After negotiating a highly competitive deal on the hit television series “Shark Tank,” Total Merchant Resources has opened up an office in Westminster.
Total Merchant Resources (TMR for short) is a startup business specializing in alternative business financing, including merchant cash advances and merchant services for credit card processing. Essentially, TMR supplies small businesses too small to get loans from a bank with the cash they need to run necessary business operations.
TMR has been featured on “Shark Tank” and is an exciting indication that business in Westminster is growing. After appearing on television and making a deal with venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, they’ve experienced a 600 percent growth in revenues, which continues to increase. After working with companies such as Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts, the company feels it has the capability to fund projects undertaken by McDaniel College. President of the Westminster branch, Chuck Heber, says that “McDaniel is an institution that can benefit from our services just as much as I can benefit from its students’ employment.”
The recently opened Westminster branch currently has four employees, three of which are McDaniel students. Heber has expressed interest in participating in McDaniel’s interview day, hosted by the business department, as a means to grow his company. He said, “I value the success I have had with McDaniel students and interview day is a perfect way to grow interest and employees.” In five to 10 years, Heber wants to increase his sales force to between 25 and 50 employees and branch out into other financial industries. Heber went on to say, “Westminster is a great location and it has the necessary financial resources because it is close to Baltimore, without having the big city hassle.”
Alex Hanna, a senior economics major at McDaniel and business consultant of the Westminster branch, said, “TMR is an exciting place to work because of its potential to grow as a relatively new company. It is a place where, if you work hard, success will follow.”
While TMR is having a lot of success as a growing company, it has strong competitors. On Deck, a similarly structured company to TMR valued at $1.6 billion, Can Capital, and American Express are notable rivals. The executives at TMR see On Deck’s success as proof that they can reach similar heights. The company’s goal is to become a brand that every business owner in the U.S. knows they can depend on for merchant services and working capital.
