Each phase ends with a skill you run on a real deal the following week. No theory blocks, no filler.
Phase 01Foundations
Weeks 1 to 3The alternative business funding landscape: what every product actually is, who funds what, and where the money moves between the merchant and the desk. Business setup the right way the first time, so you're licensed, structured, and bank-ready before Week 4. Reading bank statements at the speed real underwriters read them: average daily balance, deposit cadence, NSFs, negative days, position stacking, and the seven signals that decide a deal before the application is even submitted.
By end of phaseBy the end of Phase 1, you can scan a merchant's last 3 months of bank statements and call the tier in under 60 seconds.
Phase 02AI Stack
Weeks 4 to 6The Funded Method AI workflow: the same stack the brokerage runs on, configured for your desk. CRM and intake automation so merchants self-qualify before they ever speak to you. Auto-underwriting that drafts a tier call, position assessment, and submission shortlist from a fresh bank statement upload. We won't name the specific tools on the sales page. Those reveal inside the cohort once you're under NDA, because publishing them broadly compresses the edge.
By end of phaseBy the end of Phase 2, your stack is running. Submission drafts generate themselves. You review, you don't draft from scratch.
Phase 03Lender Relationships
Weeks 7 to 8The lender matrix: 200+ funders organized by buy box, position, factor rate, time-in-business minimum, industry restrictions, and 12 other variables. Pitching and negotiating with AEs the way an ISO who has actually funded with their desk pitches, not the way a cold prospect with no track record pitches. Buy-box mastery: which lender to send a deal to, given the deal profile, and how to read a decline as a re-route signal instead of a dead end.
By end of phaseBy the end of Phase 3, you have working relationships with 8 to 12 AEs across the lender categories your deal flow actually touches.
Phase 04Deal Flow
Weeks 9 to 11Where deals actually come from in 2026 (referral, outbound, content, paid acquisition, partnerships) and which channels make sense at your stage. The full submission process from intake call to funded wire: stip collection, pre-flight, submission email, follow-up cadence, counteroffer math, closing call, and the post-funding referral ask. Closing and funding without the merchant going dark in the middle.
By end of phaseBy the end of Phase 4, you have a documented deal flow process you can run on the next 10 files without thinking about it.
Your first 1099 hire: when to do it, what they actually do, how to onboard them onto the stack so they're producing in Week 1 instead of Week 6. Which automations to ship next, which to leave manual, and the operational ceilings that show up at $30K/month, $100K/month, and $500K/month. The 6- and 7-figure roadmap as a sequence of operational shifts, not just deal volume.
By end of phaseBy the end of Phase 5, you know what the next 18 months of operating decisions look like. And which one to make first.