Speakers

Loren Shifrin is the founder and CEO of REV Capital (formerly Revolution Capital). He is a highly ambitious young entrepreneur with 15 years of experience building brands and growing portfolios in the factoring industry. Loren is also the founder and CEO of REV Tech, a fintech on a mission to democratize the transportation industry’s access to resources.

Loren is responsible for the natural growth and M&A strategies for REV and has led the company to record year-over-year growth since the company’s inception. Loren has successfully identified and closed six acquisitions and has overseen the opening of four U.S. offices since 2018.

Loren lives in Toronto with his two children and wife, Christabel, who has unconditionally supported his every crazy idea.

How do you define a good leader?

Good leaders understand the value of their team. They trust, delegate, and empower those with whom they work. They never forget that much of the recognition they receive is a result of the hard work and dedication of those who work with them. They give praise more often than they give criticism. They listen more than they talk. They own their weaknesses, identify their growth edges, and acknowledge when they are wrong. They have empathy, compassion, and patience. They are not afraid to surround themselves with people who are smarter and more capable than they are. They never stop learning and are invested in their personal growth. 

What advice do you normally give to the junior talent you mentor?

If you are comfortable, you are not growing. Everything I know I learned from doing. I started in this industry as a collection agent and worked my way up through the ranks until I eventually became a minority shareholder, then a selling shareholder, and now a founder. The person I am today is not the person I was 15 years ago when I was too nervous to make my first collection call so a colleague dialed the number for me and thrust the phone in my hand when the debtor picked up. The more calls I made, the more experience I gained, and the more comfortable I felt. From collections, I moved to sales. When I asked my boss, “How do I sell?” his answer was, “I don’t know. Figure it out.” That’s exactly what I had to do. I tried cold calling, networking, marketing, recruiting, poaching, broker-wooing, and everything else I could think of. It took me four months to close my first deal. I closed more accounts in my last month at that company than I did in my first year there. From sales, I moved to operations. I had no idea what I was doing but by then I had gained enough confidence to try new things. I implemented new protocols, created new roles, and constantly questioned the status quo. Some things worked, others didn’t, but every risk I took taught me new lessons that inform the decisions I make today.

Believe in yourself, especially when others don’t. In 2015 I was the COO of Baron Finance. I had a decent salary, made commissions, and had a small piece of ownership. I had just gotten engaged and bought my first home. I had security and was comfortable, but believed I could do better. I had big dreams and ambition and needed a challenge. So, I resigned, sold my shares, and literally bet the house on myself. Most people thought I had lost my mind, but I had faith in my abilities. I spent a year and a half trying to raise capital for my new venture. I wrote and presented a 96-page business plan that I now understand nobody read, and I was laughed out of more family offices and BDCs than I care to admit, but my conviction never wavered. I finally found a lender that was willing to take a chance on an overconfident 28-year-old with nothing more than a dream and two million in junior capital. We opened REV Capital (formerly Revolution Capital) five years ago. Today we have over 110 employees across seven offices, hundreds of millions in funds employed, and a growth trajectory that I myself would have thought unattainable when we started.