“TruFund was able to give us assistance, and with their help we were able to create over 20 jobs and flourish as a business.”
Tabatha Gentry, Owner — A&P Drywall, LLC
The Business
One day, Tabatha Gentry and her husband Luke decided to start a family owned business, A&P Drywall, LLC (A&P), instead of continuing to work in construction for others. One month later, Tabatha decided to leave her existing job to become both a stay-at-home mom and an entrepreneur, taking full charge of all of the new company’s administrative responsibilities.
Today, A&P Drywall, based in Alabama, is a family-run construction company that specializes in drywall, metal framing and acoustical installation. The company completes drywalling in both newly-constructed and remodeled commercial and retail buildings across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia.
A&P has completed various construction projects throughout the Southeastern United States for clients such as Walmart, Academy Sports and Outdoor, Aldi, Talbots, and Five Guys Grill.
The Opportunity
A&P was growing rapidly and revenues reached a new high. Then it won a major contract for drywall work on the a major grocery store project in Jackson, TN. Also, A&P expected to gross significant revenue based other contracts already in place. Under the grocery store contract, A&P would have to complete a notable percentage of work before invoicing was allowed. Combined with all of the other growth, this great new contract began to look like the foundation for a great cash flow crisis.
In an attempt to head off a cash crunch, A&P approached six different banks seeking finance to purchase materials and hire necessary new staff. With A&P barely two years into operations, the banks were simply unwilling to take the risk.
So, A&P approached TruFund in hopes of a chance, an opportunity. At TruFund, we looked deeper into A&P’s operations and provided the company with a loan for contract support. With this new loan, A&P hired 20 additional employees, improved its monthly cash flow, and was able to continue to bid on new, great contracts.
