Is the “American dream” dead?

Is the idea of achieving the “American dream” a dying fantasy that is becoming impossible for more and more people? Yes, unfortunately, it is true. There is no doubt that the economy is suffering, and suffering with it is the American dream.

Entrepreneurs can’t afford to start businesses, families can’t afford to buy homes, and students can’t afford to go to college. Banks don’t seem to care, and the government seems to be paralyzed from the waist down.

But the fact is you don’t need a bank loan in order to build and grow a successful business, just like you don’t need an Ivy League college degree in order to be a successful entrepreneur and businessperson (though, it can help). We have to help ourselves and save our own economy, our own businesses, our American dream.

Raise money. Build dreams. 40Billion.com … Let’s start here!

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Want to know which of your friends are most likely to invest in your business (or someone else’s business)?

Ever wondered which of your friends is most likely to invest in your business? Want to know which potential funders you should pursue and invite to participate in your Raise?

Use our amazing new Funding Probability BETA feature to find out the likelihood that each of your contacts will fund your Raise (or even someone else’s Raise).  Just click the “Invite Your Friends” button at the top of any Raise to find out more and make your social network start working for you!

 Add contacts to your network and find out which ones are most likely to fund your business.

40billion.com Introduces Commercial Paper Offering



Additional social network funding option to help entrepreneurs create their own American dream

Nov 29, 2010 – Atlanta, GA, November 29, 2010—40Billion.com (http://www.40billion.com), a micro-funding platform that facilitates business capital fundraising through gifts and loans from an entrepreneur’s network of friends and family online, today announced the addition of an innovative Commercial Paper offering.

Commercial Paper is an unsecured Promissory Note to meet short-term liquidity needs. It is a lower cost alternative to a traditional bank line-of-credit (LOC).  Commercial Paper, which has been in existence for over 100 years, is used commonly by large corporations to raise quick and low cost working capital. 40Billion.com is pleased to be able to offer this reputable financing option to small- and mid-sized businesses seeking to borrow $5,000 to $1,000,000 for up to 270 days.

“We see this as a true ‘win-win’ situation for both investors and borrowers,” said Harendra Jani, vice-president of finance, 40Billion.com.  “If you asked entrepreneurs to name the most difficult obstacle to overcome when launching their business, the most common answer is likely to be access to low cost capital.  Providing a venue to access low cost capital has been 40Billion.com’s mission since day one, and the addition of Commercial Paper speaks directly to that mission.”

40Billion.com aims to address a $40 Billion gap in small business and startup funding by providing an online platform for social funding so that more entrepreneurs can have access to affordable business financing through gifts and loans.

40Billion.com helps entrepreneurs:

  • Gain access to needed funding to start and grow their business, with more funding options, and at rates that are lower and more affordable than most alternatives.
  • Formalize the terms of funding in order to reduce the risk of ruining relationships with friends-and-family funders, while building a network and reputation that they can utilize for future funding needs.
  • Take advantage of unique features that are created specifically for entrepreneurs that need to raise money.
  • Find trusted resources and services for their business, such as incorporation or company formation.
  • Acquire customers by offering services to other members on 40Billion.com.

“One of the many effects of the volatile credit market environment of the past few years is severely decreased access to affordable sources of business credit,” said Cornelius McNab, founder and CEO, 40Billion.com. “No segment has been affected more by this than entrepreneurs trying to live out their own version of the American dream.  Today’s entrepreneurs are tomorrow’s employers.  Providing access to capital for entrepreneurs will undoubtedly lead to job creation in the future, and 40Billion.com is proud to play a role in that process.”

About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com, Inc. is the first Internet-based microfinance company serving American small businesses. 40Billion.com’s scalable platform helps entrepreneurs raise funding more affordably through friends and family than through banks or other traditional financial institutions. Using proprietary online tools, entrepreneurs build social networks – including friends, relatives, colleagues, customers, and other contacts – and use these connections to raise capital through small business loans and gifts. Entrepreneurs create fundraising profiles and invite their connections to offer funding in exchange for discounts or potential returns. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit http://www.40Billion.com.

New funding option launched: Commercial Paper short-term business loans for operating expenses

We’ve launched a new, innovative, and exciting addition to our business fundraising platform… Commercial Paper! Commercial Paper is ideal for existing businesses seeking short-term loans of $5,000 up to $1,000,000 for operating expenses or working capital.

Now, 40billion.com offers 3 alternative ways to raise funding for your small business: gifts & donations, private direct loans, and commercial paper short-term loans. Check it out, and start a Raise at http://www.40billion.com/raise_start.asp now.

Raise business capital from the people you know on 40billion.com

To your success,

-The 40billion Team

COMING SOON: Short-term working capital loans, a.k.a. “commercial paper”

Short term business loans coming soon to 40billion.com

We’re busy developing an innovative new product to facilitate short-term “commercial paper” loans for operating expenses. This will be available as a new funding type and a great potential solution to the short-term liquidity problems of millions of existing small businesses in America.

What is commercial paper (CP)?  CP is an unsecured Promissory Note with a fixed maturity of 1 to 270 days. Think of CP as an IOU (i.e., “I owe you”), lasting from a day to nine months. It is issued to investors who have temporary idle cash and want to earn a decent return, perhaps even while helping out a friend/family member’s business with short-term liquidity (i.e., cash) needs to cover operating expenses or current assets.

  • By law, CP can be used to fund operating expenses or current assets only (e.g., buying inventory, making payroll, or other short-term cash needs). It is not used for financing fixed assets such as land, buildings or machinery, which are long-term assets.
  • CP is a quick, easy, and cost-effective way of raising working capital and can be a lower-cost alternative to a Line-Of-Credit (LOC) with a bank.
  • CP has been around since the 19th century and is typically used by big corporations to raise quick and low-cost working capital.

But we’re creating a 21st century version, and never before has CP been offered as a solution for small businesses in the way that we’ll unveil in just a few weeks.  Here’s a clue: It’s like Facebook and eBay for microfinance. Got it?  Stay tuned, and check out 40billion.com for more info and the big launch date!