A manufacturing company in Cleveland needed $3.5M. Building purchase, equipment upgrades, and working capital to keep operations running during the transition. Pretty standard growth story.
They went to their bank. The bank approved a $1.5M commercial mortgage. Good start — but that left $2M on the table.
So they went to a second bank for equipment financing. Three more weeks of underwriting, another credit pull, another stack of paperwork. Approved for $1.2M. Better — but still $800K short.
Third lender for working capital. Another application. Another credit pull. Another 2 weeks of waiting.
Three banks. Three separate applications. Three credit pulls. Eleven weeks from first application to full funding.
Through Basecamp, that same financing gets structured differently. All three layers — mortgage, equipment, working capital — submitted simultaneously to lenders who specialize in each piece. Funded in 24 days. One application. One process. One advisor managing the whole thing.
That's capital stacking.
What Capital Stacking Actually Is
Capital stacking means layering multiple lending products from multiple lenders into a single financing package. Each lender handles the piece they're best at.
Think of it like building a house. You don't hire one person to do the foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, and roofing. You hire specialists. The foundation guy is great at foundations. The electrician is great at wiring. Each one does their piece, and you end up with a better house than if one general contractor tried to do everything.
Commercial financing works the same way. An SBA lender gives you the best rate on the real estate. An equipment lender gives you the best terms on machinery. A working capital provider handles the short-term cash needs. Stack them together, and your blended cost is lower than any single lender could offer on a $3.5M all-in-one package.
A Real Capital Stack — The Numbers
Here's what that Cleveland manufacturer's financing looked like:
| Layer | Product | Amount | Rate | Term | Monthly Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SBA 504 mortgage | $1,500,000 | 6.5% | 25 years | $10,120 |
| 2 | Equipment financing | $1,200,000 | 8.0% | 7 years | $18,710 |
| 3 | Working capital | $800,000 | 14.0% | 3 years | $27,340 |
| Total | Capital stack | $3,500,000 | ~8.8% blended | Mixed | $56,170 |
The blended rate across all three layers: roughly 8.8%.
If that same manufacturer had gotten one $3.5M loan from one bank — assuming a bank would even approve that for a mid-size manufacturer — the rate would've been 10-12%. On $3.5M, that difference saves $50K-$200K over the life of the financing.
Why Your Bank Can't Do This
Your bank offers one product from one institution. That's it.
They have a commercial mortgage product. Maybe a small equipment line. But they can't layer an SBA 504 from their own portfolio, then bring in a specialty equipment lender for the CNC machines, then add a working capital line from a fintech provider optimized for short-term lending.
They give you what they have. And for whatever they don't cover, they tell you to go find it yourself.
That's how you end up spending 11 weeks talking to three different banks, filling out three applications, and pulling your credit three times — like that Cleveland manufacturer did before he called us.
A capital stack coordinator works with 70+ lenders simultaneously. We know which lender gives the best SBA terms, which one specializes in heavy equipment, and which one can move fast on working capital. We structure all three layers at once and manage the whole process.
See how capital stacking works for your transaction.
See What You Qualify For →Capital Stacking Works at Every Size
You don't need a $3.5M project to use a capital stack. This works at every level above $500K.
A $1.2M project might look like:
- $800K in equipment financing at 7.5%
- $400K in working capital at 12%
- Blended rate: ~9%
A $6M project might look like:
- $3M SBA 504 mortgage at 6.5%
- $2M equipment financing at 8%
- $1M working capital line at 13%
- Blended rate: ~8.2%
Same concept. Different scale. The principle holds: specialists beat generalists on rate, and stacking specialists beats one bank trying to do everything.
Use the commercial funding calculator to model your own stack.
Here's What Most People Get Wrong
They think "one big loan" is the goal.
It's not.
One big loan from one bank means that bank is pricing risk across the entire project — the real estate, the equipment, and the working capital — using a single risk model. That's less efficient. A bank that doesn't specialize in equipment lending is going to charge you a premium on the equipment portion. A bank that's conservative on working capital is going to limit your amount or jack up the rate.
A capital stack breaks that apart. Each lender prices only the risk they understand. The SBA lender prices real estate risk. The equipment lender prices equipment risk. The working capital provider prices cash flow risk.
The result: lower rates on every layer, higher approval amounts, and faster funding because each lender is doing what they already do every day.
Bobby's Take
Every business owner I talk to wants one loan from one bank. I get it — it sounds simpler. One payment, one relationship, one set of paperwork.
But simpler costs you more.
A capital stack with three lenders at optimized rates saves you $50K-$200K over the life of the financing compared to one bank's all-in-one loan. And the process isn't three times harder. With a coordinator managing all three lenders, it's actually faster than going bank to bank on your own.
I've structured stacks for manufacturers, medical practices, distributors, and franchise operators. The math works the same every time. Specialists beat generalists. And the business owner who stacks lenders keeps more cash in their business than the one who settles for whatever their bank offers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is capital stacking in business financing?
Capital stacking layers multiple lending products from multiple lenders into one financing package. An SBA mortgage, equipment financing, and working capital from three different lenders — each at their best rate — structured into a single financing package with a blended cost lower than any one lender could offer alone.
What is the minimum project size for capital stacking?
Capital stacking works on projects as small as $500K. A $1.2M project might stack $800K in equipment financing with $400K in working capital. The concept scales up to $10M+ for larger commercial projects.
Is capital stacking more expensive than a single bank loan?
No — it's typically cheaper. Each lender prices only the risk they specialize in, which results in a lower blended rate. A $3.5M capital stack at 8.8% blended saves $50K-$200K compared to a single bank loan at 10-12%.
