Retirement projections hit Kayla Lussier like a code blue emergency. After 14 years as a nurse practitioner, she discovered she had only a 7% chance of meeting her retirement goals. This single statistic pushed her to seek additional income streams beyond her healthcare career. “That week, I began researching private money lending, networking, joined a real estate investing mentorship, and hungrily learned everything I could,” says Kayla.

Her first steps into private money lending—where individuals fund real estate deals—taught Kayla painful but valuable lessons. When a flipper took her money and disappeared without communication, she faced a choice: give up or find a better way. The real estate investing industry had a $400 billion need for private capital annually, but the process of connecting borrowers and lenders was slow, risky, and inefficient.

Kayla’s response to getting burned wasn’t to walk away but to build a solution. She created Money Match, a platform connecting borrowers and lenders through a secure, streamlined process with built-in protections. Her story shows how identifying a genuine problem from your own experience can become the foundation for a business that helps others avoid the same pitfalls. You, too, can turn setbacks into stepping stones toward creating something valuable.

The Painful Lesson

Kayla’s excitement about private money lending, where individuals fund real estate deals for returns, quickly led her into troubled waters. Eager to get started, she jumped in too fast and ended up working with a flipper who took her money and disappeared.

“One of my first deals was an awful experience. The flipper I lent to didn’t perform, and instead of talking to me about it, he ghosted me!”

This expensive lesson forced Kayla to educate herself. She spoke with attorneys and real estate professionals to learn how to reduce risk in future deals. What she discovered was a system full of problems: finding the right deals was time-consuming, the due diligence process was tedious, and there was no reliable way to check if opportunities were legitimate.

But instead of giving up, Kayla saw an opportunity.

Creating Money Match

Kayla’s painful experience revealed a massive gap in the market. Real estate investors need billions in funding for their projects each year, but connecting them with willing lenders was happening mostly through word-of-mouth and personal networks.

“The problem: In just the real estate investing industry alone, investors have a $400 billion dollar need for private capital annually. It takes weeks or months to make this happen, if at all.”

Her solution was Money Match, a digital platform launching in late April of 2025, that connects borrowers and lenders through a secure, streamlined process. The app verifies all users, provides educational resources to reduce risk, allows lenders to set clear criteria, and includes optional background checks for added security.

What makes Money Match different is its focus on safety and education, not just connections. For Kayla, this matters deeply because of her own experience.

“You know the phrase ‘there’s an app for that’? Well, there really is no app for this, so I created the platform I wish I had years ago.”

Safety Features

One of Kayla’s top priorities for Money Match was security. After her own negative experience, she wanted to make sure others wouldn’t face the same issue.

“If I’d known to do a background check or work with a title company to double-check everything, I’d have been fine, so how could we provide security to our customers?”

This led to partnering with IDenfy, a third-party verification company. Money Match also provides resources to help both lenders and borrowers protect themselves.

“Coming soon, we’ll have every deal ready with a background check and credit report ready to go. It’s really important to me that people are able to invest, make money, and stay safe using our app,” Kayla explains.

Partnership

Kayla met her co-founder, Stephen Alonso, through real estate investment networking groups. Stephen brings valuable tech and real estate experience to the partnership.

“Stephen and I connected through our real estate investing mentorship. Since 2016, he’s been active in flipping, wholesaling, and private lending,” Kayla shares. “His tech background, combined with his experience in various real estate financing strategies, makes him a great partner because he brings the tech experience our company needs.”

Their complementary skills create a balanced leadership team. “I am the excited visionary, and he is the calm, calculated integrator, so we balance each other out that way.”

Kayla was surprised by the teamwork needed for a growing company. “What surprised me the most was how many people are needed to grow a company. I can’t wait to add top talent to our team because ‘wealth is a team sport’.”

Advice for New Business Owners

Kayla’s experience offers valuable lessons for anyone looking to start a business:

• Do your homework before jumping in
• Look for solutions to problems you’ve personally faced
• Test your idea before making a big investment
• Build protection into your business model
• Get help from experts in your field

When asked about finding funding, Kayla suggests: “Drop your limiting beliefs, because they are major roadblocks to your goals. Then be vocal about what you want, people can’t help unless they know what you’re looking for.”

“Keep learning, keep growing, the things you want will come when you have an open mind and a determined heart.”

Kayla’s healthcare background also shaped her business approach. “If we focus on the needs of our users and their well-being first, money will recirculate back to us for solving big problems in a creative, altruistic way.”

To balance her nursing career with building Money Match, Kayla had to change her approach to time management.

“I completely had to rewire my brain for better efficiency, which was done by using small, consistent efforts every day.”

Her daily routine now includes meditation, maintaining positive beliefs, and taking care of her physical health. She also chose a nursing position that doesn’t require taking work home.

“I make less mistakes, I feel like I’m ‘in the flow’, things just unfold the way I need, and I trust that they will continue to!”

The nurse who once focused on patient care now also helps people build wealth through safer lending, with a platform designed to protect both sides of each transaction.

Turning Problems into Opportunities

Kayla’s story demonstrates how your own problems can point toward business ideas with real value. Her background in nursing taught her about putting people first, while her bad experience with lending showed her what needed fixing in that market.

For those thinking about starting a business, Kayla’s path offers practical wisdom: start with small, consistent actions each day. Use meditation and self-care to stay focused. Find a partner whose skills fill your gaps. Most importantly, do your research before investing time or money.

“Everything deserves due diligence. Then, once you’ve researched and analyzed your data, combine it with intuition, and you will never look back with regrets,” Kayla advises.

Visit moneymatchapp.com to learn more about secure real estate investing.