Capital Funding Corporation, CFC, especially president Ben Soloman, really seems to have a legal deception business model. Though what they are doing may not be classified as "illegal", it definetely is unethical.
CFC invited my company out to their pompano beach location after they had offered great comments and positive reaction to my business plan in 2004. They convinced me that making the trip to Florida was in my best interest to move forward with raising capital for my business.
Believing that they truly were interested in taking my company to the funding level, I decided to travel to Florida.
Coming from the Southwest, I spent a good deal of money on the airfare, rental car, hotel, and other travel related expenses. I also took the time to fully prepare multiple copies of my extended business plan which weren't cheap to print.in addition, I brought product samples and prototypes which also increased shipping costs.
Well, when I got there they talked the talk and sure looked legitimate. They pretty much sat me in a conference room all day long, kept replenishing food and beverages, and really made me feel comfortable.
Problem was, they really had no interest at all in analyzing my business plan, financial projections, request for funding, product demonstration, etc. Etc.
At the end of the day and after little actual business discussion, Ben Soloman presented me with a proposal for Capital Funding Corporation, CFC, to fully improve my business plan and get it ready for pitch to investors. They claimed that their were several areas that needed to either be added, deleted, and/or improved.
I think they requested $10,000 but after I said I couldn't afford it they dropped it to $5,000. Upon further discussion, I told them that I could go back and do my own business plan update and my education, experience, and resources were plenty for me to update the plan.
They really didn't like the fact that they were not going to sell me on their business plan consulting so they politely asked me to leave. They pretended to have a big meeting or something thus I had to leave their conference room.
Still not knowing that I'd been scammed, I went back home and did the business plan update. When it was completed I attempted to contact the folks at CFC however they would not return calls, e-mails, and mailed communication. They would not even acknowledge that we had met and they refused to confirm meeting minutes or my non-disclosure agreement (because I deal with new technology).
When it was all said and done, I learned that companies out there will claim to be investors or at least networked with investors however all they want to do is sell you on consulting services, retainer fees, letter of intent fees, etc. Etc.
After seeing another report on CFC in the usacomplaints.com, I felt obligated to post my story. It is too bad they go after the start up businesses. They make their money by misleading people trying to start businesses that their business is capable of receiving investment money.
What they do instead of helping is set businesses back both financially and by time.
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