Aequum Capital
Rick Kaufmann is an accomplished financial professional with a diverse background in commercial lending, risk management, and business development. Currently serving as a Governance Board Member, Treasurer, and Chairman of the Finance Committee at Helping Hand since January 2023, Rick is also the Co-Founder and Chief Risk Officer of Aequum Capital, a commercial lending platform established in January 2021. Previously, Rick held senior advisory and management roles at IntraFi Local Credit and CIBC US, where Rick drove significant credit and banking service growth for mid-market firms. With extensive experience in developing financing solutions for small and medium businesses, Rick has also founded several companies and served as a key leader in various banking institutions throughout their career. Rick holds an MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BA in English Literature and German from the University of Michigan.
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Aequum Capital
“Aequum” is latin for “what is right/fair/equitable”. Small businesses that don’t qualify for bank loans have many options available to them, however often times these options come with conditions that make it difficult for small businesses to succeed. We believe that relationships are the key to success and as such, hold Trust, Integrity, and Respect, as part of our core values. At Aequum, we strive to provide financing that is right, fair, and equitable to all parties. Aequum is a company started by five career lending executives and entrepreneurs with over 100 years of collective experience. We are a tech-enabled commercial lending platform for companies looking to find financing between $2MM and $15MM who are not otherwise eligible for traditional bank financing. Aequum’s platform allows for efficient underwriting, funding, servicing, and portfolio management to ensure low overhead costs that can be passed on to our borrowers. We are taking a consultative lending approach and bringing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies to improve our borrower’s operations and ultimately provide a path to traditional bank financing. Using this strategy, we will create an ecosystem where each stakeholder in the process (the borrowers, bank partners, investors, and sponsorship) are incentivized to optimize ESG philosophies, in particular governance, at the borrowers level.