Disadvantaged Higher Ed Entrepreneur Achieves Federal HUBZone Certification

Buffalo, NY – Pulcher World Management, LLC (PWM) today announced it achieved Federal HUBZone certification late last month, a distinction further qualifying the company as an excellent choice for any Federal Private Collection Agency (PCA) seeking to meet subcontracting requirements for a U.S. Department of Education (ED) task order.

“I am very excited about the future of PWM and its ability to help PCAs meet their goals,” said James Cunningham, President. “Here in Western New York, our location provides a plethora of skilled potential employees and experienced executives.  Our core belief is to treat our biggest investment – our employees – with the ultimate respect, so they can best counsel borrowers.  I am looking forward to personally training and tutoring all of our people to ensure compliance across the board.”

With this announcement PWM is believed to be the only HUBZone-certified collection agency that is also a small disadvantaged business (SDB), enabling PCAs to take credit for necessary expenditures with both HUBZone and SDB firms through one relationship, saving the average PCA tens of thousands of dollars per month, and in some cases up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per month, in work that would otherwise be outsourced to multiple partners.  Federal regulations require those with HUBZone commitments in approved subcontracting plans to make subcontracting awards to certified firms only, and not those simply seeking a certification that may or may not be obtained.  To become certified, among other things, a firm must have its principal office within a HUBZone and must have at least 35% of its staff living in a HUBZone.

James Cunningham’s personal status as a socially and economically disadvantaged person makes the firm an SDB under U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) guidelines, enabling PCAs to meet these requirements with a known performer on ED who has managed ED departments for PCAs and subcontractors alike.  When employed by NCO Financial Systems for nearly a decade prior to its rebranding, James managed 25 people and was the firm’s number one supervisor on ED based on the value of loans set up for rehabilitation.  More recently, James successfully implemented a subcontract for another PCA, with rehabilitation retention rates approaching 90% among a staff he trained with very little prior experience.

People in the PCA community think highly of Mr. Cunningham. “I had the pleasure of working with James for a number of years and consider him an outstanding talent with expertise in all areas of student loan collections.  Starting his own company seemed like the perfect next step in his career,” said Joe Dilucia, Vice President at Progressive Financial Services.

PWM is a member of the Fed Cetera Network. “We’re proud to say that all of the certified HUBZone collection agencies actively seeking to become Federal subcontractors are among our members,” said Nick Bernardo, who operates the Fed Cetera Network, a “business development organization” as the term is used within 48 CFR 52.219-9 that enables PCAs to comply with subcontracting requirements by helping prime contractors and subcontractors find one another and meet a host of underlying regulations and contractual requirements. “Our program helps startups and existing small businesses more efficiently compete for this work with no up-front costs, no need for fixed marketing or payroll expenses, and no need to pay compliance professionals to study Federal subcontracting rules and periodic changes to those rules.  Every time a small business joins the network, particularly a startup, we take it as an endorsement of our model.”

Fed Cetera is hosting a virtual trade fair series for PCAs this fall to enable PCAs to efficiently meet and pre-qualify potential subcontractors.  PCAs interested in interviewing PWM or attending the trade fair series in order to document a good-faith effort and comply with their subcontracting plans should contact Fed Cetera.