Bank Loan Rejection Letters

File under "If At First You Don't Succeed"

Each one of these rejection letters has a story behind it. HSBC, Citibank, Chase, Community Capital Bank, New York Business Development Center, Commerce Bank, Hudson United Bank, Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, Independence Community Bank and Northfolk Bank, we received 10 rejections in total. In one bank's case, we were told by one of their loan officers that the loan looked like a "sure thing" and that we should expect "great news in the next week." We never heard from them again in spite of the fact that we repeatedly followed up with emails and voice messages. Their silence spoke more than their words could have. Another bank's underwriter (not knowing that we were standing in her presence) responded to our loan request to her colleague with, "Oh No, Not another restaurant!"

After winning the Brooklyn Business Library's PowerUP! Business Plan competition, we assumed that the bankers would be more than happy to work with us. How wrong we were. Along the way we learned a number of things when it comes to banks. Some of those lessons are:

Rule #1: Banks don't like restaurants - especially start-ups.
Rule #2: Banks aren't venture capitalists.
Rule #3: Banks want collateral! Have a house, they want it.
Rule #4: It's really important to have a good relationship with your banker. Having a good relationship with your banker can pave the way towards raising money for whatever your goals and dreams may be.
Rule #5: Don't take rejection personally.
Rule #6: Don't give up. No matter what. Don't give up.

After 10 rejections we didn't give up and eventually the money did come through. We did get loans throught HSBC (a different branch than the one that rejected us), Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and The Business Outreach Center. We had anticipated that the funding process would take 1 to 3 months, it took 14 months. It just goes to show that you must expect the unexpected.