Business Development Associate: Alternative Lending
"Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you protect it." - Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happyness.
Who We Are?
Premium Merchant Funding is one of the largest brokerage platforms in the alternative lending industry.
Twelve years ago we were one office. Today we are 26 offices spread across 4 countries, with lender partners, 30+ capital products, more than $7 billion in funded deals, and a new headquarters at 1 New York Plaza. We take pride in the fact that every one of those 26 offices is run by someone who started in this exact role.
At PMF we fund American business when the big banks tell them no. We support restaurants, contractors, trucking companies, clinics, retailers, the real operators who need capital in days, not quarters.
Why Alternative Lending?
Alternative lending is where the capital went when the banks started pulling back, and it is still growing in 2026. Non-bank private capital now funds American businesses that traditional credit will not touch, and that gap widens every time lending and regulation standards tighten.
It moves faster than investment banking, it pays on execution instead of tenure, and it does not ask you to hand over your twenties and thirties in exchange for a title. Every file is a different business, a different owner, and a different problem for you to solve. Your career will advance based on the deals you close and the book of business you build, not on the years you clock in.
You are also entering one of the few industries where the human being is the product. American Business owners are not talking about their capital needs with a machine. This role is built on human relationships, and our relationships are not getting automated.
What You'll Do?
As a Business Development Associate with our Midtown Manhattan office, you own the front end of the deal. Here is what that looks like:
Run the Phones. High volume outbound contact with business owners every day. Calls, email, and social outreach. This is a cold calling role and the desk rewards activity.
Qualify Fast. Pull the real story out of an owner in the first five minutes. Revenue, time in business, existing positions, use of funds, urgency. Know what a fundable file looks like and don’t waste your time on the ones that are not.
Consult, Don't Pitch. Diagnose the business problem before you name a product. Match the owner to the right structure across 30+ capital solutions and lender partners.
Build the File. Gather documentation, package a clean submission, and hand your closer a file that funds instead of one that stalls.
Work the Desk. Partner with your closing team from submission to funding. Manage the owner through underwriting, stipulations, and contract.
Own the Relationship. Every funded client becomes a page in a book of business that belongs to you. Owners come back two to five times a year and they often refer others. That is the compounding part of a career with PMF.
Know the Market. Stay updated on lender appetite, product changes, and what your competition is offering, so you are never the second best option on a deal.
Hit the Number. Consistent daily application volume and consistent monthly funded deals. The scoreboard is public and it is honest.
What We're Looking For?
- Professional verbal and written communication in English. You will be on the phone with American business owners all day.
- The ability to hold a stranger's attention and build trust quickly.
- Resilience. You will hear no far more often than yes, and the desk belongs to the people who keep dialing.
- Self-motivation and personal accountability without being managed.
- A competitive, goal oriented mindset. We recruit for drive and coachability over resumes.
- Comfort learning product and credit fundamentals quickly. Financial experience is not required. Curiosity is.
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience. No specific major required.
- Familiarity with CRM tools such as Salesforce is a plus.
Who Thrives Here?
Sales professionals. If you have worked the door, the phone, or the floor, you already have the foundation and you will ramp faster than anyone.
Veterans and college athletes. Disciplined, accountable, and built for environments where performance is the only scoreboard. A significant number of our office managers come from this background.
Campus leaders and recent graduates. If you ran an organization, led a room, or held peers accountable, you already think like someone who belongs on this floor.
Why You'll Love It?
On Target Earnings. Year one OTE $60,000-125,000. Year two OTE of 100,000-250,000
A Book You Own. Most sales jobs reset to zero on the first of the month. This one does not. Your clients return and refer, which is why the third year on the desk looks nothing like the first.
A Growing Industry. Alternative lending is expanding while traditional credit tightens. You are getting on the elevator on the way up, in a business where the deal flow grows with the economy's pressure, not against it.
The Floor. Midtown Manhattan, steps from Grand Central. A team that competes to be the top office in the company every single day and celebrates when it wins.
What Success Looks Like?
- Consistent daily application volume from your own pipeline.
- Your first funded deal inside the first 60 days.
- Multiple funded deals a week as your book matures.
- Recognized as the person who knows the products, the lenders, and the owner on the other end of the phone.
Ready?
Bring the drive. We will hand you the platform, the lender network, the products, and a floor full of people who want you to win.
"If you want something, go get it. Period."