Twenty-five years ago, first year Cornell Law School student Bill Verhelle, along with business partner Guy Klinger, founded First American Commercial Bancorp, Inc. (d/b/a First American Equipment Finance). They became experts at running a national commercial lending business, serving the interests of some of the largest and most sophisticated borrowers in America. First American continues to be one of the largest commercial equipment finance businesses operating in the U.S.1 In 2012, they sold First American Equipment Finance to City National BankTM. Three years later, in 2015, Bill left to contemplate an entirely new business model for the equipment finance industry. Innovation Finance was founded in 2018. Several top officers from First American (including its Chief Credit Officer and its Chief Technology Officer) joined the new company.