Going for Broker At the end of your rope for ways to finance your business's growth? Forget the usual suspects and try the last place you'd think of.

When Kevin Nikkhoo took the entrepreneurial plunge in 1992, itwas with a modest amount of start-up capital--his own--that heco-founded Los Angeles-based Vertex Systems Inc. The technologyconsulting firm thrived without so much as a loan, providingtechnology solutions to the entertainment, manufacturing andfinancial services industries.

In 1999, however, Nikkhoo found himself in an unfamiliarsituation. Eager to position his company for significant growth andto capitalize on the booming IPO market of the late 1990s, heneeded a loan. He was also seeking a commercial lendingrelationship that extended beyond just borrowing.