Today we're speaking with Ilya Fridman, CEO at Byzfunder, the alternative small business lender offering financial solutions in as little as 48 hours. Byzfunder has deployed over $1.5 billion to more than 27,000 businesses across the U.S., and serves sole proprietors, gig workers, and independent contractors that traditional lenders routinely turn away, with funding amounts up to $500,000 and a streamlined application requiring nothing more than three months of bank statements.
At Zarin Fabrics, we have been New York's go-to resource for designer upholstery and drapery fabrics since 1936, serving the interior designers, freelance decorators, and set professionals who have made our Lower East Side warehouse a starting point for careers in the industry. A significant portion of our professional customer base operates as sole proprietors and gig creatives, often working through personal bank accounts and non-traditional income streams that disqualify them from conventional financing. We were eager to speak with Ilya about how Byzfunder's inclusive eligibility requirements open the door for exactly this kind of business owner, what the funding process actually looks like for a freelance designer with variable income, and why the assumption of disqualification is the single biggest barrier keeping creative professionals from the capital they have already earned.
Q1. The interior design industry has changed dramatically with the rise of freelance decorators and gig set designers. From your perspective, why have traditional lenders consistently failed this segment of creative professionals, and what does that failure actually cost them?
Traditional lending was architected for a different era of business. The assumptions baked into bank underwriting, W-2 income, two years of tax returns, established business credit, a dedicated commercial account, reflect a workforce that no longer represents how a significant portion of the economy actually operates. A freelance interior designer or gig set decorator does not look like that on paper, even when their client roster is full and their revenue is consistent. It is a structural mismatch between a borrower and a system that was never designed to evaluate them.
The cost is concrete. When a decorator cannot access working capital, they take on fewer projects, purchase smaller quantities per sourcing run, and pass on opportunities that require upfront investment. Zarin Fabrics has long functioned as the "School of Zarin" for early-career designers precisely because it is accessible and resource-rich. But access to great materials only goes so far if a freelancer cannot finance the purchase orders that would let them scale. The gap between a talented independent designer and a financially equipped one is rarely about skill. It is almost always about capital.
Q2. One of the most common barriers freelance designers face is that they operate through personal bank accounts rather than dedicated business accounts. How does Byzfunder's underwriting model handle that reality, and why does it matter to a sole proprietor trying to grow their client roster?
Using a personal bank account for business activity is not a red flag. It is a description of how the majority of sole proprietors and independent contractors in this country actually operate, particularly in the early and mid-stages of building a client base. Many freelance interior designers and gig set decorators have never opened a separate business account because they are not required to, and their clients pay them just fine without one. Most lenders treat this as disqualifying. We treat it as normal.
Byzfunder accepts applications from businesses operating through personal bank accounts. What we evaluate is the deposit behavior in that account: the pattern, the consistency, the volume over time. A freelance designer depositing project payments from multiple clients each month is demonstrating real, recurring revenue. That is what matters to us. For a sole proprietor trying to grow their roster, this means the first question that would eliminate them elsewhere is not a question that eliminates them here.
Q3. Traditional banks lean heavily on credit scores and tax returns to make lending decisions. Byzfunder evaluates real cash flow instead. Can you walk through what that actually looks like for a freelance designer whose income comes from a mix of project invoices, platform payouts, and direct client payments?
Cash flow underwriting starts from a different premise. Rather than asking what a borrower's history looks like in a formalized report, we ask what their bank deposits are telling us right now. For a freelance interior designer, that income might arrive as a wire from a residential client, a payment through an invoicing platform, or a deposit from a commercial set design job. The sources vary. The pattern is what we are reading. We look at three months of statements, we do not run a hard credit pull, and the evaluation carries no impact on the applicant's credit profile.
For a designer generating $10,000 or more per month across their various revenue streams, the answer is often yes, even if their credit score is imperfect or their tax returns reflect the write-downs that creative freelancers routinely take. This model does not penalize borrowers for operating the way freelancers operate. It reads their actual economic activity and makes a decision based on that. For many applicants, that is the first time a lender has done that.
Q4. Byzfunder has provided over $1.5 billion in funding to more than 27,000 small businesses across the U.S. What does that track record tell us about the demand for gig-economy-friendly lending, and what can a freelance designer realistically expect in terms of funding amounts and timeline?
The volume tells you something important: this demand is not niche. It is enormous and largely unmet by the mainstream financial system. More than 50,000 small businesses have come to Byzfunder because they needed capital and the traditional route was unavailable, too slow, or too documentation-heavy. A large portion of those businesses look exactly like the freelance designers and independent creatives who form the professional customer base at places like Zarin Fabrics.
In terms of what a freelance designer can realistically expect: funding amounts go up to $500,000, calibrated to the borrower's actual cash flow profile. A designer generating $10,000 to $20,000 per month has a realistic path to meaningful working capital, not a token advance. The ability to secure funding in as little as 48 hours is not just a convenience; it's a necessity for creative professionals operating in fast-paced environments where opportunities can arise and demand quick capital deployment. Merchant cash advance repayments adjust with daily sales volume, so payments move with the natural rhythm of a freelance income rather than demanding a fixed amount in a slow month.
For a freelance designer, this capital isn't just a loan; it's a strategic investment. Imagine being able to pay a deposit to a custom furniture maker for a high-value project, or hiring a specialized assistant for a critical three-month engagement, without waiting for client payments to clear. The return on investment often far outweighs the cost of capital when it enables you to take on larger projects, meet tight deadlines, and ultimately scale your business. This flexibility ensures that capital works for you, allowing you to seize opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.
Q5. For a freelance interior designer or set decorator who has never applied for business funding before, maybe because they assumed they wouldn't qualify, what is the single most important thing they should understand about their eligibility, and what is the first concrete step they should take?
The assumption of disqualification is itself the most common reason freelancers never access capital. They see the traditional bank checklist, business entity, two years of tax returns, commercial account, strong credit score, and they self-select out before anyone has reviewed their actual situation. At Byzfunder, that checklist does not apply. Eligibility comes down to three things: six months in business, $10,000 in monthly revenue, and a U.S.-based operation. If a freelance designer has been working consistently and generating that revenue, they likely have a case to make regardless of account structure or credit history.
The first step is a soft eligibility check. It takes minutes, carries no credit impact, and comes with no obligation. It is information, not a commitment. For a designer who has spent years building a client base and sourcing from the best fabric houses in New York, finding out whether working capital is accessible is simply the next logical step.
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