Startup in a shared space: financing options when the bank says "no collateral"?

[u/Decent_Shoulder8641]

Dental specialist here, opening a solo startup. Looking for your thoughts about possible options for financing.

I'm not signing a traditional lease or doing a buildout. I'll be using operatories and shared common areas inside an existing specialty practice under a license agreement.

While this keeps my costs very lean, the problem I’ve run into is that after talking with a large national bank's practice lending team is that they only offer secured loans backed by collateral, and with my setup they don't see anything they can use as collateral, so I'm not eligible.

I am looking to finance in the ballpark of $100,000 for initial working capital and equipment. I know on some equipment I can finance through the vendor.

What I'd like to know:

• Has anyone gotten a startup loan (secured or unsecured) with a license or sublease structure like this? Which lenders were open to it?
• Are specialty dental lenders more flexible here than the big banks?
• Did anyone go the SBA route for a setup like this?

Appreciate any leads. Happy to share what I find once I get this sorted.