[MissMCA]

Some funders like the "mom and pop" ISO's once they have a good track records down. The funder knows the ISO directly and the ISO is the main point of contact with the merchants so he/she knows all the details about the deal/business. I think having a small ISO that has a proven track record of well performing clients is very valuable to some direct funders.

I agree with you Scott, smaller ISOs tend to be very hands on with their merchants and are quick to obtain stipulations and requested financial documents.
Funder's do value and appreciate this. Unfortunately this is not the case for all direct Funders, this applies more to the larger direct funders who are primarily volume focused...
I do not believe they spend as much time building a relationship with the smaller one-man brokerages (and please correct me if I am wrong)... The UW staff seems to be far more communicative if you are a larger producer...

It takes far more persistence from the smaller ISO to initially "get their foot in the door" to start building that relationship with the lender, and even then, there is less flexibility in negotiating rate and term if the ISO is not assuming any of the risk by participating in the advance.