# ThinkSBA

Nationwide SBA 7(a) and 504 loan brokerage.

A nationwide SBA 7(a) and 504 loan brokerage covering business acquisitions ($250k–$5M), partner buyouts, owner-occupied real estate, and franchises; it shops applications across a multi-bank lender network to create competing offers.

- Category: Loan Brokers
- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- Where it fits: Set Up & Fund the Search, Diligence & Close the Deal
- Website: https://thinksba.com

## At a Glance

A solid second brokerage quote; make brokers compete for your deal the same way they make lenders compete.

- Track Record: A nationwide 7(a) and 504 brokerage that shops applications across many banks.
- Type: Broker (shops your deal)
- Footprint: Nationwide.
- Deal Size: $500k to $5M.
- Searcher Practice: A general SBA lending desk, handled remotely.
  - Its front page describes a nationwide SBA 504 and 7(a) brokerage for people buying a business, a franchise or a partner's share, and its acquisition page speaks to a first-time buyer or an experienced acquisition entrepreneur. The two mentions of a self-funded searcher sit inside an August 2026 article listing four kinds of buyer the network has served, so what it publishes is acquisition lending and not a practice built around a search.
- Published Terms: Acquisitions $250k to $5M, plus partner buyouts and franchises; its fee is 1% of the gross loan, earned after funding, with nothing up front by its own FAQ.

## What It Costs

Its FAQ prints the fee: 1% of the gross loan amount, earned after the loan funds, with no upfront fee of any kind. Publishes indicative rate ranges: business loans 6.75%–11.75%, commercial real estate 5.50%–9.25% on the front page, with wider bands on the program pages.

## Best For

A competing brokerage quote, especially for deals with a real-estate component or [partner buyouts](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/partner-buyout)

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: 20+ years of SBA experience; $253M+ funded across 138+ closed deals
- Pro: Explicitly multi-lender: creates competitive tension across rates and fees
- Pro: Covers structures adjacent to pure acquisitions (partner buyouts, real estate) that some acquisition-only brokers don't
- Con: Practice is broader than acquisitions (real estate, franchises), so it's less [searcher](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/searcher)-specialized than acquisition-only brokers
- Con: The front page and the program pages print different rate bands for the same loans
- Con: Promotes a paid monthly 'Business Acquisition Accelerator' program alongside brokerage

## What Searchers Say

Founder Ryan Smith is an active SBA educator (podcast appearances, including hosting [QoE](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/qoe) discussions with diligence providers). Less searcher-community presence than Pioneer, but more breadth.

## Compared With

- Which SBA loan broker should package your deal? (https://searchspheresource.com/resources/compare/pioneer-capital-advisory-vs-thinksba.md)
- What can you learn about the financing before you call anybody? (https://searchspheresource.com/resources/compare/loanbud-vs-thinksba.md)

## Sources

- https://thinksba.com/
- https://thinksba.com/faq/

Also on this site: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/category/loan-broker.md
Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/thinksba
Last checked: 2026-09-20

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt