Capital Capital - Out to Lunch - It's Baton Rouge

Whether you re starting a business or growing a business, one of
the biggest challenges you face is access to capital. Where do you
find investors How do you get a loan It s a problem that is not at
all unique to Baton Rouge, but in a mid sized city like ours it can
be particularly challenging for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Rob Powell is in the business of helping find solutions to the
access to capital dilemma. He owns Cardinal Capital, a commercial
loan and equity brokerage house. It s a relatively new venture for
Rob, who has more than two decades experience with some successful
companies, including Grand Casinos and Rain Forest Caf , both of
which he helped take public in the 1990s. Rob has extensive
experience in marketing and branding and his career has taken him
around the world. Now he s back in his hometown of Baton Rouge
helping connect business ventures to sources of capital across the
country. When Rob is helping clients identify sources of financing,
among the places he looks is the bank. Jude Melville is the bank.
Jude is President and CEO of Business First Bank, a rapidly growing
full service bank with a particular emphasis as its name suggests
on being a commercial lending institution with a focus on business
clientele. In 2015 Business First completed a merger with American
Gateway Bank in Baton Rouge, giving the new Business First Bank
assets of more than 1.1 billion and 16 branches around the state.
Bradley Sanchez is a young entrepreneur, a Baton Rouge native and
LSU graduate, who went off to work for a Broadway production
company in New York before returning to his hometown to work in
marketing with Pinnacle Entertainment. In 2013, Bradley opened The
Salad Shop on Perkins Road and in 2015 opened a second location on
Coursey. Bradley s looking to expand in and beyond Baton Rouge.
Jude and Rob kick around some growth options with him. By all
accounts there s money for business in Baton Rouge. If you want to
find out where exactly and how to get your hands on it, this
conversation over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard is a good place
to start.

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