We just hit $100,000,000 in raises!!! Congratulations to all of our entrepreneurs who’ve raised money on 40Billion.
Tag: small business loan
40Billion Announces STARTUP SUPERSTAR Business Plan Competition
40Billion.com plans to launch ‘American Idol’ of business plan competitions to create jobs
ATLANTA, Georgia – July 18, 2012 — Small business crowdfunding pioneer 40Billion.com (http://www.40billion.com), the leading professional crowdfunding and social networking platform, announced today that they are planning to launch Startup Superstar (http://www.startupsuperstar.com), a novel business plan competition that will help create jobs by supporting budding U.S. entrepreneurs.
“Startup Superstar is all about keeping the American Dream alive by helping small-business entrepreneurs access funding and resources, promoting new ideas, starting new companies, and building social networks for entrepreneurship and innovation,” stated Cornelius McNab, founder of 40Billion.com. “By helping aspiring entrepreneurs, we all will be winners in creating new jobs that our economy needs so desperately.”
The competition will feature from $25,000 to $100,000 in total prizes, funded by individual contributors and corporate sponsors. The more contributions and sponsorships that the company raises, the more prizes and winners there will be. Winners will be selected by a ‘crowd’ of judges made up of fans, investors, and sponsors.
Anyone can sponsor the competition and offer their support to aspiring entrepreneurs by going to either 40Billion ( http://www.40billion.com ) or Indiegogo ( http://www.indiegogo.com ) and searching for ‘Startup Superstar’ to see the sponsorship page. The company is offering rewards to both individual contributors and corporate sponsors. Individuals can make an online contribution of $25 or more and receive social media kudos or an exclusive ‘I am the American Dream’ T-shirt featuring the Startup Superstar logo. Corporate sponsorship levels start at $5,000 and offer coveted advertising packages and up to 500 votes for guest judges.
About 40Billion.com
With over $70 million in raises facilitated so far, 40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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. In business since 2008, the company aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit http://www.40Billion.com.
40Billion Crowdfunding Site Turns 4 and Gets a Facelift
40Billion.com launches redesigned website for small businesses to raise money
ATLANTA, Georgia – July 4, 2012 — Small business crowdfunding pioneer 40Billion.com (http://www.40billion.com), the leading professional social funding platform, announces the 4th successful year in business and launches redesigned and improved site. As a pioneering small business funding network, 40Billion marches ahead vigorously to help small businesses find needed funding sources to start and prosper in their ventures.
As a part of continuing efforts to promote the cause of small business funding and provide state-of-the-art tools for a small business to raise capital, the 40Billion just completed major improvements of the site to improve overall user experience. “Significant changes have been made to all products and services offered on the 40Billion site to make the experience a very smooth one,” stated Harendra Jani, Vice President of Strategy at 40Billion.com. “Our new site provides very easy access to all of our products and services, namely raising money, building social networks of contacts, funding a small business, and finding resources to help your business grow. Whatever you are looking for to start or expand a business, it is available at your fingertips.” 40Billion.com facilitates crowdfunding, in which entrepreneurs use the Internet to raise money from a large number of investors and funders. It allows small businesses to use Internet services like 40Billion.com to raise up to $1,000,000 in funding from lots of everyday people, including social networks of friends, family, peers, and others.
With 40Billion, users launch business fundraising projects online via the Web. It then enables users to route the projects to people in their social network – friends, family, and other contacts – most likely to fund that project, either through gifts, donations, private direct loans, or commercial paper (i.e., short-term loans up to $1 million for 270 days or less). The platform does not facilitate equity investments or sales of company stock at this time; however, with the recent enactment of the JOBS Act, equity-based crowdfunding will be available online in early 2013. Regardless of funding type, the mission remains the same: Help entrepreneurs use their Internet social networks to raise more funding quickly, easily, and affordably so that they can start and grow successful businesses. Starting and growing successful small businesses spurs job growth and economic growth.
With over $70 million in raises facilitated so far, 40Billion.com is seeking partnerships and strategic investors to promote growth and provide additional services that would benefit its users. Interested parties are invited to contact the company.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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. In business since 2008, the company aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit http://www.40Billion.com.
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!
5 tips for approaching friends and family about your business
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.
What is the #1 cause of business failure?
According to the SBA, the #1 reason why entrepreneurs fail to launch and grow successful businesses is simple: LACK OF FUNDING
So what happens if you can’t get funding? Well, if you don’t have any money, you can’t even start your business in the first place. And even if you do start it, if you have too little funding, chances are good you’ll go out of business!
Here’s the GOOD NEWS: You can avoid business failure by learning how to successfully raise money from everyday investors and funders in your social network and on 40Billion.com.
Think about it… if you knew how to quickly and easily raise $20,000 or $200,000, most of your problems would disappear, wouldn’t they?
40Billion.com Drives Crowdfunding Law for Small Businesses to Raise Money
President Obama signs JOBS Act making it easier for startup entrepreneurs to raise capital
ATLANTA, Georgia – April 9, 2012 — Small business crowdfunding pioneer 40Billion.com (http://www.40billion.com), the leading professional social funding platform, has helped drive several provisions in the new JOBS Act recently signed by President Obama and passed by the U.S. Congress. Now, startup entrepreneurs and small businesses can seek out everyday investors and advertise their fundraises and offerings publicly over the Internet.
Part of the JOBS Act facilitates crowdfunding, in which entrepreneurs use the Internet to raise money from a large number of investors and funders. The legislation allows small businesses to use Internet services like 40Billion.com to raise up to $1,000,000 in funding from lots of everyday people, including social networks of friends, family, peers, and others.
“We’re excited about the recent news of the passing of the JOBS Act and what it means for our nascent industry and for aspiring business owners across the country who want to do their part to boost the economy while realizing their American dream,” said Cornelius McNab, founder of 40Billion.com. “When I dreamed up 40Billion back in early 2008, so many folks were skeptical that a social funding network for business startups over the Internet would ever work. Just four years later, we’ve made skeptics into believers. Crowdfunding has become an industry, and we’ve worked with the federal government to help create new laws that revolutionize how small businesses raise money.”
Before the advent and widespread acceptance of Internet social networking tools, it was nearly impossible for entrepreneurs to tap into micro-funding sources cost-effectively. 40Billion.com applies state-of-the-art online tools to enable businesses to build social networks of friends and family members that facilitate raising capital.
With 40Billion.com, users launch business fundraising projects online via the Web. It then enables users to route the projects to people in their social network – friends, family, and other contacts – most likely to fund that project, either through gifts, donations, private direct loans, or commercial paper (short-term loans up to $1 million for 270 days or less). The platform does not facilitate equity investments or sales of company stock at this time.
According to Harendra Jani, VP of Strategy and Planning at 40Billion.com, “Business crowdfunding has been legitimized by a grassroots effort that culminated in the passing of the JOBS Act to help U.S. small businesses and entrepreneurs. This movement will help close the $40 billion funding gap.”
Raising funds from one’s friends, family, and peers can be a daunting challenge as an entrepreneur raising capital for a startup business, and there are many questions. Whom should you contact to request funding? How do you facilitate multiple fundraising requests and manage multiple funders (i.e., those who provide funds, such as investors, donors, and lenders) in a structured and scalable way? How do you give potential funders peace-of-mind and increase their trust so that they are more willing to provide you the money you need? How do you reward funders when their motivation is not purely a financial one? How do you find business resources after you raise money?
“Do you know how it seems really hard for entrepreneurs to raise funding? What 40Billion.com does is lets entrepreneurs use their Internet social networks to raise more funding quickly, easily, and affordably so they can start and grow successful businesses. It’s friends-and-family funding on steroids,” said McNab.
With over $60,000,000 in Raises facilitated so far, 40Billion.com is seeking partnerships and strategic investors to promote growth and provide additional services that would benefit its users. Interested parties are invited to contact the company.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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. In business since 2008, the company aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit http://www.40Billion.com.
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 Launches Audio Startup Guides To Help Entrepreneurs Start New Businesses
Five downloadable guides help entrepreneurs start new businesses quickly with tips for raising money, writing business plans, incorporating, managing cash flow, and protecting ideas.
40Billion.com (http://www.40billion.com), an online micro-funding and social networking platform for entrepreneurs and business professionals, has announced the release of 5 new Startup Guides to aid new business owners. The downloadable audio guides and templates provide quick access to information about raising money, funding options, business plans, company formation, cash flow management, and intellectual property protection.
In these Startup Guides, users can discover useful tips on 5 of the most important topics for new businesses:
- Funding a business through friends, family, angels, banks, and venture capital
- Writing a business plan in 13 easy steps
- Forming a company as a corporation, LLC, partnership, or sole proprietorship
- Managing cash flow to avoid running out of money
- Protecting business ideas and intellectual property through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and non-disclosure agreements
On the website, users can download the short audio files and listen to them on any MP3 compatible player, including iPod and other portable music players, personal computers, iPhone and other smart phones, and many cars equipped with MP3 players.
Furthermore, users can download easy-to-use templates that come with each audio guide. For example, the startup guide on how to write a business plan comes with a 13-slide business plan template that users can fill out while listening to the audio instructions.
There is no charge for the first Startup Guide, and additional Startup Guides are $0.99 each. For more information, go to http://www.40billion.com/startupguides or click Startup Guides on the 40Billion.com site.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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. In business since 2008, the company aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
40Billion.com Small Business Funding to Explode to over $100 Million in 2011
40Billion.com continues to grow rapidly by incorporating online social networking to raise money for business ventures. New features have boosted entrepreneurial fundraising activity to over $30 Million, which is expected to triple to $100 Million this year.
40Billion.com, an online micro-funding and social networking platform for entrepreneurs and business professionals, is growing rapidly by incorporating online social networking to help raise money for small businesses and startup ideas. 
New fundraising tools and social networking features have boosted entrepreneurial fundraising activity to over $30 Million, which is expected to triple to over $100 Million in 2011.
Many businesses get started with financing from the entrepreneur’s friends and family, but it is often difficult to manage these relationships. 40Billion.com allows many people to donate or lend small amounts of money and spread the risk. Furthermore, the service provides its own unique rating mechanism, called Social Business Rating System (or SBRS), as well as communication tools to increase transparency between the entrepreneur and investors.
To request funding, an entrepreneur uses 40Billion.com to start a fundraising profile, known as a Raise, and invites their friends, family and others in their social network to invest and contribute towards the funding target. 40Billion.com makes it easier for entrepreneurs to share their business ideas with friends and relatives, who may want to invest or otherwise support ventures, and it offers easy ways to formalize and track funding agreements such as direct loans and commercial paper.
“We’ve facilitated over $30 Million in Raises, and we’re seeing a huge increase in demand, where more entrepreneurs are using our online micro-funding platform to get business loans and other types of financing because their communities and networks of friends and relatives will believe in them when banks will not,” said Cornelius Colin McNab, founder and chief executive at 40Billion.com. “Tough economic times have led to a credit crunch, where banks have tightened up, and this has increased the funding gap and made things worse for entrepreneurs chasing the American dream. 40Billion offers new and innovative alternatives to gain access to affordable financing through the power of the Internet. Our goal is to help all those hardworking entrepreneurs that have good ideas but don’t have the money or resources to get started.”
40Billion.com predicts that adoption of online crowdfunding, small-business microfinance, and professional social networking services by mainstream users will catapult its growth to over $100 Million in fundraising activity by the end of 2011.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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. In business since 2008, the company aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, go to http://www.40billion.com on the Web.
40Billion.com Extends Commercial Paper Short-Term Loan Product to Small and Medium Business Entrepreneurs
Enables existing Small and Medium Businesses to raise up to $1 million in short-term loans for 9 months using social networking
40Billion.com, an online micro-funding and social networking platform for entrepreneurs and business professionals, today announced new short-term loan options that enable small- and medium-sized businesses to raise up to $1 million in commercial paper for up to 9 months.
Commercial paper is an unsecured promissory note to meet the short-term financing and cash flow needs of businesses and can be a more affordable alternative to a traditional bank line-of-credit. Most commonly used by large corporations to raise quick and low-cost working capital, commercial paper has been in existence for over a century.
This reputable financing option is now available to small- and medium-sized businesses seeking to borrow $5,000 to $1,000,000 for up to 270 days, as well as investors seeking to diversify their investments and potentially earn a quick return while supporting U.S. small and medium businesses.
“Our short-term loan option using commercial paper offers a revolutionary solution to the problems faced by millions of existing small- and mid-sized business entrepreneurs trying to find affordable working capital,” said Harendra Jani, VP of strategy and planning at 40Billion.com.
According to Jani, there are several advantages over traditional bank loans: “It is unsecured and does not create any lien on the business’ assets; the discount rate is negotiated between the entrepreneurs and investors online, so ventures with high SBRS scores or good relationships may get better rates; the wide range of maturity, from 15 days to 270 days, offers a lot of flexibility; and, it can be used frequently for a variety of short-term cash needs such as payroll, inventory, and marketing.”
Since 2008, the company has facilitated over $30 million in business fundraising projects and aims to address a $40 billion funding gap with innovative small-business financing tools enhanced by the power of online social networking.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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.
40Billion.com Lets Small Businesses Turn LinkedIn And Facebook Social Networks Into Funding Networks
Online social networking and finance tools help entrepreneurs share business plans, raise money, and launch businesses with friends and contacts
40Billion.com, an online micro-funding and social networking platform for entrepreneurs and business professionals, has announced new integrated social networking tools that enable members to use their existing LinkedIn or Facebook accounts to help raise money for small businesses.
Using the Internet service, visitors connected by existing social networks – such as friends, relatives, co-workers, classmates, and other contacts – can sign up and sign in quickly and easily with their existing LinkedIn or Facebook accounts. The user simply clicks the “Sign in with LinkedIn” or “Sign in with Facebook” button and then enters their email address and password. 40Billion.com instantly logs in and automatically creates the user’s profile, including photo, summary, education, interests, honors, or other relevant information.
“Social networking sites are extremely popular with 90 million users on LinkedIn and 500 million users on Facebook, and many of the people using those sites for professional and personal social networking could use 40Billion also to raise money and grow businesses by leveraging their existing social networks,” said Cornelius McNab, 40Billion’s founder and chief executive.
“That’s why we’ve made it easy to log in on 40Billion with the same email address and password you use on those other sites. Your profile is automatically updated with relevant information about you, and you can invite your contacts from those other sites to join your network on 40Billion. This saves a lot of time and lowers the hurdle for entrepreneurs, investors, and friends who want to help build businesses, realize the American dream, and grow the economy.”
After signing in, each member can add people to their network easily by finding other members they know on 40Billion.com, inviting friends to join, importing their existing contacts from an email program (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, or Outlook) or from a social networking site (e.g., LinkedIn or Facebook), and sharing their profile on their LinkedIn or Facebook page. Furthermore, the service automatically suggests new contacts that the member may know.
Members use their profiles and contacts on 40Billion.com to help raise funding for a business, support businesses seeking funding and resources, and acquire new customers.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 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. Since 2008, the company has facilitated over $30 million in Raises and aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
40Billion.com Creates Social Business Rating System as Alternative to Credit Scores
SBRS score offers businesses and investors an alternative to personal credit scores when evaluating funding and loan requests
Atlanta, GA, January 24, 2011 – 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, recently announced the launch of the Social Business Rating System, a novel approach to rating businesses based on social and financial criteria other than personal credit scores.
The Social Business Rating System (SBRS), is a proprietary system developed exclusively by 40Billion.com to rate businesses based on criteria that really matter for success, rather than traditional credit scores. A unique SBRS score is generated for each business venture’s fundraising profile, and the score is based on 17 or more criteria, including business-related success measures, entrepreneurial profile, peer ratings, and reviews.
The SBRS score helps investors and entrepreneurs to compare business ventures and assess their potential likelihood of success. The highest possible SBRS score is 850, and scores are updated weekly.
“Banks typically use personal credit scores to determine whether or not to lend money to a small business, and most startup ventures don’t qualify for bank loans. This is very unfair,” says Harendra Jani, Vice President of Finance at 40Billion.com.
“SBRS is an innovative system that differs significantly from FICO, which relies on numerical figures based on personal credit history. SBRS evaluates business success measures and takes social factors into account, so it’s a great alternative or supplement to personal credit history when rating businesses and assessing risk. The SBRS score helps investors assess the credit worthiness of the entrepreneur’s venture, and it provides an incentive for entrepreneurs to improve upon these success criteria in order to increase their scores and potentially raise more funding at more affordable rates.”
The company has generated SBRS scores for thousands of small businesses and facilitated over $30 million in business fundraising projects since 2008. It 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, realize the American dream, and help grow the economy.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the first micro-funding platform that facilitates American small business capital fundraising through gifts and loans from an entrepreneur’s network of friends and family online. 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.
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40Billion.com Launches Social Network for Student Entrepreneurs and Alumni
Social networking and finance tools to help college students and alumni share ideas, raise money, and start businesses
Atlanta, GA, January 12, 2011 – 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 launch of new social networking tools for students and alumni to raise money for businesses.
Using the free Internet service, college students and alumni can build their social networks of contacts, including classmates and friends from the same school and from different schools, and use these connections to raise money, resources, and support for entrepreneurial ventures. Members create personal profiles that include their education information, such as school name, degree, major, and graduation year. They can add one or multiple schools to their profiles and then invite people they know from each school to join their network. The service even suggests new contacts, automatically, based on their profiles.
“Many of the most innovative and successful businesses are started by college students and alumni, and now 40Billion.com makes it easier to launch a new venture with the support of your school. Whether you’re a Harvard dropout, a college graduate, an undergraduate, or a business school student, this is for you. If you’re starting a business, you have an idea for a new product, you want to help fund the ventures of entrepreneurs from your school, or you want to build your network, then this is for you. You probably already know someone using it,” said Cornelius McNab, founder of 40Billion.com and graduate of Yale University and MIT Sloan business school.
The company has facilitated over $30 million in business fundraising projects since 2008. It 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, realize the American dream, and help grow the economy.
About 40Billion.com
40Billion.com is the first micro-funding platform that facilitates American small business capital fundraising through gifts and loans from an entrepreneur’s network of friends and family online. 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.
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Want to learn more about 40billion.com and get tips for raising capital through people you know? Sign up for our upcoming webinar and see live demos.
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
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.
To your success,
-The 40billion Team
COMING SOON: Short-term working capital loans, a.k.a. “commercial paper”
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!
Introducing the Social Business Rating System, a.k.a. SBRS score, for small businesses and startups!
You may have noticed that there is now a unique score given to each Raise (business fundraising profile) on 40billion.com. This is the SBRS score, where SBRS stands for Social Business Rating System™. It is a proprietary system developed exclusively by 40billion.com to rate businesses based on criteria that really matter for success, not traditional credit scores.
SBRS generates a score for each Raise based on 17 or more criteria, including business-related success measures, entrepreneur profile, peer ratings, and reviews. It is a novel approach to rating businesses that does not exist anywhere else.
The SBRS score helps funders and entrepreneurs to compare business ventures and assess their potential likelihood of success. 850 is the highest possible SBRS score, and scores are updated weekly (not monthly like traditional credit scores).
What can entrepreneurs, small businesses, and startups do to increase their SBRS scores? Start by editing and updating your Raise, editing and updating your personal profile, and increasing your fundraising and social networking activity on the site.
Here are just a few things that may influence your business’ SBRS score and which you can control:
- % of Raise profile completed — when starting a Raise, be sure to fill in the profile completely and honestly.
- % of personal profile completed — be sure to fill in your personal profile completely and honestly.
- # of recommendations received
- Amount of funding raised
- # of connections in your social network
- # of invitations sent to people you know
- # of followers — i.e., people following your Raise
- # of Raises you’ve started or participated in
- # of company updates added to your Raise
So, what is your SBRS score? If it’s currently below 550, then we believe you’ve got some work to do in order to increase your likelihood of success! Start with the tips above, and your SBRS score will grow along with your business over time.
Grow your social network to over 100 people fast
40billion.com is the social funding network for entrepreneurs and people who support entrepreneurs. Whether you’re starting a business, running a business, funding a business, supporting someone you know who has started a business, or providing services to business owners, this is where you want to be!
It all starts with your social network of friends, relatives, co-workers, classmates, and other people you know. Use your social network to help you raise funding for a business, support businesses seeking funding and resources, and even acquire customers. Your personal profile page is where you can connect with people in your social network and grow your network.
We recommend building a network of at least 100 people. To add people to your network, find people already on 40billion, invite people to join, import your contacts from your email (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, or Outlook), and post to your Facebook page.
The more connections you have in your network, the more you’ll be able to accomplish… and the more fun it will be!
Use our Startup Guides to get your business up-and-running fast
Now you can access our five Startup Guides, and you can download the MP3 audio files and the quick-start templates to help get your business going fast.
Visit http://www.40billion.com/startupguides/ to get these quick and easy Startup Guides today.
In these Startup Guides, you’ll discover useful tips for:
- Funding your business in 4 ways
- Writing a business plan in 13 easy steps
- Forming a company or incorporating
- Managing your cash flow… so you don’t run out of money
- Protecting your ideas and intellectual property
Go to http://www.40billion.com/startupguides/, or just click “Startup Guides” from the home page of 40billion.com!
5 tips for approaching friends and family about your business
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.
40billion.com Launches New Features to Help Small Businesses Find Funding
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
- No credit score required: raise money for a business, while keeping personal finances and credit score private.
- Private profiles: protect ideas and limit viewing to invited participants only.
- $99,000 maximum: raise more funding than many other sites allow.
- Gift contributions: provide an additional funding option, besides loans.
- Targeted business network: leverage other entrepreneurs and lenders with similar interests to raise funding, find service providers, post jobs, and acquire customers.
- Spending tracker: lenders track how the funding is spent by the entrepreneur, in order to increase peace-of-mind, transparency, and accountability.
Advantages over conventional friends-and-family loans
- One-to-many: manage and track hundreds of relationships, transactions and communications at the same time; no need to make a hundred individual loan payments every month.
- Email reminders: get reminders automatically when payments are due, and get notifications when new company updates, transactions, or offers are posted.
- Public profiles: expand access to funding and resources by connecting with thousands of people who visit 40billion.com every month.
- Targeted business network: leverage other entrepreneurs and lenders with similar interests to raise funding, find service providers, post jobs, and acquire customers.
- Spending tracker: lenders track how the funding is spent by the entrepreneur, in order to increase peace-of-mind, transparency, and accountability.
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.
THE ELEVATOR discussion forums for entrepreneurs
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!
Free startup job postings, and public Raises
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.
Free loan documents for business loans between friends/relatives
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.
New features to bailout small businesses and startups
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.
Small business loans now available
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.
Introducing 40Billion.com
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.
blog.40billion.com 