equity partner • Constrained by working capital rather than by demand What you leave with A clear view of which funding structures fit your business, what each one would realistically cost you, and what you would need to put in front of a lender to move. Paul takes live questions on real situations in the room. Format 90 minute session with open question time, followed by refreshments and networking. Numbers are capped at 30 attendees to keep the discussion useful. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Paul Boyd Skinner, Founder, NoBnk Paul founded NoBnk to solve a problem he watched play out repeatedly: good Australian businesses with clear growth ahead of them, held back by lending processes built for a different purpose. NoBnk has since settled hundreds of millions in funding across unsecured business lending, debtor and trade finance, equipment finance, commercial property and development funding, working through private lenders and second tier sources rather than the majors. The business has grown almost entirely on referrals from clients it has funded. Australian Credit Licence No 525666. ABOUT INVESTORS FORUM Investors Forum brings together owners and directors of growing Australian businesses for curated, high value conversations. Our events are deliberately small, deliberately practical, and built around people who are actively building something. See https://investorsforum.com.au