In just seven years, Dan Feder has taken business equipment financer Five Point Capital from start-up status to expected 2006 revenues of $125 million.

Now one of the nation’s leaders in “small ticket” leasing (typically loans of $5,000 to $150,000), Five Point provides capital for equipment ranging from vehicles to software. The firm’s diverse clientele includes companies in health care, construction, excavation, multimedia, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Five Point has been named by US Bancorp Manifest Funding Services a “Successful Partnership” in 2003 and 2004. Financial Pacific Leasing recognized Five Point as a “Top 5 Producer” last year. Also in 2005, US Bancorp added the company to its “Million Dollar Club.”

“I attribute our rapid growth to a very highly skilled and motivated staff,” Feder says. “We’re well known now, have a national clientele and have shifted to more customer retention-driven programs.”

Feder is a native of Denmark. His family moved to Orange County when he was a child, and Feder admired the entrepreneurial drive his father had in running the family’s marble and granite business. Today, he seeks to inspire his sales force to greater achievement.

“Would you buy from you?” he asks his team. Another Federism: “Hard work is the fastest shortcut to success.”

Feder combines his strong work ethic with a hearty appetite for community involvement. The list of beneficiaries includes the United Jewish Foundation, San Diego’s Meals on Wheels, the San Diego Food Bank, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego and Kids Korps USA.

“Community service is a very important part of what I do,” he says.