For discussion with Ben Sanders / AFB. This document is a revised version of the original Fundini partnership proposal, incorporating adjustments discussed during the Kevin–Ben meeting on June 1, 2026. Changes from V1 are noted throughout.

Background & Context

Kevin Ellerton spent ~2 months building Fundini into a powerful product capable of disrupting the revenue-based finance brokerage industry. The product works (though with some wrinkles to iron out), has massive potential, and is at the MVP stage. It is launchable today.

Kevin is exploring partnership options because:

• Kevin's core expertise and passion is in meditation and psychology. He is considering a PhD in psychology and wants to dedicate his life's work to that field.
• During Q1 2026, when Kevin shifted his focus to building Fundini, his meditation businesses (Meditation Magazine, Meditation University) began to flounder and accumulate debt.
• Splitting attention across two completely different industries creates significant inefficiency, stress, and reduced effectiveness in both.
• Kevin prefers less money and more personal fulfillment — his fulfillment comes from psychology and meditation.
• Kevin has commitments to his meditation businesses and his family that he cannot abandon.

Ben Sanders, David Yomtobian, Joe Zavulonov, and the team at AFB are the right people to lead Fundini long-term — they are passionate about finance and committed to the industry. Kevin wants to ensure the work he put into Fundini reaches its full potential in the right hands.

Investment to Date

• Time: Kevin spent ~2 months building Fundini
• Direct expenses: ~$10k (Anthropic API credits, OpenAI, fal.ai, Twilio, MacWeb server, Namecheap domains, iPhone, mobile plans)
• Additional capital from Kevin & David: $8,000 — Kevin and David put $3,000 each toward Dave Coven consulting, most of which has not yet been delivered, and Kevin put an additional $2,000 toward expenses
• Total investment to date: ~$18k
• Current AMEX balance: ~$3,500 (mostly Anthropic bills, needs to be paid off)

See separate document "Fundini — Expenses So Far" for full breakdown.

Operating Budget — Revised Changed in V2

V1 proposed $36,000/month. Per the June 1 meeting, the target is now $30,000/month.

Months 1 & 2 (June & July): $30,000/month

Month 3+ (August onward)

• Tech & admin support cost drops to ~$5,000/month (maintenance mode once product is stable)
• Ad budget may increase if ROI justifies scaling
• Freed-up budget reallocated to marketing or retained as profit

Roles & Responsibilities Changed in V2

Ben Sanders / AFB — Funder & Financial Partner

Ben provides the capital investment, strategic guidance, and industry connections through AFB. Ben is the financial partner funding the operation and bringing funder relationships to the table.

Project Lead — Kevin Ellerton, Simon Bengen, or Both (Co-Leads)

The Project Lead oversees product development, marketing, day-to-day operations, and focuses on driving profitability.

Option A: Kevin as sole Project Lead

• Kevin receives the full $6,000/month base + full 10% project lead commission
• Kevin manages all operations, product direction, and team coordination

Option B: Simon Bengen as sole Project Lead

• Simon receives the full $6,000/month base + 10% project lead commission
• Kevin transitions to an advisory role (available for questions, strategic input)

Option C: Kevin & Simon as Co-Project Leads Recommended

• The $6,000/month base is split between Kevin and Simon (e.g., $3,000 each, or weighted by contribution as mutually agreed)
• The 10% project lead commission is also split proportionally
• Both share operational responsibilities

The specific Project Lead arrangement will be agreed upon before the partnership begins.

Meeting Cadence with Ben Changed in V2

• Minimum 1 in-person meeting per week (the Project Lead or Co-Lead who is local attends in person)
• If a Project Lead is remote/traveling, they join via Zoom
• Minimum 2 virtual meetings per week when no in-person meeting is possible

Partnership Equity — Vesting Model Changed in V2

V1 proposed a flat equity purchase. Per the June 1 meeting, equity will now vest on a front-loaded (logarithmic) schedule over 6 months, with Ben/AFB reaching equal partnership (50%) by month 6.

Current Ownership

• Ben/AFB: 14% (already granted for early contributions)
• Kevin & David: remaining equity (split equally)

Vesting Structure

• Ben/AFB acquires an additional ~36% over 6 months to reach 50% total
• The vesting follows a front-loaded (logarithmic) curve — more capital invested by Ben in early months, tapering off
• Kevin receives proportionally more compensation in early months (when Kevin/David own more of the company)

Proposed Vesting Schedule

Ben/AFB is purchasing an additional 36% equity to move from 14% to 50% ownership. At the ~$239,444 company valuation, 36% = $86,200 total payout ($43,100 to Kevin, $43,100 to David).

Below are three vesting curve options. All reach 50/50 by month 6.

Ben to select preferred option. Kevin recommends Option B as a balanced approach.

3-Month Checkpoint New in V2

At the end of month 3, both parties evaluate whether the partnership is working:

• If conservative performance targets are NOT met → either party may exit with 2 weeks' notice
• If conservative targets ARE met → partnership continues through month 6
• Clean split: If the partnership ends at the 3-month mark, all parties walk away cleanly — no money is owed or repaid by either side, and all equity percentages remain with their respective owners as-is at that date

6-Month Soft Commitment New in V2

The partnership has a hard 3-month commitment and a soft 6-month commitment. Continuation beyond month 3 is contingent on hitting at least the conservative performance targets.

Commission Structure Changed in V2

Revenue Split Per Funded Deal

Notes

• If Kevin is the Project Lead, he receives both his 10% creator override AND the 10% project lead commission (20% total), plus the 30% broker allocation if he personally closes the deal (50% total on that deal)
• If Kevin and Simon are Co-Project Leads, they split the 10% project lead commission proportionally
• Ben/AFB receives 10% off the top on every funded deal as the financial partner, regardless of involvement in the specific deal
• Broker allocation: any broker who personally helps close a deal earns 30%. If multiple brokers work a deal, they split the 30% among themselves as agreed.
• Profit distributions: at the end of each month, profits remaining in the operating account are distributed to all partners by equity percentage.

Performance Targets & Bonus Structure New in V2

Deal Economics

• Average deal size: ~$45,000
• Average commission per funded deal: ~10% of deal size = ~$4,500 per deal
• Target: pursue deals over $100,000 for maximum revenue ($10,000+ commission per deal)

Renewal Rates (industry data)

• 30% of deals renew at least once
• 20% of deals renew at least three times
• 10% of deals renew more than five times
• Weighted average lifetime value multiplier: ~2.1x per new deal
• Lifetime value per new deal: $4,500 × 2.1 = ~$9,450

Baseline Comparison — Traditional FB Ads

Performance Tiers (based on $8,000/month ad spend)

3-Month Checkpoint Targets (Cumulative)

Bonus Structure New in V2

These bonuses are paid in addition to the regular commission split and base compensation. For Co-Project Leads, the bonus is split proportionally.

Partnership Continuation Rules

• Below conservative targets at month 3 → either party may exit
• At or above conservative targets → partnership continues through month 6
• Same evaluation framework applies at month 6 for long-term continuation

Scenario B: Kevin Is Replaced by a New CEO

If Kevin does not continue as Project Lead and a new CEO is brought in:

Equity Sale

• Kevin/David sell approximately 76% of their equity (bringing Ben/AFB from 14% to 90%)
• At the ~$239,444 valuation → payout of approximately $181,978 total
• Split with David: approximately $90,989 each
• Kevin & David each retain ~5% passive equity + 5% of Fundini's profits (with regular distributions)

Transition

• Kevin spends approximately 1 month onboarding the new CEO & developer(s)
• Kevin will continue training until the new team feels comfortable
• After transition: Kevin has no ongoing time commitment — attention returns 100% to meditation businesses and PhD.

Roadmap

June — Launch Ads, Close Deals, Form the Entity

Priority #1: Revenue — Launch Ads & Close Deals

• Launch Meta Ads to the existing MVP immediately — $100/day on weekdays ($500/week)
• Optimize CAC relentlessly — test creatives, audiences, and intake flows
• Add Facebook Messenger and Instagram DM as intake channels to reduce friction and lower CAC
• Fix issues as they arise from real merchant, funder, and broker interactions — real-world feedback drives development priorities
• Activate the broker team (David Yomtobian, Lee Gelsky) — brokers jump on every lead that comes through so deals actually close

Priority #2: Business Formation & Contracts

• File Fundini LLC in New York
• Open a business bank account
• Sign ISO agreements with funders from the Funders Forum contacts
• Finalize partnership agreement and settle initial capital per this proposal

Development (ongoing, secondary to revenue)

• Hire a developer to begin improving the codebase (original MVP stays running)
• Create clean architecture documents with full flows for each agent
• Integrate with a CRM (GoHighLevel, Pipedrive, or similar) for deal tracking

July–August — Scale + Prove

• Scale ad spend based on proven CAC and close rates
• Developer continues improving the codebase; transitions to maintenance once product is stable
• Broker team fully ramped — consistent deal flow and closings

Revenue Projections (conservative)

• July: $50,000 in revenue
• August: $100,000 in revenue

September Onward — Aggressive Scaling

• Product stable, system proven, bugs resolved
• Scale ad spend aggressively based on proven ROI
• Revenue grows to potentially millions per month
• After ~one year of sustained scaling: potentially millions per month in profit

Business Plan

What Is Fundini?

Fundini is a fully automated MCA (Merchant Cash Advance) brokerage powered by a team of AI agents. A merchant texts a phone number, has a natural conversation with Fundini (the "funding wizard"), provides their business details, signs an electronic authorization, uploads bank statements, and receives funding offers — all without ever speaking to a human broker.

Behind the scenes, a pipeline of specialized AI agents handles underwriting, application generation, funder matching, submission, and offer management. The system runs 24/7 and can handle unlimited concurrent merchants.

The Problem Fundini Solves

In traditional ISO shops, human brokers manually handle everything. This process is:

• Slow — hours to days from first contact to funding
• Expensive — broker salaries, commissions, office overhead
• Error-prone — manual data entry, missed follow-ups, inconsistent underwriting
• Limited by headcount — each broker can only handle so many deals

Fundini replaces the grunt work with AI agents that respond instantly, work 24/7, and make consistent decisions. The result: faster funding, lower overhead, and the ability to scale with only a handful of brokers.

How Fundini Works — The Full Pipeline

Phase 1: Lead Capture

• iMessage (primary) — merchant texts +1-516-923-1818
• WhatsApp — for merchants who prefer it
• Web forms — Greenpoint Funding, Mindful Funding, Blue Arch Funds
• Broker referrals — packets forwarded to [email protected]

Phase 2: Conversational Intake

Phase 3: E-Sign + Document Upload

Phase 4: Automated Underwriting (Gabriela)

Phase 5: Application Generation (Larry)

Phase 6: Funder Submission (Melvin)

Phase 7: Offer Management + Funding

The AI Agent Team

Funder Network

55+ funders in the routing database:

• A-paper: IOU Financial, Square Advance, Credibly, Libertas, VitalCap, Madison Advance
• B/C-paper: AFB, Reliance, NewCo Capital, Forward Financing, Rapid Finance, Radiance Funding
• D-paper/High-risk: Mantis Funding, Legend Advance, Harper Advance, Blade Funding
• Equipment financing: Beacon Funding
• And 30+ more with documented criteria

Infrastructure

• Mac Mini — AI agents, BlueBubbles, e-sign server, email watcher
• Hetzner VPS — WhatsApp gateway
• Hetzner VPS — fundini.io website and e-sign reverse proxy
• Domain: fundini.io

Current Status

✓ Working well: Conversational intake, e-sign, bank statement analysis, application PDFs, funder matching, email submissions

⚠ Needs improvement: Proactive merchant notifications, session management

🔴 Future needs: CRM integration, Meta Ads connection, funder APIs, multi-owner support, compliance docs

Competitive Advantage — Cost Per Acquisition

If Fundini's CPA is half that of traditional application forms, Fundini can outspend every other MCA company on advertising. For each dollar spent, Fundini generates profit where competitors lose money. This effectively corners the market.

Future Features & Additional Revenue Streams

1. Melvin as a Standalone Service

• Market Melvin independently to ISOs & funders as an AI closer
• Branded as its own product (e.g., melvin.io)

2. License the Full System to ISOs & Funders

• Each licensee gets their own sandboxed server
• Pricing: $50,000 setup + ~$10,000/month + 5% of commissions
• Concept originated from Joe and Ben