In this episode of the Realistic CEO podcast, Mike interviews Raymond Lanza-Weil, who leads Common Capital, a US Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in Western Massachusetts that provides loans to small businesses that can’t get full financing from banks and pairs capital with free technical assistance, training, and education. Raymond shares his path from dropping out of college and starting in bank management training to commercial lending, then shifting to nonprofit community development finance after feeling big-bank work was too mechanical and profit-driven. He explains what CDFIs are, Common Capital’s origin story, how lending decisions focus on repayment ability, willingness, and a plan B, and why Common Capital prioritizes character, commitment ,and coachability over credit scores. Mike reads from his children’s book “I Am a CEO,” and Raymond discusses the “five types of work” and gives startup advice to write and share a simple plan, especially with skeptics.

00:00 Dream to Be CEO

00:27 Meet Common Capital

00:35 What Common Capital Does

01:41 From Banking to CDFIs

05:58 What Is a CDFI

07:26 Common Capital Origin Story

09:07 Why Leave Big Banking

11:09 Learning Business on the Job

12:14 How Lending Decisions Work

14:31 Beyond Capital Support

15:45 Becoming the CEO

16:52 Choosing the Right Borrowers

18:44 Character and Credit Bias

19:29 Credit Scores vs Character

20:28 Foreclosure Story Deep Dive

22:03 Reading Realistic CEO

25:37 Lemonade Stand Lesson

26:49 Five Types of Work

27:00 Working Hard Focus

28:08 Working Right Balance

29:43 Working Smart Strengths

30:33 Networking Relationships

31:25 Teamwork In Person

32:36 LBW Career Reflections

34:30 Startup Advice Simple Plan

36:21 Fun Fact Sleepy Voice

37:25 Thanks and Support Plug