Get to Know Our Growing Wisconsin Team

efund

May 5, 2023

EFund Loan Officer, Tom Clark visits Annalisa Bermel on the construction site of the future St. James Social Boutique Hotel and Lounge in Bayfield, WI.

The Entrepreneur Fund recently expanded to serve 12 additional counties in northern Wisconsin. We have been busy building a great team who is ready to partner with Wisconsin small businesses. Our growing team brings diverse perspectives and backgrounds to best serve small businesses and build strong community partnerships. Get to know them below and check out upcoming events where you can meet them in-person.

Meet Thomas Clark, Business Loan Officer

Tom has been a resident of Spooner, Wisconsin for over 12 years. He has a vast array of business experience ranging from a start-up recruiting service to overseeing seven wholesale distribution centers located throughout the Midwest.

Coaching is one of Tom’s passions that started with basketball and has led him to the Entrepreneur Fund. It’s a skill that translates directly to his role as a business loan offer. As a business loan officer, he works alongside business owners and local partners to help rural communities succeed. He enjoys the process of getting to know his clients and helping them to achieve their goals.

In his spare time, Tom enjoys spending time on his family cranberry marsh and with his family, especially his wife and two daughters.

Meet Kara Gunderson, Business Developer

With over 20 years of experience working in the real estate industry, Kara knows how important connecting and building trust with clients is. She joined the EFund team because of her passion to support small business owners realize their goals in rural communities. Kara has spent most of her life living in rural communities and has an appreciation for how small businesses can make communities stronger and more sustainable.

As a business developer, Kara will work alongside business owners to help them define their goals and provide financing and strategic advice needed to get them there. Kara resides in South Range, Wisconsin and in her free time she loves to spend time outdoors hiking, kayaking, agate picking and mushroom hunting.

Meet Rick Albrecht, Business Developer

Rick holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and has over 25 years of experience in growing, shaping, and leading organizations. He has worked with companies that range from 15 employees to Fortune 500 companies and has a well-rounded knowledge of all business disciplines.

As a business developer, Rick enjoys the ability to align his passion for helping people with his expertise of growing organizations. He understands that we all face challenges and need a trusted partner to count on. As that trusted partner, we collaborate with business owners and community partners to help businesses succeed.

Rick is a resident of Danbury, Wisconsin. Outside of work he enjoys all the recreation that Wisconsin has to offer including spending time on his pontoon, hunting, fishing, and home projects.

Meet Caleb Hacker, Program Coordinator

Caleb is from Balsam Lake Wisconsin and previously held the role of marketing specialist and coordinator for Polk County Community Services. He holds a business degree with a emphasis on entrepreneurship, and is thrilled to be supporting entrepreneurs across northern Wisconsin as EFund’s program coordinator.

In his role, Caleb supports programming and events based across EFund’s region. He enjoys connecting with business owners with programs and resources that will benefit them. As a native Wisconsinite, Caleb is proud to support the expansion of needed business services into the area.

Caleb enjoys hiking, camping, snowboarding, photography and exploring outdoors in his free time. He currently resides in the Twin Ports.

Meet Michael Lattery, Director of Business Finance

Michael joined EFund in 2009 as a business developer and was named the Director of Business Finance in 2013. Prior to joining EFund he was a Domino’s Pizza franchisee for nearly 18 years and owned 12 restaurants in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He now leads the EFund Lending Team which is now made up of 19 professionals who are responsible for originating small business loans that support our regions business owners.

The mission of EFund has always been personally inspiring to Michael. The work of assisting small business owners with starting, expanding or even solving complicated issues is something that he continues to enjoy. He has been able to lean on his own business experience to actively work to get flexible financing into the hands of the region’s most promising entrepreneurs.

Michael lives in the Twin Ports and enjoys spending time with his family and volunteering his time with local nonprofits.

A Phased Approach to Wisconsin Services

As we expand our services and team into Wisconsin we are taking a phased approach. In 2023, EFund will be focusing on expanding into the following seven counties and four Native nations before continuing east in 2024.

  • Bayfield
  • Burnett
  • Washburn
  • Sawyer
  • Ashland
  • Iron
  • Price
  • Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
  • Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
  • St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe

Are you a Wisconsin business owner or future partner?

Join our email list to stay in the loop on EFund news, programs and updates or contact us through our website so we can get you in touch with the best person to meet your needs. We look forward working alongside you!

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