Meet Our Team
Kyel Sletten
President
When it comes to talking with anyone about your SBA career, the key is knowing who you can trust to have your best interest as the focus. A senior SBA staffing professional, Kyel Sletten has been with SBA Advisors / SBA Search since 2015. Kyel is a specialist in SBA recruiting and consulting having worked with bank and non-bank lenders of all sizes across the country. He is dedicated to genuinely caring for people in the industry and having their best career interest in mind. The mantra holds true for him, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”.
Working on a nationwide level, there is hardly an SBA market that Kyel does not have a strong expertise in. He consistently looks to expand his SBA network all over the country with candidates and lenders, while maintaining a focused effort on each individual person.
This job is a family affair for Kyel. He is married to the former Juliana Terry, Tim Terry’s daughter. They are the proud parents of two children.
Tim Terry
Founder
As an author, lecturer on SBA lending, small business investment banker and consultant, Tim Terry has been delivering for his clients a multi-faceted skill set based on vast experience in training and consulting financial professionals since 1986. Tim is an active member of NAGGL and NTAGGL, past Chairman of the Region VI Advisory Council, and past Honorary Chairman of the US Congressional Committee on Small Business Affairs. In addition, Tim has served the industry by testifying before Congress regarding SBA funding issues.
Long before NAGGL began their training division, He was teaching SBA lending to bankers and CPA’s. His copyrighted instructional manuals and courses have included SBA Eligibility & Credit, Loan Closing, SOP, and SBA Compliance.
As the founder and managing partner of a small business investment banking company, Tim originated over $30 million annually in SBA 7(a) loans throughout the 1990’s. Guided by his leadership, over 450 companies acquired growth capital in just six years. This first-hand expertise has provided a unique perspective on how to market and grow loan volume for client banks.
As of 2022, Tim has orchestrated the launch of over 30 SBA programs in community and statewide banks, as well as nationwide lending platforms. He has devised marketing strategies for SBA lenders that have been targeted for micro-markets, such as CPAs and franchise organizations.
Tim’s broad knowledge of the industry has enabled him to identify SBA-experienced top talent and successfully place knowledgeable personnel with client hiring managers. His innovative approach to becoming the “Go To Expert” has included actually doing the job of SBA lenders, launching and growing SBA departments with a nationwide footprint, and keeping a finger on the pulse of industry dynamics and personnel costs by conducting the Annual SBA Compensation Survey.
No other consultant brings this rare combination of broad-based knowledge and depth of experience to the table. Whether you are looking for an SBA lending position, need to find talented employees, are starting a new SBA division, want to focus on growing your program, or seek to build specific strategies to target markets, you need look no further.