AI, SBA 504 Loans, and the Next Wave of Small-Business Finance with Chris Myers at B:Side Capital

B-Side Capital CEO Chris Myers joins OmniAI’s CEO, Tyler Maran to map where lending, customer acquisition, and AI are headed.

The conversation ranges from nuts-and-bolts SBA 504 lending to the bigger question of how financial-services AI adoption will reorder every job in banking.

---

SBA 504 Lending, Explained

One program underpins most of B-Side’s work.

“B Side is really two companies, but our primary group, B Side Capital, is one of the larger Certified Development Companies in the U.S. We specialize in the 504 SBA loan program for small-business owners that want to buy owner-occupied real estate.” — Chris Myers, CEO, B-Side Capital

“Those owners are rarely startups. They’re established manufacturers, wholesalers, or service firms looking to own the building they work from.” — Chris

---

Why Real Estate Builds Exit Value

The 504 structure helps owners turn operating income into wealth.

“My father-in-law runs a world-renowned classic-car shop. Great business, but the value is tied up in him and his brother. By financing the real estate, you create a tangible asset that survives the owner.” - Chris

“A 504 deal always has three parties: the borrower at 10 percent, a bank at 45 percent, and the CDC-us-for the remaining 45 percent. You need all three pieces to unlock the SBA guarantee.” - Chris

---

From Mini-Monopoly to Sales Culture

Competition in CDC lending is heating up according to Chris.

“Historically we had a mini-monopoly in every state. Deals just flowed in. That’s over.” - Chris

“We built a Client Relationship Officer role and pushed hard on outbound BD. Our bankers still source most loans, but now we’re expected to bring business to them too.” - Chris

Tyler agrees the shift mirrors tech-startup reality:

“It all comes down to customer acquisition. The best customer is the one you already have, but you still need net-new demand every quarter.” - Tyler

---

Content as Deal Flow

Chris’s media background guides the strategy.

“I wrote for Forbes ten years and hosted a show on MSNBC. Today we publish The B-Side Way, a blog on leadership and market conditions. The content fills our funnel and feeds social.”

---

Building “B-Side Assist”

Lending alone can’t defend margins; software can.

“We’re launching B-Side Assist, an AI financial-management platform. Connect your bank accounts, get cash-basis accounting instantly, then ask in natural language: ‘What should I worry about this month?’” - Chris

“Because we see the data, we can proactively say, ‘You’d qualify for cheaper SBA capital right now.’” - Chris

---

Banking Meets LLMs

Chris zooms out to the larger AI question…

“Our industry is as slow and boring as it gets, but B-Side is the exception. We’ve adopted a nimble, tech-based mentality while respecting 35 years of trust.”

“LLM power comes down to how it’s trained. My ChatGPT account thinks like me; yours thinks like you. Organizations that codify their tribal knowledge will win.”

Tyler discussing current model limits:

“A 90 percent-accurate AI employee still fails 10 percent of the time, too often for a loan document. Teams end up hard-coding workflows and lose the magic.”

The bigger hurdle is cultural, not technical:

“Tech will hit 100 percent. The real work is prepping people. In three to five years we should handle 10-to-20× today’s volume with the same headcount. That mindset shift is harder than the code.” - Chris

---

The Future of Work, Or the 19th Century?

“We might see two-person firms running hundreds of AI agents, competing with 50-thousand-employee incumbents.” - Tyler

“Or the future looks more like the 19th century, hyper-local, focused on food and tractors, because higher-order tasks are instantaneous.” Tyler

Key Takeaways

• SBA 504 loans turn operating companies into real-estate owners, building exit value.

• Customer-acquisition power is shifting from banks to CDCs that create direct demand.

• Content marketing remains a low-cost moat, even in regulated finance.

• B-Side Assist shows how lenders can bundle AI analytics to deepen lifetime value.

• Organizations must train humans, not just models, for an era of 10-to-20× productivity.

Conclusion

B-Side Capital’s story illustrates a sector in transition: legacy SBA lenders embracing AI platforms, outbound sales muscle, and media tactics to stay relevant. Whether the near future delivers two-person AI giants or simply faster loan approvals, financial-services AI adoption is no longer optional, it’s the playing field itself.