Most decisions look fine on paper. The real question is whether your business can carry what they require.
15+ years across investment services, small business banking, and commercial banking, reviewing financing requests, business commitments, and capital decisions across multiple industries.
Services available in English | Français
These are the moments that bring owner-operators to Second Perspective. Not because something is wrong. Because something important is at stake.
"Declined. Told maybe. Or approved on terms heavier than I expected."
Readiness is examined before the application, not after.
"We're growing, but I can't tell if we're ready."
Growth creates pressure. Readiness deserves examination.
"We need help. I'm not sure we can carry the commitment."
Hiring is a commitment that arrives every two weeks.
"This looks like a great business. What am I missing?"
Excitement and examination are not the same thing.
"I trust them. That doesn't mean I should sign."
Trust is not a substitute for clarity.
"Everyone has an opinion. I'm the one who lives with the consequences."
Independent examination. No agenda. Just clarity before commitment.
The Core Observation
The decision is the moment. The commitment is what follows it.
The visible purpose of a lease is location. The commitment is fixed overhead and reduced flexibility for sixty months.
The visible purpose of a hire is capacity. The commitment is payroll and management attention that arrives every two weeks regardless of revenue.
The visible purpose of a loan is financing. The commitment is a multi-year obligation that narrows the margin for error on everything that follows.
We stress test the decision against your business, before you commit.
Financial Reality
What do the numbers reveal? Cash flow, debt, margins, working capital, capacity.
Business Reality
What would need to be true for this to work? People, systems, execution, management capacity.
Decision Reality
What is actually being decided, once the momentum carrying it is set aside?
Human Reality
What does carrying this commitment mean for the owner? Time, stress, flexibility, relationships, lifestyle.
Every Financing Readiness Review produces a written summary specific to your situation, covering what you're requesting, what lenders will look for, and what the commitment could mean for your business over time.
This is an independent readiness review based on banking and lending experience, not financial, legal, or accounting advice. We encourage you to speak with your own advisors before making a final decision.
What We Review
Financing purpose and structure
Cash flow capacity and existing debt
Likely lender concerns and readiness gaps
Assumptions worth testing before you apply
Hector Faucompre
Founder, Second Perspective
English | Français
For more than fifteen years across investment services, small business banking, and commercial banking, I worked close to financing requests, growth decisions, capital commitments, and business purchases across multiple industries. That experience, combined with a BBA in Finance and Economics and the previously-earned Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation, shaped a specific view of how decisions that look reasonable can carry consequences that are difficult to unwind.
I reviewed hundreds of files. What I kept seeing, and rarely had the time to examine properly, was how a commitment would affect the business in year one, year three, and year five, and whether it actually fit the plan the owner was trying to build.
The accountant examines tax implications. The lawyer examines legal risk. The banker examines financing and repayment. Each is right, and each sees only part of the picture: a hire affects far more than payroll, an expansion far more than financing, a purchase far more than the price.
Second Perspective looks across the whole commitment, in the context of the owner's goals, assumptions, and the business they are actually trying to build.
That's a different conversation, not a better one, and it's the one Second Perspective was built to have.
Most owners don't need more information. They need someone to help them see the decision more clearly, before it becomes a commitment they can't easily unwind.
For owners who’ve been declined, told “maybe,” or already signed something heavier than expected. A workbook that walks through how lenders actually evaluate a request, and what to fix before you ask again.
Founder’s launch price. First edition.
When the decision carries consequences that could follow your business for years, an independent perspective is worth more than another opinion from someone with a stake in the outcome.
The decision is made once.
Second Perspective
The commitment is lived every day that follows.