40Billion.com just hit $100,000,000 in raises!!!
November 26, 2012 Leave a comment
We just hit $100,000,000 in raises!!! Congratulations to all of our entrepreneurs who’ve raised money on 40Billion.
Blog of 40Billion.com, the entrepreneurs' social network!
June 6, 2012 Leave a comment
At 40billion.com, we provide online tools to help small-business and startup entrepreneurs increase access to funding and resources by leveraging their social networks, including friends and family. Here are 5 tips that we give to entrepreneurs to help them approach friends and relatives about their business:
1. ASK FOR ADVICE & REFERRALS, NOT HANDOUTS
When you approach friends and family about your business, just share your idea in a conversational manner, and ask them for their advice, feedback, or referral. People are usually glad to give you their point-of-view if they think their advice or feedback may be helpful. And, if they really believe in you, they will either offer to help or they’ll be willing to refer you to someone who can help.
2. FORMALIZE A LOAN OR DISCOUNT
Businesses often get started with a loan from the entrepreneur’s friend or relative, but it can be difficult to manage the relationship, especially if the loan is not formalized with a written agreement. Create a formal loan agreement with details of the loan, including what is owed, when payments are due, and any consequences for missing payments. Even if you’ve promised a discount to your friend or relative in exchange for a loan or referral, put it in writing and provide a discount coupon that can be redeemed. This may significantly reduce the risk of ruining your personal relationship over business.
3. GIVE A PRESENTATION
Are you serious about your business? Then give a business plan presentation to your friends and family, and show them. This is your chance to display your professionalism and passion, while getting free advice and feedback from people you know. The result could get you closer to the funding, resources, and customers you need to get your business up and running.
4. POST ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
Add a description of your business to social networking websites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This easily allows your friends and family to read about what you’re doing and spread the word to other people they know. So, instead of you going to them, they will come to you and ask about your new business.
5. KEEP IN TOUCH
Be sure to thank your friends and family who supported you or helped you spread the word. Then, be sure to keep the lines of communication open by sending them regular company updates to let them know that their support has been put to good use, and you’re achieving those milestones that you set in your business plan. These communications will go a long way toward maintaining good relationships with your friends-and-family supporters, and they will be more likely to support you again as customers, investors, advisors and advocates.
September 29, 2010
Please join us for an exclusive live product demonstration of the 40billion.com business micro-funding platform. This intimate webinar and demonstration occurs weekly on Thursdays at either 2-3pm or 7-8pm Eastern Time. Reserve your seat for an upcoming webinar below.
40billion.com is the micro-funding platform that helps entrepreneurs raise capital quickly, easily, and affordably through social networking so they can start and grow successful businesses.
The #1 reason why many small businesses fail is lack of adequate funding and access to resources. 40billion.com enables friends, family, and others to form networks, in which they can raise money for businesses, support and invest in businesses, and find resources to build successful businesses.
This live demonstration will share with you all that 40billion.com has to offer and allow you to ask questions of our expert presenters.
Register for a session now by clicking a date below:
Thu, Sep 30, 2010 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Thu, Oct 7, 2010 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Thu, Oct 14, 2010 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Thu, Oct 21, 2010 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration
with information you need to join the Webinar.
To your success,
The 40billion Team
September 1, 2010 1 Comment
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.
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!
October 18, 2009
At 40billion.com, we provide online tools to help small-business and startup entrepreneurs increase access to funding and resources by leveraging their social networks, including friends and family. Here are 5 tips that we give to entrepreneurs to help them approach friends and relatives about their business:
1. ASK FOR ADVICE & REFERRALS, NOT HANDOUTS
When you approach friends and family about your business, just share your idea in a conversational manner, and ask them for their advice, feedback, or referral. People are usually glad to give you their point-of-view if they think their advice or feedback may be helpful. And, if they really believe in you, they will either offer to help or they’ll be willing to refer you to someone who can help.
2. FORMALIZE A LOAN OR DISCOUNT
Businesses often get started with a loan from the entrepreneur’s friend or relative, but it can be difficult to manage the relationship, especially if the loan is not formalized with a written agreement. Create a formal loan agreement with details of the loan, including what is owed, when payments are due, and any consequences for missing payments. Even if you’ve promised a discount to your friend or relative in exchange for a loan or referral, put it in writing and provide a discount coupon that can be redeemed. This may significantly reduce the risk of ruining your personal relationship over business.
3. GIVE A PRESENTATION
Are you serious about your business? Then give a business plan presentation to your friends and family, and show them. This is your chance to display your professionalism and passion, while getting free advice and feedback from people you know. The result could get you closer to the funding, resources, and customers you need to get your business up and running.
4. POST ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
Add a description of your business to social networking websites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This easily allows your friends and family to read about what you’re doing and spread the word to other people they know. So, instead of you going to them, they will come to you and ask about your new business.
5. KEEP IN TOUCH
Be sure to thank your friends and family who supported you or helped you spread the word. Then, be sure to keep the lines of communication open by sending them regular company updates to let them know that their support has been put to good use, and you’re achieving those milestones that you set in your business plan. These communications will go a long way toward maintaining good relationships with your friends-and-family supporters, and they will be more likely to support you again as customers, investors, advisors and advocates.
July 28, 2009
Innovative Tools Help Small Businesses Access Loans and Resources by Networking Online
ATLANTA, Georgia – July 28, 2009 – 40billion.com (http://www.40billion.com) launched new features to enable small business entrepreneurs to raise capital and access startup resources through friends, family, and others in their communities and social networks.
Most small businesses startups fail due to lack of adequate funding and resources, and there is a $40 billion gap in seed funding. By combining innovative tools with the power of the Internet, 40billion.com aims to bridge the gap and enable millions more small businesses to succeed.
About half of all new businesses seek financing from the entrepreneur’s friends and family, but it can be difficult to communicate business ideas and to manage funding relationships with many people. 40billion.com simplifies everything by enabling entrepreneurs to create business plan profiles and launch fundraising drives that are viewable anywhere via the Internet. And it is free to sign up and get started.
Entrepreneurs can broadcast their business ideas and funding requests to friends and family, even post them on popular social networking websites, and the service allows many people to make loans or gift contributions ($25 up to $10,000) in support of a business, while easily tracking and receiving notifications online.
Furthermore, lenders and borrowers may download a promissory note template, which they can use to formalize business loans in a more professional manner. Loan interest rates are negotiated between the lenders and borrowers, and 40billion.com emails notifications when funding offers are received and reminders when payments are due.
As an incentive, entrepreneurs may offer product discounts and freebies in exchange for low- or no-interest funding and other much-needed resources. Soon, for added confidence, those providing the funding will be able to track how the entrepreneur spends the funds that are raised.
There are additional features available exclusively for members, including the ability to schedule online business plan presentations, an open database of service providers, a job board for posting and browsing startup jobs, and a discussion forum (a.k.a., The Elevator) where everyone can share ideas and tips about what works and what does not. Members can even follow a company as it progresses, by signing up to receive alerts whenever the entrepreneur posts company updates.
Advantages over banks and other lending websites
Advantages over conventional friends-and-family loans
About 40billion.com
40billion.com helps entrepreneurs raise funding for new businesses through friends and family rather than through traditional financial institutions. Using the Internet-based service, entrepreneurs connect with their social network – friends, family, friends of family, colleagues, and others in their communities – to raise capital. 40billion.com’s scalable platform facilitates the funding requests and transactions to make it easier for an entrepreneur to manage many funding relationships. 40billion.com is patent pending. For more information, visit http://www.40billion.com.
May 31, 2009
40billion has just launched THE ELEVATOR business forums, where you can blog, post articles, and get advice/tips for entrepreneurs and funders.
THE ELEVATOR currently has 6 levels:
1. Business Basics
2. Funding Forum
3. Legal Lounge
4. Marketing Maze
5. Product Pipeline
6. Support Space
Visit www.40billion.com/elevator to start posting and reading today. New content is added daily, but feel free to add your own!
February 4, 2009
We’ve added new features to help you raise money and find resources for your business:
* FREE JOB POSTINGS
Looking to hire new employees or contractors for your business? Create a job posting that is visible to thousands of professionals and others seeking employment every month. It’s free!
To post a job, just sign in, click ‘Search’ and ‘Post a Job’.
* PUBLIC PROFILES
Now, you can choose whether to make your Raise (fundraising profile) private or public. By default, your Raise is private so that only invited friends and family can view it. However, you now have the option to make your Raise public so that anyone can view it (without an invitation and without signing in).
To make your Raise public, just sign in, click ‘Edit’, and uncheck the box next to ‘Make Private’.
Please continue to send us your feedback. 40billion.com was built for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, so we welcome your ideas on how to make it better.
January 31, 2009 2 Comments
Now, you can formalize loans between friends and relatives for free! On 40billion.com, you can generate a customized loan document at no charge. Other websites charge up to $200 for similar services.
HOW IT WORKS
When a friend or family member views an entrepreneur’s Raise, they can offer a loan to the entrepreneur, then select the loan amount ($50 to $10,000), annual interest rate (0% or 5%), and period (12 or 24 months).
40billion.com calculates the interest and summarizes the loan terms, based on an unsecured loan with a single payment (one lump sum). 40billion.com instantly generates a professional loan document and notifies the entrepreneur via email regarding the loan offer.
The entrepreneur and lender can view the loan document online. They may print and sign the loan document, if they wish to execute a legally binding loan agreement between individuals. The lender may transfer funds to the entrepreneur by any offline method (e.g., check or cash) without worrying about extra charges and fees.
THE BENEFITS
– There is no charge, so you save up to $200 at a time when you need it most!
– Instantly generate a customized loan document to formalize a loan agreement between friends or family, without straining your relationship.
– Entrepreneurs receive affordable loans from one or many individual lenders they know; even manage 100 lenders easily.
– Lenders can offer a loan with up to 5% interest annually (a higher return than your savings account), while helping out a friend or relative starting a new business.
– Track loan payment due dates, and view/print the loan document as often as you’d like.
– Receive email notifications and reminders.
TRY IT NOW
Go to http://www.40billion.com, click ‘My Account’ and start a friends-and-family loan today.
November 13, 2008
In this tough economy, entrepreneurs like you are struggling to raise money to start new businesses or keep their existing businesses afloat. While big corporations are getting multi-billion dollar bailouts, who is bailing out small-business entrepreneurs? Many aspiring entrepreneurs are turning to friends and family for help during these tough times, and 40billion.com makes it easier than ever to tap into your social network and raise money for your business or idea. Here’s what we’re doing to help you, in lieu of a bailout package…
WE’VE EXTENDED YOUR RAISE
Your Raise (fundraising profile) has been extended up to one additional month, at no extra charge. Your Raise is now scheduled to end on December 13, 2008. Even if your Raise had ended, it has been reactivated with the new end date. So sign in, invite your friends and family, and start raising the money you need for your business through small loans and contributions.
WE’VE LAUNCHED NEW FEATURES
We’ve added new features and made significant improvements to help you raise money for your business. Some of these include…
* New loan document service:
Instantly generate a customized loan document to formalize a loan between friends or family, without straining your relationship.
* Posting on Facebook or MySpace:
Post links to your Raise on your Facebook or MySpace page. Increase your exposure, and allow your friends and family to access your Raise easily from your Facebook or MySpace page.
* Access to your email contact list:
Easily import your contact lists (or address books) from your existing email accounts, whether you use Yahoo, GMail, AOL, Plaxo, or Outlook. No need to type all those email addresses, when sending invitations to your friends and family.
* New default invitation messages:
You always have the ability to customize your email invitations, but we’ve made things easy for you by providing default invitation messages that are friendly and professional. Also, now when you send an invitation, the recipient does not have to sign in (or join) to view your Raise; however, they do have to sign in to offer funding and access other site features.
* New email notifications:
Now, we send you an email notification whenever you receive a loan offer or contribution, when you receive a message from someone who has viewed your Raise, and when another member grants you access to their private Raise. We do much of the work, so you can focus on your business.
…and much more.
Sign in to your account, and check out the improvements we’ve made. And with the extra time you have between now and December 13th, invite your friends and family to help you raise money for your business with a small loan or contribution towards your target.
October 27, 2008
We’re excited to announce the launch of a new lending service on 40billion.com! Now, entrepreneurs can seek loans from friends and family, and 40billion.com will create a customized loan document to formalize your loan agreements. By automatically generating a customized loan document for you, we’ve made it easier for lenders and borrowers to formalize a personal loan between friends or family members.
HOW IT WORKS
When an entrepreneur starts or edits a Raise (fundraising profile), now he can select “Loans” as a funding type (in addition to “Contributions”) to indicate that he is seeking loans towards his funding target. Then, he can invite friends and family to view the Raise and make an investment as a loan to the entrepreneur.
When a friend or family member views the entrepreneur’s Raise, she can offer a loan to the entrepreneur. She selects the loan amount ($50 to $10,000), the annual interest rate (0% or 5%), and the period (12 or 24 months).
40billion.com calculates the interest and summarizes the loan terms, based on an unsecured personal loan with a single payment (one lump sum). 40billion.com instantly generates a professional loan document.
Both the borrower and the lender can view, print, and sign the loan document as a legally binding loan agreement between the two individuals.
THE BENEFITS
– Instantly generate a customized loan document to formalize a loan agreement between friends or family, without straining your relationship.
– Entrepreneurs receive affordable loans from one or many individual lenders they know; even manage 100 lenders easily.
– Lenders earn up to 5% interest annually (a higher return than your savings account), while helping out a friend or relative with a new business.
– Track loan payment due dates, and view/print the loan document as often as you like.
– Receive email payment reminders.
TRY IT NOW
Sign in at http://www.40billion.com, raise money or fund a new business, and formalize your loan with a loan document today.
March 31, 2008
There is a $40 billion gap in funding for startup entrepreneurs. Many small-business entrepreneurs raise initial funding for their business ideas by borrowing money and getting gifts from their friends and family. 40billion.com just makes it easier, more scalable, and more fun for entrepreneurs and their friends and family to arrange business loans and gift contributions. And it’s about time!
40billion.com provides you, the entrepreneur, with the opportunity to set up your own private fundraising machine. In it’s simplest form, it formalizes and makes scalable the process of raising funds through family and friends, making an often difficult task easy and comfortable. Once you have completed your business plan and determined how much money you need to fund your business, make a list of all your family and close friends. With the business plan uploaded to your newly-created, private profile on 40billion.com, you are ready to begin raising money through gift contributions and loans.
Is the “American dream” dead?
June 8, 2012 3 Comments
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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