Tony Furman founded ABF ADVISORS following a distinguished 36-year entrepreneurial career spanning finance, banking, logistics, and fintech. Over the decades, Tony has built, scaled, and exited multiple companies, consistently pioneering innovation and driving growth in each venture.
In 1993, Tony co-founded Interstate Capital, a group of companies providing working capital solutions, where he served as President and COO. Under his leadership, Interstate grew from zero to over $1 billion in annual originations, serving more than 10,000 clients across the U.S. The company was acquired by Triumph Bancorp (NASDAQ: TBK) in 2018 at a 9-figure valuation.
Prior to Interstate, Tony worked in commercial banking, where he was a middle-market lender and later led teams acquiring dozens of community banks throughout Texas in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These assets were eventually consolidated into JPMorgan Chase Bank (formerly Team Bank, Bank One, MCorp, and Mercantile Bank), where Tony later served as an Advisory Director in El Paso, Texas.
Tony has been at the forefront of innovation in specialty finance. He led Interstate Capital to become the first factoring company in the U.S. to adopt a 100% digital origination model. He pioneered web-based applications in the industry and introduced the first logic-driven online application and instant rate quote system—years ahead of similar technology later adopted by lenders like Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans.
Among his other ventures, Tony founded and sold FreeFreightSearch.com (FFS), one of the world’s largest free freight-matching platforms, with over 100,000 carriers and brokers and more than 160 million loads posted. He also developed Freight Payable Systems, a proprietary automation platform that streamlined invoicing and back-office operations in the transportation industry.
In 2014, Tony launched BidPay, a dynamic supply chain finance platform enabling companies to offer discounts in exchange for early payment. As CEO and Chairman, he led BidPay from startup to scale, with over $1 billion in trade payables auctioned on the platform prior to its acquisition by Triumph in 2018.
Tony earned his BBA from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He is a frequent speaker and contributor to industry publications and has served on numerous nonprofit, advisory, and philanthropic boards. These include the University Medical Center Foundation (El Paso), Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center President’s Development Council, the International Factoring Association, JP Morgan Chase Bank (El Paso), and several others.
He is a long-time member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), where he has held leadership roles in the El Paso-Juarez and Vail, Colorado chapters.
Tony divides his time between El Paso, TX and Edwards, CO, and enjoys traveling with Robin, his wife of 38 years. Together, they share two adult children, Adam (Wendi) and Jordan (Allison), and are proud grandparents of three. In his free time, Tony enjoys high-altitude trekking, hiking, sailing, alpine skiing, scuba diving, wine tasting, photography, and making the most of Colorado’s great outdoors.
In 1993, Tony co-founded Interstate Capital, a group of companies providing working capital solutions, where he served as President and COO. Under his leadership, Interstate grew from zero to over $1 billion in annual originations, serving more than 10,000 clients across the U.S. The company was acquired by Triumph Bancorp (NASDAQ: TBK) in 2018 at a 9-figure valuation.
Prior to Interstate, Tony worked in commercial banking, where he was a middle-market lender and later led teams acquiring dozens of community banks throughout Texas in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These assets were eventually consolidated into JPMorgan Chase Bank (formerly Team Bank, Bank One, MCorp, and Mercantile Bank), where Tony later served as an Advisory Director in El Paso, Texas.
Tony has been at the forefront of innovation in specialty finance. He led Interstate Capital to become the first factoring company in the U.S. to adopt a 100% digital origination model. He pioneered web-based applications in the industry and introduced the first logic-driven online application and instant rate quote system—years ahead of similar technology later adopted by lenders like Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans.
Among his other ventures, Tony founded and sold FreeFreightSearch.com (FFS), one of the world’s largest free freight-matching platforms, with over 100,000 carriers and brokers and more than 160 million loads posted. He also developed Freight Payable Systems, a proprietary automation platform that streamlined invoicing and back-office operations in the transportation industry.
In 2014, Tony launched BidPay, a dynamic supply chain finance platform enabling companies to offer discounts in exchange for early payment. As CEO and Chairman, he led BidPay from startup to scale, with over $1 billion in trade payables auctioned on the platform prior to its acquisition by Triumph in 2018.
Tony earned his BBA from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He is a frequent speaker and contributor to industry publications and has served on numerous nonprofit, advisory, and philanthropic boards. These include the University Medical Center Foundation (El Paso), Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center President’s Development Council, the International Factoring Association, JP Morgan Chase Bank (El Paso), and several others.
He is a long-time member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), where he has held leadership roles in the El Paso-Juarez and Vail, Colorado chapters.
Tony divides his time between El Paso, TX and Edwards, CO, and enjoys traveling with Robin, his wife of 38 years. Together, they share two adult children, Adam (Wendi) and Jordan (Allison), and are proud grandparents of three. In his free time, Tony enjoys high-altitude trekking, hiking, sailing, alpine skiing, scuba diving, wine tasting, photography, and making the most of Colorado’s great outdoors.