Build a Subprime Lending Business That Actually Works
From entity setup and state licensing to underwriting non-prime borrowers, pricing for real yield, and scaling your capital stack — this is the complete operating playbook for launching a compliant, profitable lending operation in auto, personal, or installment loan markets.
"The operators who build lasting lending businesses are the ones who respect the back end as much as the front — and this course teaches both."— Jer
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Structure a legally compliant subprime lending operation, including entity setup, state licensing, and required disclosures under TILA, ECOA, and the CFPB framework.
- Build a creditworthy underwriting model that scores non-prime borrowers using alternative data, debt-to-income ratios, and proprietary risk tiers.
- Price loan products correctly — calculating APR, origination fees, loss reserves, and yield targets to hit sustainable net interest margins.
- Source and underwrite a performing loan portfolio, including direct origination and purchasing paper from dealer or broker networks.
- Implement collections, default management, and charge-off procedures that minimize loss rates and protect business cash flow.
- Design a capital stack and funding strategy — from personal capital and warehouse lines to whole-loan sales and securitization basics — to scale origination volume.
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 28 lessons
Foundations of a Subprime Lending Business
Establishes the market context, business models, and legal entity structure needed before originating a single loan.
- 1.1The Subprime Lending LandscapeIncluded
- 1.2Choosing Your Business ModelIncluded
- 1.3Entity Formation and Ownership StructureIncluded
- 1.4State Lending Licenses and Regulatory RegistrationIncluded
- 1.5Required Disclosures — TILA, ECOA, and the CFPB FrameworkIncluded
Underwriting Non-Prime Borrowers
Builds a rigorous, defensible underwriting model for scoring and approving non-prime applicants using traditional and alternative data.
- 2.1Reading Non-Prime Credit ProfilesIncluded
- 2.2Debt-to-Income Analysis and Payment CapacityIncluded
- 2.3Alternative Data Sources and Credit ScoringIncluded
- 2.4Building Your Risk Tier SystemIncluded
- 2.5Underwriting Auto, Personal, and Installment LoansIncluded
Loan Pricing, Product Structure, and Profitability
Covers the full economics of a subprime loan — from APR construction to loss reserves — so every product is priced to be sustainable.
- 3.1APR Calculation and Fee StructureIncluded
- 3.2Loss Reserves and Expected Default ModelingIncluded
- 3.3Yield Targets and Net Interest MarginIncluded
- 3.4Designing Compliant Loan ProductsIncluded
Origination Channels and Portfolio Sourcing
Teaches how to build and manage the pipelines — direct, dealer, and broker — that fill your loan portfolio with performing paper.
- 4.1Direct-to-Consumer OriginationIncluded
- 4.2Building Dealer and Broker NetworksIncluded
- 4.3Buying Loan Paper — Due Diligence and PricingIncluded
- 4.4Loan Origination Systems and Workflow AutomationIncluded
Collections, Default Management, and Charge-Off Procedures
Equips operators with the policies, tools, and legal guardrails to minimize loss rates and protect cash flow across the loan lifecycle.
- 5.1Early-Stage Collections StrategyIncluded
- 5.2Late-Stage Collections and Workout OptionsIncluded
- 5.3Repossession, Collateral Recovery, and RemarketingIncluded
- 5.4Charge-Off Policies and FDCPA ComplianceIncluded
- 5.5Tracking Loss Metrics and Refining UnderwritingIncluded
Capital Stack, Funding Strategy, and Scaling
Designs the funding architecture — from startup capital to warehouse lines and whole-loan sales — that allows you to scale origination volume.
- 6.1Funding Your First Loans — Startup Capital OptionsIncluded
- 6.2Warehouse Lines of CreditIncluded
- 6.3Whole-Loan Sales and Forward-Flow AgreementsIncluded
- 6.4Introduction to Securitization for Non-Prime LendersIncluded
- 6.5Scaling Operations — People, Process, and Compliance InfrastructureIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
Aspiring Lending Entrepreneurs
You want to launch a subprime auto or installment loan business and need a complete, honest blueprint — from licensing and compliance to underwriting and capital.
Auto Dealer Finance Operators
You're already in the dealer network and want to understand or build the in-house financing side — underwriting, pricing, and portfolio management included.
Consumer Finance Professionals
You work in financial services and want to move into a principal operator role — running your own lending book rather than executing on someone else's model.
Loan Brokers Moving Upstream
You've been sourcing borrowers for lenders and want to understand what it takes to become the lender — capturing the yield instead of just the referral fee.
Portfolio Investors and Note Buyers
You're buying or evaluating non-prime loan paper and need the underwriting, due diligence, and loss-modeling frameworks to price pools with real discipline.
Community and CDFI Lenders
You serve underbanked borrowers through a mission-driven lens and want rigorous tools for compliant product design, risk tiering, and sustainable portfolio performance.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Jer
If you're reading this, you've probably already done enough research to know that subprime lending is a legitimate, large, and durable business — and that the borrowers in this market aren't deadbeats, they're people the prime lenders won't touch for reasons that often have nothing to do with their actual ability to repay a well-structured loan. You see the opportunity. The harder question is how to build something that's actually sustainable: compliant enough to survive regulatory scrutiny, priced correctly to absorb real losses, and funded well enough to grow.
That's the gap I built this curriculum to close. There is a lot of general information about lending out there. What there isn't is a clear, sequenced operating manual that takes you from "I want to run a subprime lending business" to understanding every layer of how one actually works — legal, credit, pricing, collections, and capital. This course is that manual.
We start at the foundation because the foundation is where most first-time lenders get into trouble. Entity structure, state licensing, and the disclosure requirements under TILA, ECOA, and the CFPB framework aren't exciting — but getting them wrong doesn't just create legal exposure, it can end your business before a single loan is made. We get them right first, then we build on top of them.
From there, the curriculum moves into the work that actually determines whether your portfolio performs: underwriting non-prime borrowers honestly, building a risk tier system you can defend, and pricing your loan products to cover expected losses while generating real yield. These are skills. They take time to develop, and this course will give you the frameworks and the math to start building them.
I want to be direct about what this course is not: it is not a shortcut, and it is not a get-rich pitch. Subprime lending done well is a serious financial services business, and it rewards operators who respect the complexity. If you're willing to engage with the underwriting, the compliance, the collections, and the capital structure — all of it — this is the right place to start. Come in ready to work, and you'll leave with a real blueprint.
— Jer
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- 6 modules, 28 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed