StreetShares CoFounders Mark L. Rockefeller and Mickey Konson had the opportunity to present at FinovateEurope 2015 in early February. Their presentation was to an audience of financial and banking executives, venture capitalists and financial technology (FinTech) entrepreneurs in London. In this video, Mark and Mickey demo the StreetShares marketplace, and explain the idea behind our model of using social affinities to lend to small businesses: bringing the "peer" back into peer-to-peer lending.

Originally published on February 25, 2015 on PR Newswire

We'd like to give a big shout out to the  National Veteran Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) for featuring StreetShares and our CEO Mark L. Rockefeller on the cover of this month's Vetrepreneur Magazine. StreetShares is proud to partner with NaVOBA, whose mission is creating opportunities for our nation's veterans who launched their own businesses after leaving the military.

“Starting Spartan was all about giving people an opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t have. There are lots of good people out there, but few opportunities. I had already retired from the military, so this wasn’t about needing more money, but rather I had something to offer and enjoyed creating new things. Helping people comes from the heart—in helping someone you can change a life.”

Lorenzo Downing, President of Spartan Business and Technology, founded his business with the core mission of serving people. Spartan provides solutions to government agencies and institutions to improve their businesses through the use of new technology and management best practices. Spartan is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business located in National Harbor, Maryland, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

Alexandra Myers remembers her uncle taking her on her very first Smoothie King trip when she was 12. The franchise was not only a staple of her hometown in New Orleans, but became an integral part of her life. When she attended the United States Naval Academy, she keenly felt something was missing and instinctively knew a smoothie shop would do well on military bases where healthy meal options are scarce.

LONDON, Feb. 10, 2015—StreetShares announced today at FinovateEurope 2015 the debut of the StreetShares Auto-invest feature which will enable retail investors to easily program their small business loan investments to make automatic bids according to their loan requirements and risk preferences.

If you’ve never been to Afghanistan, it’s tough to understand the terrain, environment, and poverty of the country. It is heartbreaking to a degree. I went there with one mindset on my first deployment and I left with my view completely changed.

Meet Matthew “Griff” Griffin, former Army Ranger of the 75^th Ranger Regiment. His experiences in Afghanistan, both from his time in the U.S. Army and his later return with a medical service and rescue company, led him to create his own business. Combat Flip Flops is focused on providing solutions for war-torn countries.

Halle and Andy Friedman, co-owners of Robert Andrews Laser & Medical Aesthetics, can’t count how many times they've looked at each other and said, “Oh my gosh, this is so much more than we ever anticipated.”

1. Social lenders look beyond a credit score

The rigors of military service can take a toll on a credit score. As a result, veterans face unique challenges when looking for a business loan with lenders who only consider the numbers. But on an alternative social-lending marketplace, individual investors bid to back a portion of a loan to a business. Because individual investors set their own interest rate, they are able to consider any factor they wish. Other factors – such as the borrower’s “pitch,” group affiliation, business model, location, online presence, and customer reviews – are all important to social-lenders. This “whole picture” evaluation is beneficial to veteran-owned businesses.

Written by Mark Rockefeller

Entrepreneurship by U.S. military veterans is a longstanding tradition in America.

Following WWII, millions of American military veterans became business owners. This "greatest generation" sparked an economic boom, and America flourished. Banks were smaller, community-oriented, and supported small business. And business owners had access to veteran small business loans.

Times have changed.