What services does Vast Commercial Finance provide to businesses?
Vast Commercial Finance advises businesses of all sizes on commercial finance and real estate finance — stepping in whenever a business needs to borrow money to unlock an opportunity or solve a problem. The firm covers a wide range of financing needs, from mergers and acquisitions funding to property development finance.
The business is structured around two distinct areas of expertise. Dan Cholewinski's co-founder focuses specifically on property developers and portfolio property investors, while Cholewinski himself leads on the commercial finance side — which includes mergers and acquisitions funding. Together, the two partners cover a broad spectrum of business borrowing needs.
Vast Commercial Finance has been trading for 4.5 years at the time of this episode. Cholewinski built the firm on the conviction that being commercially active and visible — not simply waiting behind a desk — is what drives results. You can hear him develop this point in full on The Purpose People Podcast on Listenly.
"If I feel I'm not making enough sales, it's because I'm not talking to enough strangers — as simple as that. Being sat behind the desk being really good at something isn't gonna bring you a whole load of sales."
— Dan Cholewinski, Co-founder, Vast Commercial Finance
About Dan Cholewinski
Dan Cholewinski entered financial services at 18 with no university background, starting in a data administration role before progressing through underwriting at 19 and telesales at 20. By 21 he had moved into field business development at a motor finance lender that was still in its early growth phase.
At 23, Cholewinski became the first salesperson in a newly created national accounts division targeting the top 100 UK motor dealer groups — a role that required building a commercial framework from scratch. Three years later, at 26, he stepped into his first leadership position managing a field sales team.
He spent 15 years in total at that one company, watching it grow from roughly 65–70 employees when he joined to around 600 by the time he left. That firsthand experience of scaling a financial services business — from the inside, across multiple functions — is the foundation on which he built Vast Commercial Finance.
Today, Cholewinski applies that accumulated expertise directly to the businesses Vast Commercial Finance advises, helping owners and management teams navigate borrowing decisions at every stage of growth or transition, including mergers and acquisitions.
See also
After joining the senior management team of a motor finance lending business, Dan found that his day-to-day work shifted heavily toward meetings about internal processes rather than the hands-on business development work he was passionate about.
Dan moved from data administration at 18, to underwriting at 19, telesales at 20, and field business development at 21. At 23 he became the first salesperson in a national accounts division targeting the top 100 UK motor dealer groups.
Dan Cholewinski started working in financial services at age 18, joining a finance lender in a data administration role without attending university, and progressed through underwriting, telesales, and business development entirely through on-the-job experience.