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http://two.leasingnews.org/imanges_uael_wael/Monosson,Adolf.jpg
Leasing Industry Giant Sonny Monosson Passes Away
http://two.leasingnews.org/cartoons/Boston_Financial.jpg “Boston Financial & Equity Corporation (BFEC) was established
in 1968 by Adolf F. ‘Sonny’ Monosson. Its purpose was to lease high
technology equipment to unconventional credits. “Thirty years later, BFEC still focuses on leasing capital
equipment to "non-traditional" credits. These are companies
from development stage to large, well established companies that have
sustained losses in the past. In some situations we have even leased
to very large companies in Chapter 11. “In 1986, Quantum Computer Services, now known as America
Online (AOL), came to Boston Financial & Equity. “Corporation for equipment leasing. At the time they were
a small company. They had raised $1,000,000 in equity funding; however,
it was needed for purposes other than equipment. Boston Financial &
Equity Corporation gave them a $750,000 equipment lease line and helped
solve their immediate cash flow problem. ‘The majority of our clients are in the seed or emerging
growth stage, and while they may not be generating revenues, they do
have access to cash! Sources of their cash may be venture capitalists,
angel investors, private placements, IPOs or the principals themselves.
Our clients' money is very expensive because they are giving up equity.
It is usually put to work for research and development and marketing
purposes. . . . . . not capital equipment.” http://www.bfec.com/BFEC/about.html Boston
Globe News Report
Adolf Monosson Passes Away; established a market for computer
leasing By Martha Bartle Adolf "Sonny" Monosson, who established a market
for leased computers in the United States and was known for his signature red bow ties
and forward thinking, died Friday at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He was 76 and was managing his businesses until his death. (Actually his daughter Deborah was managing the business.
(In a September 3,2003
interview, she said, “ Kit asked me if I miss my Father....he hasn't
left. He's in work before me! He comes to the office everyday; .although
I did give him Fridays off this summer!” (In an April 2002 “Women in Leasing” for the Monitor, she
named her father as her mentor: “ Not just because he is my father, but because
he’s started several successful businesses. He was not afraid to take risk, something he is still trying to teach
me. He3 also was, and still is, not afraid to make changes and adapt
to whatever the environment dictates.
At 75, he is still looking into delving into a new business strategy
for one of his companies.” (Equipment Leasing Association President Michael Fleming
said, “Sonny was truly unique and gave his company distinction. His observations of the marketplace and knowledge
of business were always first rate.
He could both provoke and support - he was a leader!”) A Boston native, Mr. Monosson graduated from Brookline High
School where he excelled in the sciences. At age 16, he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His studies were interrupted when
he served in the Navy for two years. Mr. Monosson graduated from MIT in 1948 and earned an MBA
from Harvard Business School in 1950. The day after classes ended, he
married Gloria Haskins, the daughter of a Brookline doctor, whom he had
earlier lost a chance to ask out in a coin toss with a friend. He asked
her out anyway. In his 20s, Mr. Monosson founded American Used Computers,
the first such business in the country. The business leased high-tech computer
equipment to high-risk businesses. His first client was NASA, which leased a DEC computer that
delivered the first pictures of Mars and Venus from space. Mr. Monosson was always noticed for his eccentricities and
intelligence, said his daughter, Susan Kooper of Somerville. At a 1970
National Computer Conference in Atlantic City, Mr. Monosson took an alternative
approach to sales. When most people were inside the conference, he was
strolling along the boardwalk wearing a sandwich board advertising his computers. "I used to tell people, `I've got a great used computer
for you,' and they'd say, `A used what?' " Mr. Monosson recalled in a 1984
interview with Inc. magazine. "He was not a very ordinary man," said another
daughter, Debbie of Cambridge. "He was very quirky and spoke his own mind." But he was a serious business man who ran a finance company,
which eventually y grew into Boston Financial & Equity Corp. ( He was
President o American Computer
Group, Boston Financial & Equity Corporation, Monosson Zero Stage Capital,
Monosson Technology Enterprises.) He wrote a column for Digital Review for several years and published the newsletter Monosson
on DEC, becoming an authority on Digital Equipment Corp. Mr. Monosson
enjoyed taking his family skiing and hiking. Kooper recalled a time the family had gone skiing and her
aunt was bewildered one morning to find the usually raucous children
eating breakfast in silence. She soon realized that Mr. Monosson had fed them
chocolate cake, ice cream, and ginger ale. "He was a great father," Monosson said. "He
was tough, but kind, and brought us all up to think independently." (Deborah Monosson said of her father, “He was a mentor to
many people, his current employees and was most proud to see former employees
go on to excel and flourish when
they left his employ. He felt that he had accomplished something when they left to move on. He never had a harsh
word to say...but he did speak his mind. If he believed in something, he had
no trouble telling you.”) Mr. Monosson was also devoted to his Japanese rock garden,
converted from a backyard swimming pool complete with steps and a waterfall.
Several years ago, he passed a few sickly cactus plants that garden store
employees were planning to throw out. Mr. Monosson offered to take the plants
home and nurse them back to health. The plants are now alive and well
in Mr. Monosson's home, Kooper said. In addition to his wife and two daughters, he leaves two
other daughters, Judith Scherzer of Lexington and Emily of Montague; and four
grandchildren. A memorial service was held at Levine Chapels in Brookline..
Full Story on Sonny Monosson and How He Got Into Leasing |
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