From Wall Street to Homelessness: How He Rebuilt Everything & Deployed $250M | Ep 308 with Frank Scarso Founder of Avanza Capital Holdings

Summary

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Founder's Story Ep 308: From Wall Street to Homelessness—Frank Scarso’s Journey and The $250M Rebuild

Guest: Frank Scarso, Founder of Avanza Capital Holdings
Host: IBH Media
Date: February 16, 2026

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Overview

In this raw and inspiring episode, Frank Scarso shares his remarkable journey from the heights of Wall Street finance through a period of devastating loss and homelessness, to founding Avanza Capital Holdings—a company that’s since deployed over $250 million to small businesses overlooked by traditional banks. Frank delves into the personal motivation that drove his comeback, the principles guiding his business and leadership philosophy, and the lessons learned through adversity. His story is one of grit, family, service, and a relentless commitment to helping those like his former self: people in need of a second chance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Frank’s Rock Bottom and Motivation to Rebuild

• Frank’s lowest point came after losing everything: Decades in finance, followed by a rapid unraveling, left him estranged from his wife and children, not seeing his kids for 18 months.
  • “For me the motivation was I just wanted to go home.” (Frank, 02:02)
• Family as the catalyst for recovery: The sense of responsibility to his wife and three children left him with “no choice but to fix what I broke.”
  • “If I was a single guy, and I didn't have kids, we'd be talking about a completely different story.” (Frank, 02:17)

Choosing Entrepreneurship Over Employment

• Frank always gravitated toward leadership and independence, describing himself as “a team leader”—working for himself felt natural despite the setbacks.
  • “I just didn't want to work for somebody. I wanted to move forward and hunt my own company.” (Frank, 02:55)
• Avanza Capital Holdings “kind of fell into his lap”, starting small and snowballing over nine years.

The Small Business Funding Gap

• Frank saw a broken “merchant cash advance” (MCA) industry lacking customer care.
  • “Customer service is really not something that that's out there. So I kind of brought a little bit of a human touch to this industry.” (Frank, 03:49)
• Emphasizes empathy, treating clients as people:
  • “Just be a human being and listen to people. When a merchant's having problem making payments, you have to understand life happens.” (Frank, 03:53)
• Warns about the expensive and potentially risky nature of MCA funding:
  • "I try to talk merchants out of it, unless they really need the money." (Frank, 05:20)

Who Avanza Serves and Why Banks Fail Small Businesses

• Avanza does not focus on startups but on businesses with at least 1-2 years of operating history (including those established for decades), covering a wide range of sectors.
• Traditional banks overlook small businesses:
  • “Banks are really not looking to bet on small businesses... they’d rather bet on bigger corporations.” (Frank, 07:16)
  • “You go to a bank, it takes three months just to get declined. We can get your funding done within a couple hours.” (Frank, 07:54)
• Speed, flexibility, and humanity are Avanza’s edge.

Personal Legacy: Lessons from Family and Mentorship

• Frank’s father taught him early on:
  • “Whatever you do, just be proud. Do it correct or don’t do it at all.” (Frank, 09:01)
• Strong belief in mentorship, having both mentored others and surrounded himself with people “smarter than you so that you can learn from them.”
  • “I mentor and I help people for free... it helps me give back a little bit. Something to the world.” (Frank, 10:28)

Evolving Leadership: From Wall Street Aggression to Empathy

• On Wall Street, Frank was a “guns blazing” leader—now, after eight years of sobriety and recovery, he’s more understanding, hands-on, and resilient.
  • “My style has changed. I'm a little bit more of embracing as a boss…” (Frank, 11:34)
  • “Going through what I went through was probably the worst thing that someone can endure. And if I can get through that... there’s nothing that I can’t get through.” (Frank, 14:03)

The Explosion of Private Credit & Market Trends

• Growth in alternative finance is driven by banks dubbing small businesses “unbankable,” forcing a shift to private credit and alternative lenders.
  • “Pretty much the banks have cannibalized themselves, so to speak.” (Frank, 15:56)
• Institutional money is surging into the space as risks are better managed by non-banks.

Scaling a Multi-Location Business: Talent & Technology

• Critical to Avanza’s growth: Accessing good talent, particularly outside New York, by opening offices in North Carolina and Florida.
  • “Talent… changed the game a little bit.” (Frank, 16:33)
• AI and software are helpful tools for processing data, but final decisions in underwriting still require human empathy and judgment.
  • “You always need that final human touch… you have to look beyond the numbers.” (Frank, 17:31)

Goal Setting & Measuring Success

• Stresses setting realistic, attainable short- and long-term goals; hard work plus a bit of luck is the recipe.
  • “It’s the short term goals... that get you to the longer term goals…” (Frank, 19:19)

Frank’s Memoir: The Hard Way Home

• Inspiration: To provide hope—if his story helps even one person in addiction, hardship, or mental struggle, it’s worth it.
  • “You're never really truly alone, even when you feel like you are alone." (Frank, 20:13)
• Writing it was cathartic and reflective:
  • “I didn’t realize for a while what I went through until I wrote the book… inspired myself again, if that makes sense.” (Frank, 21:28)
• Most pivotal memory—a moment of enlightenment after a conversation with his brother about creating good memories for his kids became his “turning point.”
  • “It was just something so profound to me, and I can’t explain it—but it changed me as a person.” (Frank, 22:22)

How to Connect with Frank / Book Info

• The Hard Way Home is available on Amazon and major book retailers.
• Avanza Capital Holdings online: avanza.nyc
  • “If they wanted to get in touch with us, they can just go to our website...” (Frank, 24:03)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On rebuilding for family:
  • “My driving force was I just wanted to go home. However long it took.” (Frank, 02:05)
• On funding advice:
  • “Try to pinch your pennies where you can because it all adds up ... the MCA space, it's expensive money. ... You have to understand the risks as well as the benefits.” (Frank, 05:20)
• On institutional neglect of small business:
  • “Banks ... take three months just to get declined. We can get your funding done within a couple hours.” (Frank, 07:54)
• On mentorship:
  • “Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you so that you can learn from them.” (Frank, 10:28)
• On leadership growth:
  • “I used to be a lot rougher, a lot, you know, guns blazing ... my style has changed. I'm a little bit more of embracing as a boss.” (Frank, 11:34)
• On writing his memoir:
  • “If my story can help one person ... it was well worth it for me.” (Frank, 20:13)
  • “I didn't realize for a while what I went through until I wrote the book... I sort of in a kind of weird way, kind of, like, inspired myself again...” (Frank, 21:28)
• On his pivotal turning point:
  • “He said, Don't you want your children to have good memories of their childhood like we did? And that just blew me away … it changed me as a person.” (Frank, 22:22)

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Memorable Segments & Timestamps

• Frank’s motivation to rebuild: [02:02–02:39]
• Why choose entrepreneurship over a job: [02:52–03:16]
• Insights on the small business funding landscape: [03:42–05:17]
• Advice for business owners about funding risks: [05:17–06:14]
• Banks vs. alternative lenders: [07:16–08:09]
• Personal values from Frank’s father: [09:00–09:43]
• Mentorship and learning: [10:03–10:50]
• Evolving as a leader after recovery: [11:33–14:25]
• Industry outlook for private credit: [15:05–15:56]
• Talent and company scaling: [16:28–17:13]
• The limits (and uses) of AI in lending: [17:27–18:18]
• Setting (and reaching) goals: [18:54–19:42]
• On writing The Hard Way Home, motivations and reflections: [20:13–22:03]
• Pivotal family memory and turning point: [22:21–23:11]
• Connecting with Frank and his company/book: [24:00–24:15]

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Tone and Takeaway

Frank’s approach is honest, humble, and both streetwise and sensitive. His willingness to share his darkest moments, learned lessons, and the way he’s turned trauma into a force for good makes this episode deeply inspiring for entrepreneurs, founders in crisis, or anyone betting on themselves again after adversity.

“Hard work and a little bit of luck and you'll have a good recipe for success.” (Frank, 19:38)

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For further details about the episode or to connect with Frank Scarso, visit avanza.nyc or find The Hard Way Home via Amazon and leading book retailers.

Transcript

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[Interviewer]

So Frank, man, I, I, you know, I read your story and it's pretty incredible and it even reminded me of some of the things that happened to me in my life. And I, I know that it, it seems like entrepreneurs who've really gone through the mud are the ones that persevere and become the most successful. And I know you spent two decades on Wall street and then you lost everything and that was a rock bottom moment for you. So what made you decide to rebuild and get up? What was that motivation?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

So for me the motivation was I just wanted to go home.

I had been separated from my wife and children for almost three years and you know, I was estranged from them. I didn't chance to see my kids for like 18 months and I just really, I just wanted to go home. Whatever it took, however long it took, you know, I just wanted to fix it. That was my driving force. If I was a single guy and I didn't have kids, it probably we would be talking about completely different story here. But given the fact that, you know, I was responsible for three little children and then plus my wife kind of gave me no choice but to fix when I broke.

[Interviewer]

The motivations, right, like family, I think is always a great Motivator for you to want to better yourself. What made you say that entrepreneurship, being a founder was the right path versus you getting a job?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

So I've always been sort of like.

Like a team leader and I've always, you know, worked for myself. And I just figured that I'd have to find a new way to make a living. After leaving Wall street after 21 years, this business kind of fell into my lap and I just didn't want to work for somebody, you know, and I just wanted to move forward and hunt my own company.

And started out little drips and drabs and then snowballed over, you know, the last nine years.

[Interviewer]

When you look at the industries and the problems that you can solve, I think it's always fascinating to see why somebody said, oh, this is the problem that needs to be solved. So what draw, what was the draw for you? That was, you know, this whole thing with small businesses and funding. What was the draw where you said, okay, this is the problem and I want to solve this problem.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

You know, coming from a Wall street background, it's been always customer service and service oriented.

And in the MCA space, customer service is really not something that that's out there. So I kind of like brought a little bit of a human touch to this industry and, you know, service the merchants and the brokers and, you know, hold everybody's hand when, when hands need to be held. And giving them that little extra attention has worked phenomenal for us. You know, just. Just be the human being and listen to people. You know, when a merchant's having problem making payments, you know, you have to understand life happens. And, you know, walking them through situations rather than, you know, pushing them through.

Is a lot easier to deal with.

[Interviewer]

I imagine that most businesses, the funding side is the make or break, right? Like if they're not selling and making revenue or they don't have the money to buy equipment or invest in something, then the business just goes out. And I think it's like 90% of businesses don't even last past five years or something similar to that stat. So how do you. What, what does every business owner do you think needs to know? Like, what could you teach them right now around this whole funding? Because I think most people I know, they have no clue about funding. And it's very. A complex situation. It's a challenge for them to the point where I think they just say, I don't even want to do it, I'm not going to do it. But then their business is, you know, hugely at risk.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Piece of advice that I can give to the merchants is, you know, try.

Try to pinch your pennies where you can because it all adds up at the end of the day. And you know, the MCA space, it's expensive money. So I tried to, believe it or not, I tried to talk merchants out of it, unless they really need the money, then you take it and you use it. Unfortunately, a lot of people abuse the merchant cash advance space and just take multiple, multiple advances, one on top of another, and they get stuck in that gerbil wheel, which is kind of what you want to avoid. So I tried to bring that out and make them understand about the risks, you know, of, you know, dealing in the merchant cash advance space. It's important that they understand the risks as well as the benefits. There have been, you know, numerous merchants that we over the years that have benefited tremendously from borrowing and have grown the business exponentially. But, you know, caution is a word of advice.

[Interviewer]

Where in their business journey are people normally looking for funding, you know, all.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Aspects of where they're at? We, we don't really deal with startup companies.

We like to see at least, you know, a year or two under their belt. But we have companies that have been around for 30 years. We have doctor's offices, we have businesses that have been around for 18 months. So we service all different aspects.

It's not just one niche market. You know, we try to service as many people as possible.

[Interviewer]

And I know you deployed over $250 million to businesses and many times I'm guessing traditional banks just are not able, they're not touching these companies, which is sad because I think, you know, it's like half of the jobs that exist in the US are for what they would consider to be a small business, which I'm guessing most of these banks are not servicing these people, but they need it probably more than these other larger corporations. So what do you see in these businesses that banks miss and why are you betting on them?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Well, we see the opportunity to help a niche market. Unfortunately, like you were saying, banks are really not looking to bet on small businesses. They rather bet on the bigger corporations and do, you know, big servicing of that versus servicing small businesses, which are the backbone of this country. Like you said, the statistic is pretty high out there. I think it's like 40% of the workforce is in the small business somehow, one way or another. And if they don't get the capital, when the capital is needed, it's just inevitable that they're all going to fail. And unfortunately, no one's out there to help them. I mean, you go to a bank, it takes three months just to get declined where we can get your funding done within a couple of hours. Having the money in your account, which, you know, we pride ourselves in speed and that's, that's what differentiates us from.

Some of the other lenders out there.

[Interviewer]

Hey, there's, there's always different spaces and niches and markets for people. And I'm glad that you're, you're helping to solve a problem for these businesses just because I know how it is. Like you put your heart and soul into something and many times you're making less than you could just go work at a, like a basic job with the hopes that it grows into something. It's like when you, when you say it out loud, it almost sounds crazy to be an entrepreneur. Like you almost are better off getting a job somewhere and you'll make more take home way. So I'm glad that you're, you're helping those people. Let's talk about. I know your father has instilled some things in you and he, he told you somebody, if you're going to go do something, do it right and treat it like it's your own. And I think that's so fascinating how you've taken what you've done with that can tell me about these lessons that you've learned from others.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Well, you know, so like lessons I learned from my father. He always taught me to have pride in everything that we do. You know, whether you're working in a bagel store as a kid or whether you're working on Wall street as a young adult or whether you shine shoes, whatever you do, just be proud. Just be proud. Do it correct or don't do it at all. And that's something that stuck with me, you know, throughout my lifetime. And you know, my father was a big influence in my life and still to this day, you know, I think about him every day and you know what, he thought he was a good hearted person and he's missed, but you know, his legacy is his children and his grandchildren. And I still listen to those words.

He said to me a long time ago.

[Interviewer]

When you think about mentorship, do you find that when like for yourself, have you used people as mentors or, or do people come to you for any sort of mentorship or do you find that business is kind of like a, a lonely place where you just got to figure it out as you go?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

You know, I think I'm a big.

Believer in mentorship I, I always, over the years have taken on sort of like a pet project. The younger guys where I directed them and have had like sidekicks or proteges, whichever one you want to call it. I think that's important. I was always taught on Wall street as, as we growing up in the financial aspect is you want to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you so that you can learn from them.

And that's, that's a true fact.

And you know, I mentor and I help people for free. I don't want anything for it. Just it helps me give back a little bit. Something to the world. Very grateful for the position I'm in, especially after everything I've been through. And I'm, you know, I'm a very big believer in giving back and helping.

Out those that need the help.

[Interviewer]

You know, it's wild when I talk to people and they say, you know, I, I notice they hire people and they're almost afraid to have people around them that are smarter than them because they might become a competitor or they might. But I'm thinking the same way, like you. You only grow and learn if you have people that are around you that are smarter, knowing that, you know, the people that you lead specifically will go on to do great things. So let's talk about leadership for you. Thinking back to when you were in like Wall street, more a corporate environment. What type of leader were you then compared to the leader that you are now having over eight years of sobriety? The ups and downs and downs and ups that you've gone through, what's changed in your leadership style?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Well, I used to be a lot.

Rougher, a lot, you know, guns blazing, always pushing the envelope. You know, that's what, you know, we, we were caught in Wall Street. It's a young man's game. But my style has changed. I'm a little bit more of embracing as a boss and understanding that employees do have issues and, you know, not, not having fear of anything because going through what I went through was probably the worst thing that someone can endure. And if I can get through that.

[Interviewer]

And I can get through.

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[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

That I can't get through. Everything else will fall into place as long as you just push forward and work hard. But hard work is something that I believe for my employees and I do it firsthand. I'm a full hands on owner. I don't just sit here and delegate. I work all aspects of this business. Wherever health is needed, I will always.

Jump in and help my employees.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, and thank you for sharing that. Being Vulnerable it's amazing how not only time changes us, but the experiences that we have completely changed. And thinking about how I am today might have been the complete opposite as I was 20 years ago. When you're looking at the industry itself, because I know the private credit is just insane. It's projected to hit over $2 trillion in the near future. What do you think is driving this shift in your industry away from traditional banking? And do you think there's still going to be or maybe a new opportunity will arise?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Well, I think what's driving the shift is the actual banks themselves.

You know, considering small businesses unbankable and leaving no choice but for them to go to alternative financing and that's why, you know, the growth is just. Is going to be, you know, tremendous. And it's. It's growing at a faster pace, I think, than the 2.8 trillion that's expected over the next, you know, couple of years or so. I think that that market grows and you've seen a lot of, you know, institutional money starting to pour into this side of the business because, you know, there's money in lending, and institutions know that. Banks know that. Unfortunately, they don't want to take shots on these smaller businesses. So they'll let, like, the hedge funds that manage risk a lot better than a bank would take that role and run with it. And that's what we've been seeing.

And, you know, pretty much the banks have cannibalized themselves, so to speak.

[Interviewer]

There's been a lot of interesting things with banks. I was just looking at bitcoins, like, plummeting right now, going up. And I mean, the finance world is fascinating, and I don't understand most of it, but I'm always interested to hear what's happening when you look at growing and scaling your company. What has been something that has been critical for you as you've grown and scaled past certain milestones?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

One of the most important things I think, for me has been talent.

You know, the talent pool up here in New York is a little bit more competitive than it is in some of the other smaller markets, like down South. And I think having the office in North Carolina and Florida, where we really got lucky, we. We were able to hire some, some. Some really good talent, I think that changed the game a little bit. You know, up here you have five people chasing that one job where, you know, down south or, you know, out in the Midwest, in some of the smaller cities, you find talent that is still looking for a job, and there's still some good talent out there to hire.

We're going to look into, to expand into the south and into the Midwest, hopefully in the next couple years.

[Interviewer]

How about when it comes to technology, AI is obviously in every single thing it seems like that we're doing. Are you finding that there's any technology software, anything that you either see that's going to be helping your industry or it's already helping you.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

So the AI aspect of it is all fine and dandy when it comes.

To, you know, looking at bank statements and basically, you know, data mining the, you know, the data that. That's on there. But I think that when it comes to underwriting, you're always going to need that, you know, Final human touch to bring you across the goal line. Because sometimes you have to, you know, look beyond the numbers, you know, you have to look beyond the company. You have to, you know, with a quick, you know, mental analyzation of what you're, you know, what you see and make decisions and pivot when necessary. And unfortunately, some of these softwares aren't there yet. They might get there one day. So we just use AI just to.

Help break down some of the bank statements. But most of the rest of the underwriting process is done manual.

[Interviewer]

When you're thinking about future goals and you know you've already achieved things I'm sure you never thought you would achieve, especially going back to certain moments in your life and seems like you're very grateful and you work very hard and you've really put the systems and processes and people in place, which is amazing. So when you look at goals and milestones forward thinking, how do you structure them and how far out do you normally, how far out do you have to look in terms of like, okay, I want to hit these milestones at this time because this is success to me.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Well, what's important about setting goals and.

Milestones is really setting goals and milestones that are attainable. Right. Anybody could say I want to make $1 billion. Right. That's just not, that's just not going to happen. But if you set attainable goals, stuff that is reachable and you know, I try to set short term goals and I also have longer term goals.

Right.

But it's the short term goals, it's.

It'S, you know, those are the ones.

That get you to the longer term goals that help you, you know, could push forward from there. So it's important that you, you, you're realistic in your numbers and then your goals and you know, hard work pretty much remedy anything. And I mean, you need a little bit of luck as well in business.

Hard work and a little bit of luck and you'll have a good recipe for success.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Frank. So I know you have something really special out. By the way. I just launched a book and then you just launched a book the Hard Way Home. And I like the amount of time and energy and effort that went into my book was insane. And I can imagine it's the same for you. But it feels so good when the book comes out. But I'm like having a hard time even thinking about people reading a book. I don't know, I feel like I'm going to get judged. But how was the process of writing this the hard way home. And what was the inspiration behind this book?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

So the inspiration was trying to get someone to benefit, even if it's just one person, to benefit from my story and bring that hope across that, you know, you're never really truly alone, even when you feel like you are alone. When I was living on the street and I was alone, you know, at that point, I really thought I was alone, but I. I wasn't. I had my whole family behind me. Even though I was estranged from everybody, they were still behind me, supporting me. So if my story can help one person overcome, you know, some. Some troubles that in their lives, whether it's addiction or whether it's just employment or whatever the case may be, or some sort of mental health disorders, if my story can help just one person, it was well worth it for me. And writing the book was, hopefully, was more so for myself than for anybody else, to give me a little bit of closure, because I do carry a lot of regrets.

Some of the things that, you know.

I did and said over the years.

So hopefully it'll put to rest some of those. Those demons.

[Interviewer]

Sounds like it was almost therapeutic for.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

You to tell my story and to.

Say it out loud, you know, to my open. Putting it down in words and paper was. Was absolutely amazing. And I didn't realize for a while what I went through until I. I wrote the book. Sort of in a kind of weird way, kind of, like, inspired myself again, if that makes sense. You know, we forget, you know, when we take things for granted and then you jog down memory lane, it opens.

Up some good memories, some hard ones also, but a lot of good memories.

[Interviewer]

But thinking back, what's a moment for you that was like a great memory when you're like, oh, my gosh, when I wrote that in this book and it's in the book, this was something that made me really smile. Compared to, like, you're saying, all the memories that were obviously very tough for.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

Me, it was one pivotal moment that.

Happened in my life where it was almost like I had a moment of enlightenment. I happened to be on the phone with my brother, and he said to me, he said, don't you want your children to have good memories of their childhood like we did? And that just blew me away. Like, it was just something so profound to me, and I can't explain it, but, like, it changed me as a person. And then from that moment on, it was just all, you know, was all downhill from there. You know, every day that went by that I, you know, was sober. And then I, you know, pushed forward just a little bit more. Was closer to home than I got. Even though I didn't know it at the time, you know, I was a strange for my family for three years I never thought that I would go back. And it was that one pivotal moment which was important for me and just to remember that was what kind of.

Like helped me come back.

[Interviewer]

I love that man. So it's, it's always amazing how one sentence, one phrase, one or two words can completely change the trajectory of not only your life but obviously your family's life, your kids life and, and then whatever generations to come later on just from that one sentence. But thank you for being vulnerable to even write this book again. Like I've just went through the same process and it was so. There was so many times where I wanted to tell them that I don't even want to put it in the book like I sent it in, delete it because I don't want that in there. But like you said, if one person can be inspired but the hard way home and Avonza Capital Holding. So if people want to get in touch with you, Frank, they want to get the book, they want to find out more information about you. How can they do so well?

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

They can find the book on Amazon and some of the other bigger book.

Retailers and if they wanted to get in touch with us, they can just go to our website, it's www.avanza.nyc and.

They can reach us through there.

[Interviewer]

Well, Frank, again I can appreciate you being here. I can relate so much to your story. I think there's a lot of other people that are either in the moment or they're out of the moment and hopefully that they'll become entrepreneurs and if they ever need anything as a small business, they can contact you. So thank you so much for hey, changing the world. Changing the world. Being vulnerable enough to write it down and change the world, which a lot of people are not. A lot of people will not do that. So I appreciate you for, for being here on Founders Story.

[Frank (Entrepreneur)]

My pleasure and thanks for having me.

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