Former Goldman Sachs Banker Runs Business Making Small-Business Loans

‘Bad Feeling’

One of the lenders he invested in was Bethesda, Maryland-based RapidAdvance, which makes businesses sign over as much as 45 percent of their credit-card receipts in exchange for $15,000 or $18,000, according to lawsuits filed by RapidAdvance against borrowers who defaulted.

Mandis, who declined to say how much he invested, decided RapidAdvance could reach more clients with a catchy TV spot. He wanted the man who made the ads for J.G. Wentworth, a company that promises quick cash to lawsuit winners.

Mal Karlin, who made those spots, said he was reluctant to get involved because his small ad firm is bombarded by e-mail offers from lenders.

“Once they offer me money, I know it’s going to be an exorbitant rate,” he said. “I had a bad feeling about it.”

Mandis’s resume persuaded him, he said. The banker invited the goateed director to his Park Avenue co-op to pitch ideas last year. Karlin was taken aback when the client’s wife and two young daughters were waiting.

“My worst nightmare is for a kid to have an idea for a commercial,” Karlin said. “Everybody thinks that they’re an advertising expert because they watch television.”

Broadway Ditty

The family wasn’t wowed by his ideas. The director tried again when Mandis was teaching in Madrid, singing a Broadway ditty into the phone for him. The former banker stopped him.

“I like that,” Mandis told Karlin.

In the spot, which aired last year, RapidAdvance delivers sacks of cash after a hairdresser, mechanic and chef dance in unison and sing the company’s praises.

Mandis said he’s proud of his work at that lender and his new firm. Kalamata’s website features a family history and a photo of him in a sweater and tie.

“What I thought I would do with Kalamata is say, ‘Here’s who I am, I’m a real person,’” he said. “You have to have the values and the brand that people will come back to.”