Fueling Tech Startups with Debt Financing | Bhanu Laul from Recur Club

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro-experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Bhanu from Recur Club. How are you doing today, Bhanu?

Bhanu Laul: Hi, Ernesto. Thank you for inviting me. I’m doing good.

Ernesto: It’s great to have you. I mean, you have a lot of experience already, being the growth consultant with them and other companies. Definitely great to have you on. But let’s kick it off on Recur Club. In your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Bhanu: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks again, Ernesto, for having me here. It’s an honor. At Recur Club, we are a fintech company that helps early-stage tech companies get access to debt financing. That’s what we do.

Ernesto: Oh, perfect.

Bhanu: All right.

Ernesto: So that way our listeners could get a good understanding of your company, what key problems do you solve for clients?

Bhanu: That’s a good question. The company was started about 2.5–3 years ago by two really smart guys. The biggest problem in the tech industry, especially in emerging economies, is that many of these companies struggle to get funding easily. The only options are equity funding or venture debt, both of which can be very predatory. These solutions often don’t work for most companies, except for the top 2%. Our goal was simple: to provide access to the remaining 98% of companies in a non-dilutive and non-predatory manner. Over the last three years, we’ve successfully disbursed close to $300 million in debt financing to new-age companies and established ourselves as a leader in the Southeast Asian market.

Ernesto: That’s amazing to hear. So is there a segment or vertical that is your ideal ICP?

Bhanu: Yes, we are very specific. We work with asset-light, new-age companies—typically tech companies that are unbankable for traditional institutions like Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan. These companies have been operating for about 3–5 years, are not yet established, but are growing at a decent pace and have found product-market fit. That’s our sweet spot.

Ernesto: For our listeners, you can check them out at recurclub.com. What role does the website play in your client acquisition?

Bhanu: The website plays an evolving role. Initially, we thought our growth would come primarily from outbound efforts, but over time we’ve seen our website bring in decent traffic, especially from our ICP who actively look for solutions like ours. It’s not just about traffic; we’re converting visitors into customers. A good website is essential for B2B companies—it’s a misconception to think otherwise. You need to lead on all fronts: outbound, inbound, and partnerships.

Ernesto: Definitely. Talking about inbound and outbound, what would you say is your top client acquisition channel?

Bhanu: Honestly, it’s quite spread out. Outbound still contributes significantly, but inbound is growing fast. Partnerships also bring in a decent lead flow. All three channels are equally important, and we hedge our bets across them.

Ernesto: Let’s switch gears a little, Bhanu, and talk about you as a leader. You’re the growth consultant at Recur Club. What are some key tasks you focus on in your day-to-day work?

Bhanu: I get bored easily—hopefully, my bosses don’t hear that! Recently, I’ve been focusing on our partnership channel: acquiring new partners, retaining them, and nurturing relationships to generate leads. Before that, I worked on inbound and pre-sales efforts, optimizing the website, creating content, and converting visitors into leads. My strength lies in setting up processes, building teams, and taking things from zero to one.

Ernesto: Sounds like you’ve got a full plate and like to keep active. That’s awesome to hear.

Bhanu: Yeah, setting up processes and then moving to new challenges is what I do best.

Ernesto: Great to hear. Let’s move to our next section: rapid-fire questions. Are you ready?

Bhanu: Sure.

Ernesto: First off, what’s the last book you read?

Bhanu: I’m obsessed with Deng Xiaoping, the leader of modern China. The last book I read was about his life.

Ernesto: Great read for our listeners. Next, what’s the one thing your company is focused on the most right now?

Bhanu: Growth. Optimizing channels, converting potential customers, and increasing our market share. Growth over everything else.

Ernesto: Makes sense, especially with you as the growth consultant.

Bhanu: Absolutely. Right place, right time!

Ernesto: If there were no boundaries in technology, what’s one thing you’d want fixed for your role as a marketer?

Bhanu: Honestly, converting every qualified website visitor into a customer. Technology that helps track and convert visitors would be game-changing.

Ernesto: Definitely. If there’s one repetitive task you could automate, what would it be?

Bhanu: Intelligent follow-ups. Current tools are rules-based and lack context. I’d love automation that knows when and how often to follow up intelligently.

Ernesto: Perfect. Lastly, what’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself if you were restarting your marketing journey?

Bhanu: It’s all about the customer. Spend the first few months understanding them—their problems, their language, their behaviors. If you truly know your customer, everything else will fall into place.

Ernesto: Great advice. Knowing the customer is definitely key.

Bhanu: Especially in today’s dynamic world. Things change fast, and you need to know where your customer is and what they’re doing.

Ernesto: Absolutely. Thanks for that, Bhanu. Well, thanks a lot for being on the show with us today. If someone forgets everything about the interview, what’s the one thing they should remember about your company?

Bhanu: If you’re a tech founder looking for financing, reach out to us. That’s all I can say!

Ernesto: You guys heard it. Check them out at recurclub.com—capital that grows with you. Bhanu, thank you so much for being here. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. See you in the next episode of Pathmonk Presents.

Bhanu: Thank you.