Looking for Seeds

Merchant Cash Advances (MCAs) are gaining popularity in the loan market. These short-term loans were introduced under the guise of supporting small businesses—providing short-term capital to help cover expenses in times of revenue drought. The "goal" was to help these businesses keep their doors open despite economic fluctuation. However, in practice, these loans give financial institutions the tools to exploit merchants—profiting from their weakest moments and debilitating their chances at growth.

From the sales end of the MCAs, a familiar pattern takes shape—one that mirrors the trajectory of the 2008 recession. Low-quality files are bundled with high-quality merchants to fluff portfolios and maintain artificial growth in the books. Sales representatives are incentivized to push underwriting teams into accepting borderline deals, and the company culture orbits entirely around sales as the revenue engine.

While leadership claims to prioritize proper underwriting and risk management, shady deals still move through the system—especially during moments of stress. The pressure to close deals intensifies. Fraud becomes easier to overlook. Defaults rise. And the cycle loops. It's the same structural negligence that led to the last economic collapse.

Yes, regulations are slowly tightening. But there's still too much noise—too many companies operating in gray areas for meaningful change to fully take root. This is a dying industry. And when it goes down, it's going to take a chunk of the economy with it.

This realization has me thinking: we can't reverse the death of an industry that no longer aligns with the needs of the collective. But we can study its patterns—and we can look toward the seeds waiting to root in the ashes of what's collapsing.

I keep returning to a conversation I had with my fiancé. We talked about the industries on the rise—those aligned with long-term growth, personal empowerment, and collective regeneration. The ones rooted in care, in structure, in love. Industries focused on sustainability, technology that serves human needs, and financial models that create true value rather than exploit vulnerabilities.

I want to return to that headspace. I don't want to be part of a system that's dying, especially one that feels like it's quietly killing me. We have the awareness and tools to recognize the seeds of something better. So I'm shifting my attention. Stepping back from the broken machine. Re-orienting toward the forest of thought. Watching. Listening. Gathering. And tending to the conditions I'll need to help something better take root.