Education M.B.A. Website Chris Hurn on LinkedIn | Name Christopher Hurn | |
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Occupation writer, entrepreneur, business executive Known for Founder, Fountainhead Commercial Capital Alma mater Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania | ||
Christopher Hurn is an American writer, entrepreneur, and business executive who works primarily in the field of small business lending. He is the founder and CEO of Fountainhead Commercial Capital, a company that provides commercial real estate financing and growth capital for small business owners. He previously founded Mercantile Capital Corporation, a financier of owner-occupied commercial real estate and an Inc. 500 company. He served as CEO of that company prior to leaving in late 2014 to launch Fountainhead.
Contents
Hurn is the author of The Entrepreneur's Secret to Creating Wealth: How The Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes, a book that details financing for small business owners. He is also a frequent media commentator, appearing on Fox Business to discuss issues relating to small business, and a regular contributor for The Huffington Post. As an entrepreneur and small business owner, he founded Kennedy's All-American Barber Club which operates stores nationally in the United States.
Education
Hurn graduated from Loyola University Chicago where he earned two bachelor's degrees, magna cum laude. He went on to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, earning his M.B.A before a brief stint at Georgetown University Law Center. He left Georgetown early to pursue a career in finance.
Career
Hurn began his career in lending with GE Capital before moving on to Heller Financial. His lending experience led him to become an entrepreneur when he co-founded Mercantile Capital Corporation in 2002. The company specialized in small business loans that are backed by commercial real estate. The company first loaned to businesses in Florida, but expanded beyond the state shortly thereafter. It used the SBA 504 Loan program to help small businesses obtain financing and was listed on the Inc. 500 list at #245 in 2007, on the Inc. 5000 list at #1683 in 2008, and on the Inc. 5000 list at #3,776 in 2009. Mercantile was sold to Old Florida National Bank in 2010, with Old Florida National Bank later being acquired by IBERIABANK. Hurn stayed on as the company's CEO until he left the firm in late 2014.
Hurn authored The Entrepreneur's Secret to Creating Wealth: How The Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes, a financial advice book that he released in October 2012. The book details strategies for small business wealth creation. Inc. editor Bo Burlington stated that the book is "an invaluable guide to a crucial, but often overlooked, aspect of building a business" while Secrets of the Millionaire Mind author T. Harv Eker stated that it was a "hands-on strateg[y] for your own financial freedom." Hurn is also a regular contributor for The Huffington Post.
Hurn founded Fountainhead Commercial Capital in February 2015. The company specializes in SBA 504 loans and initially launched in 12 states. Fountainhead provides 504 first mortgages as a third party lender and interim second mortgages for acquisition, ground-up construction, and renovations. It is a non-bank, national commercial lender that provides other commercial loan programs in addition to its SBA lending.
Hurn is also a small business owner and listed as the principal of numerous businesses, including ATCC Management Group, Kennedy's International Franchising, and SpreheFamily Investments. Kennedy's is a chain of barbershops (Kennedy's All-American Barber Club]] with locations in Florida, Connecticut, and New Jersey, with Hurn operating one of the franchises in Lake Mary, Florida.
Hurn has made numerous media appearances and provided commentary for media outlets that include multiple appearances on Fox Business, PBS NewsHour, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal , and CNNMoney. He also testified before the United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship in March 2012. and His work in finance has led to him receiving numerous awards and recognition, some of which include Top Twenty Most Influential People in Small Business Lending, SBA Marketing Guru of the Year, Top 25 Twitter Small Business Experts to Follow, and Top 100 Small Business Influence Champion.
He recently was interviewed on the changes in the 504 programs.