This merchant won't qualify for SBA if he's a recent startup. Like I said, 40k-50k is his best bet so if you're a halfway decent salesperson you can influence him to take the smaller advance now in order to establish the relationship. This will in turn open the door to larger cash advance amounts in the future. You need to learn how to sell him on the dream and properly manage his expectations so he'll accept the lower advance. Sales is a battle of wills. He will either sell you on 250k or you'll sell him on 40k. The problem is that if he sells you, you won't earn a penny.