Building software with a cigar, launching a lending company, the merchant-cash-advance trap, and what a small-town sewage crisis teaches about execution.

This Week

Vibe-coded a business valuation tool — built it just by talking to an AI; it’s going up on thescottsinclair.com. 

Also, built two websites.

We launched Interim Credit Corp. — a new lender for Canadian businesses in transition: bridge,

DIP, turnaround, and special-situations financing

Lesson Learned: The Merchant Cash Advance Trap

 “Fast money” sold as a “purchase of future receivables” is often a loan in disguise

 These agreements can be far weaker than the funder wants you to believe

The lesson for owners: the most expensive money is the money you take when you’re desperate

Also, talk to your lawyer. That’s not us

Struggles: When the “Friend” Turns on You

 In contested situations, even a supposedly neutral party — or a cooperative professional — can turn adversarial

 Don’t get emotional, get organized: control the record and do everything in writing

What I’m Thinking About: Execution Is Everything
Recording a podcast for our town’s mayoral race — a wastewater crisis fourteen years in the making

Distressed companies and city halls fail the same way: not a money problem, an execution problem