‍Vartana Team:

Welcome to the team Vince, after almost three decades at CIT, what drew you to Vartana and what do you hope to accomplish here?

Vince Mollica:

I’m thrilled to be here with Vartana and help build a marketplace that will enable vendor sales teams around the world. So, how did I get here… after my very successful 27-year career in the vendor space at CIT, I’ve been afforded the opportunity and flexibility to refocus my experience and energy on what I believe are the key differentiators in this market; digital transformation and the customer journey (with customer defined as both vendor partners and the end users of their products and services). Money is a commodity, and while many players in the space continue to be internally focused, prospective leaders in sales aid financing need to consistently make their customer experience fast and easy, provide certainty to close, and effectively invoice and collect for both themselves and their vendor partners—these attributes will cement their success. B2B integration is absolutely essential for this to occur. When looking for a new company to join, I found Vartana, which ticks all these boxes and then some, and I am excited to be able to leverage my experience to quickly move us up the leaderboard.

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Vartana Team:

How did you know that Vartana was the right spot for you?

Vince Mollica:

For me, culture (specifically, putting people first) is as important, if not more important, than the product being sold. I had the good fortune to be selective in the quest to write my next professional chapter, and after spending considerable time with co-founders Kush Kella, Ahmed Sharif, and our equity sponsors, I knew that we had great alignment in terms of both culture and mission. The key ingredients for winning are all about blending people, technology, and process.  Throughout my career, I’ve maintained an entrepreneurial spirit (whether it be building programs or businesses), so the ability to join Vartana early in its gestation, and being able to influence and shape its journey and success, is very, very appealing to me. I have a ton of energy, so this is a great place to be.

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Vartana Team:

What do you foresee to be the impact that Vartana will have on the financing industry?

Vince Mollica:

It is my aspiration and goal to help establish the “gold” standard in fast and repeatable B2B sales aid financing integrations, thereby creating a seamless, single “source of truth” between ourselves and our partners. In turn, this will drive expense efficiency, improve the end user journey for these partners, more closely align with their go-to-market strategies and ultimately create very “sticky” relationships for Vartana. This is super important for us, as this “stickiness” forms a barrier to entry/encroachment by our competition with partners who have not previously utilized financing sources, as well as those partners having multiple financing sources, where our growth is predicated on a share of wallet “take” strategy.

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Vartana Team:

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the industry, and how do you plan to navigate them here at Vartana?

Vince Mollica:

Businesses of all sizes want the same purchasing/financing experience that consumers enjoy in the B2C space, so those firms that can align a B2B process and execute as “close to the pin” for this benchmark will win.  Moreover, vendor’s products continue to migrate away from hard assets to “as a Service” or Managed service protocols. The ability to electronically interface with vendors, consume and assimilate their data, and intelligibly invoice and collect on this activity is now mainstream. Vartana is well-positioned to capitalize on this evolution.    

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Vartana Team:

What are some of the key initiatives or projects you are most excited to work on in your new role, and why?

Vince Mollica:

Simply stated, my role here is to provide an efficient “cost of goods” for as wide an array of customer profiles as possible. Ultimately, we want to provide “one-stop shopping” for our vendor partners and secure the lead position in financing each partner’s revenue stack. My key focus right now is on refinancing our warehouse and quickly expanding our funding partner base.

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Vartana Team:

What do you think sets Vartana apart from its competitors, and how do you plan to leverage these advantages in your work?

Vince Mollica:

The vendor financing market is and will continue to be dynamic; having “leapfrog” tech, being nimble and agile, and possessing the fortitude to quickly adapt and respond to changing market needs will be absolutely critical for success. Vartana has all those characteristics.

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Vartana Team:

Tell us a little about you personally; when the workday is complete, what do you do for fun?

Vince Mollica:

I’ve been married for 36 years to a wonderful wife, have a son and daughter, and recently became a grandfather. I am an avid outdoorsman and live very close to the ocean, so every chance I get, I am on the water (primarily fishing offshore). Some fun facts; I am a licensed USCG 25-ton Master Captain, a car and motorcycle fanatic, and an avid DIY’er. I recently restored a vintage 1966 Ford Mustang, have attended the Sturgis and Americade motorcycle rallies several times in the last 15 years, and rank in the top 1% of all-time amateur lap times at a national speedway. Like I said, I have a ton of energy.