Alisa Rusanoff works with clients ranging from small businesses too large enterprises around the globe to solve their supply chain finance needs and cash flow constrains

Tell us about Newbridge Global Sourcing! 

We work with clients ranging from small businesses too large enterprises around the globe to solve their supply chain finance needs and cash flow constrains. To business owners, maximizing cash flow is a common challenge. You need to purchase inventory to fill your shelves and your orders, but you can’t buy inventory until you free up cash. If you have already extended your bank line and exhausted your equity, where do you turn? To us – we provide payables funding to companies with $10 million to $500 million of revenues, an established pipeline and a track record of success with their suppliers and end debtors. In addition, if you have established relationships with your customers, we can finance your accounts receivable and you can free up your cash to invest elsewhere in your business. 

It’s our practice to work with our clients and share our expertise and insights as partners. I believe that a true relationship with a client extends to knowledge and expertise and advice in various areas, not just providing capital. Working with us, companies can improve their inventory flow, working capital efficiency and vendor relationships. 

Do you have a fixed work routine? Is it important to have one? Any tips for our readers?

If certain  habits, for example reading The Financial Times, helps you in your professional life, I would make it a part of an everyday schedule and you can call it a fixed work routine. Otherwise I very much prefer creativity and an custom tailored approach to the various challenges and tasks at work. Being entrepreneurial means being able to adapt to a changing environment, growing competition and technological developments. 

What are your short/long term goals?

My short term professional goals are to grow Newbridge. Hopefully, as we advance in size and complexity of deal flow, we will remain a flat organization where  client relationships still are paramount. The exhausting bureaucracy at big banks do nothing to help small businesses, while alternative sources of capital are just too expensive or not available. We want to speak the same language as our clients and adapt our offerings to their needs and drive value for the customer. 

The longer term goal in my view would be focusing on sustainable investments and other ESG projects. This should create efficiencies for clients while driving a positive impact across environmental, social ,economic and developmental goals. 

What is one thing you find to be true that most people would disagree with?

It is a belief that you need to concentrate and be hyper focused on one single thing if you want to succeed. I think  that now that the world is so mobile, integrated and global, you need to be able to have a conversation outside of your industry and have a more holistic knowledge base. It is possible to integrate more than one industry together in a business idea. In addition, robotics and automation would eventually have most of the workforce learn new skills in order to survive and have a happy life, so it important to be adaptable and open to new areas.   

What do you think is the biggest obstacle for female founders? How can we overcome it?

I work in an industry which is predominantly male, and I do occasionally meet people that automatically assume I’m a secretary or an assistant. This wasn’t necessarily a pleasant feeling at first but then I realized that this is really their problem, not mine. They live in the past century, not me. Focus on your goals and ideas, not what people say or think about you. At the end of the day it’s up to you to build your personal brand and your business.