Press

How one company combats predatory loans and the never ending cycle of debt for Black Women

June 29, 2021

SoLo Funds, an online community co-founded by two BIPOC financial services leaders, exists where members can request and fund short-term needs in a non-predatory and accessible way. Read More

Poll: 4 in 10 U.S. adults willing to go into debt for indulgences

June 9, 2021

And as the pandemic begins to wind down, more than half plan to spend in at least one nonessential category Read More

Dave Inc. to Merge With SPAC in $4 Billion Deal

June 7, 2021

Mid-Wilshire-based banking app developer Dave Inc. said on June 7 that it plans to go public through a merger with a Chicago-based special purpose acquisition company that gives the fintech a $4 billion valuation. Read More

Beyond Payday Loans: More Startups And VCs Bank On Subprime Lending Alternatives

May 13, 2021

Los Angeles-based SoLo Funds raised $10 million in Series A funding, led by ACME Capital. The company is building a new type of peer-to-peer lending group in which strangers fund strangers asking for short-term personal loans for immediate needs. Read More

World Changing Ideas Awards 2021: On The Rise (0-4 Years In Business) Finalists and Honorable Mentions

May 4, 2021

Companies that have achieved incredible impact and have been in business under 4 years. Read More

World Changing Ideas Awards 2021: Apps Finalists and Honorable Mentions

May 4, 2021

Projects that live primarily in a mobile format, in any discipline. Read More

Meet the 5 startups selected for the first Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator cohort

April 23, 2021

Five companies—including Milwaukee-based Tip a ScRxipt—have been chosen to participate in the inaugural cohort of the new accelerator program, which is run by gener8tor. Read More

Platform Capital invests into SoLo Funds, an innovative peer-to-peer financing platform in USA

April 14, 2021

Platform Capital (“Platform”), a leading growth markets investor, is pleased to announce its investment in and partnership with SoLo Funds Inc. (“SoLo”), an innovative and proprietary peer-to-peer financing platform based in the USA that has revolutionized the access to and supply of short-term funds for individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses. Read More

SoLo Funds Banks $10M Series A For Peer-to-Peer Lending

February 16, 2021

SoLo Funds is building an alternative to predatory lending through a new type of peer-to-peer lending in which strangers fund strangers asking for short-term personal loans for immediate needs. “Even before the pandemic, 70 percent of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, and many didn’t have $400 in their savings account,” Travis Holoway, co-founder and CEO of SoLo Funds told Crunchbase News. “More than half of the country has been waiting on $600 for more than six months.” Read More

LA-based SoLo Funds raises $10 million to offer an alternative to predatory payday lenders

February 10, 2021

“For too long, there have been limited options for individuals in need of immediate funds due to unforeseen circumstances, like a shift in hourly schedules, unplanned car troubles or other cases,” said SoLo, co-founder and CEO Travis Holoway. “SoLo was created to offer safe, affordable options for borrowers that need cash quickly, while also creating a marketplace for lenders to grow capital and help community members in need. We believe that at the end of the day, people are innately honest and tend towards generosity, and our platform’s growth is further proof that people want to do good in the world and make an impact.” Read More

Fortune Term Sheet – The rise of friendship apps

February 10, 2021

“Coronavirus is accelerating existing digital trends” may be a phrase that has become overused at this point—but it still holds water. Today, small-dollar lending platform, SoLo Funds, announced that it raised $10-million to bolster its digital lending business. Read More

LA Peer-to-Peer Lending App SoLo Funds Raises $10M

February 10, 2021

SoLo Fund's target market has always been Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck. The peer-to-peer lending app sees itself as an alternative to high-interest payday lenders. "We were doing this before we realized how big this would be, and it was magnified by the global pandemic," said SoLo co-founder and CEO Travis Holoway. "It was an opportunity for many businesses." Read More

Short-Term Lending Shows Promise As Lifeline For Paycheck-to-Paycheck Consumer

February 10, 2021

As PYMNTS research has found, roughly 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. And statistics from the Federal Reserve show that even before the coronavirus devasted household finances, that on average, 40 percent of Americans have less than $400 on hand to cover emergencies. For these consumers, short-term lending may be a lifeline. As Travis Holoway, co-founder and CEO of SoLo Funds, told PYMNTS, Americans grappling with cash shortages and in need of funds to cover life’s basic necessities could benefit from a mobile peer-to-peer marketplace can help build long-term creditworthiness. Read More

81 startups that will boom in 2021, according to the startup experts: venture capitalists

January 20, 2021

Investors at the best venture capital firms name the startups poised for a big 2021 inside and outside of their portfolios and across industries. 2021 is fast approaching, and the startup market is red-hot as VCs fight harder than ever before to get into deals. Read More

Built In Honors SoLo Funds in Its Esteemed 2021 Best Places To Work Awards

January 7, 2021

Built In today announced that SoLo Funds was honored in its 2021 Best Places To Work Awards. Specifically, SoLo Funds earned a place on the Best Places to Work, Best Paying Companies, and Best Small Companies to Work For on Built In’s 2021 Los Angeles Lists. The annual awards include companies of all sizes, from startups to the enterprise, nationally and in the eight largest tech markets and nationally. Read More

Established® Announces SoLo Funds Wins Startup of the Year at the 8th Annual Startup of the Year Summit

November 23, 2020

After a year-long, worldwide search for diverse early-stage startups, Established (the company behind Startup of the Year Summit) announced that SoLo Funds was named the Startup of the Year Champion at the first online Startup of the Year Summit on November 18. The Los Angeles, CA startup was represented by co-founder Travis Holoway. SoLo Funds is a mobile lending exchange that allows people seeking small-dollar loans to borrow from other individuals with financial means. Read More

Visa Expands Fast Track Program to Enable Next Generation of Fintechs to Rebuild the Global Economy

November 18, 2020

Fintech leaders around the world are increasingly choosing to work with Visa across key categories including digital wallets, digital banking, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’, B2B payments, cross-border remittance, bill payments, payments infrastructure, and person-to-person payments. Recent examples of fintechs partnering with Visa include Affirm, BillGO, Finix, Gojek, PayPal, Rappi, Stripe, Varo Bank, and Venmo, among many others, such as SoLo Funds. With the expansion of Visa’s industry-leading Fast Track program, fintechs are armed with the tools to become category winners. Fast Track participation has grown 360% year-over-year, and Visa has welcomed hundreds of fintechs who are actively engaged in the program. Read More

New Daylight And Visa Partnership Fuses Tech And Inclusion For LGBT+ Banking

November 18, 2020

The modern world of finance and banking has complicated queer lives, with outdated banking IT systems that consistently deadname those who identify as trans or nonbinary. Same-sex couples face a 73% higher chance of being denied when they apply for a mortgage. Ask anyone who’s had to navigate the banking system while queer and you’ll likely hear a common refrain: “Banking and financial technology weren’t built for us.” Find out more about how SoLo is helping secure financing for traditionally marginalized groups. Read More

SoLo & Kiva – Partnering to Strengthen the Capital Ladder for Financially Excluded Americans.

June 16, 2020

For the lowest-income individuals, it’s disproportionately expensive to borrow money. With predatory interest rates and unattainable criteria, getting a loan in America is a defeating — if not dangerous — process for many. SoLo Funds and Kiva are partnering to strengthen the capital ladder for financially excluded Americans. Tackling the same problem through two different solutions, SoLo Funds and Kiva offer affordable loan products - one of personal lending, one of business lending. Through their respective communities of lenders, both SoLo Funds and Kiva have supported thousands of Americans — and now are forming a partnership. The aim is to build out the safe and reliable financing options available for low-income and financially excluded individuals and entrepreneurs. Read More

SoLo Inc. and Microloans During the Coronavirus Pandemic

April 23, 2020

Solo Funds Inc. and people on the technology-oriented financial platform is one positive outcome of this coronavirus. People have stepped up to lend to each other in times of need. SoLo Funds Inc. started with a simple mission, help those who need microloans in the United States and provide them with lower interest rate loans. The mission of SoLo Funds Inc. is to step up and help those who find themselves living paycheck to paycheck and assist them through trying times. It is a platform that makes a lot of sense during the coronavirus pandemic that is affecting people across the world. Read More

Online lending platform SoLo Funds opens spigot on interest-free peer-to-peer microloans for cash-strapped Americans

April 16, 2020

“We now are facing the greatest financial emergency the nation has ever faced in recent history,” says SoLo Funds co-founder and CEO Travis Holoway. “Thirty-four percent of Americans have zero dollars in savings. A few weeks ago people began to realize they may have only one or two paychecks left. Many have been furloughed and cannot go back to work.” Recognizing the urgent need facing families across America, Williams and his partner are relaunching their two-year-old online lending platform with a new model for peer-to-peer lending. It will provide microloans of between $50 and $1,000, with terms set by the borrower. There is no interest charged for the loans on the platform. Borrowers set their own terms, select the repayment date, how much they need, the reason they need it and what they would like to tip the individual lender. Tips are capped at 10%. “We didn’t build the platform knowing the coronavirus pandemic would happen, but now that this has happened, this is an option for an alternative form of financing,” Williams notes. “SoLo Funds is poised to enable $10 million in loans during this critical time.” Read More

House Financial Services Committee Hearing on the Future of Real-Time Payments

September 26, 2019

House Financial Services Committee Task Force on Financial Technology. “The Future of Real-Time Payments” Read More

Closing the gap: How to overcome obstacles as a female entrepreneur

July 19, 2019

Co-founder and CDO Taylor Bruno of SoLo Funds, says, “As a female co-founder in the predominantly male-led tech industry, I’ve worked for the last 10 years in close proximity to the challenges facing female entrepreneurs.” She says her approach has everything to do with relationships. Read More

SoLo Funds reaches $2 million worth of loan transactions in 11 months

April 23, 2019

SoLo Funds Inc CEO Travis Holoway tells Proactive Investors the California-based peer-to-peer lending platform company has processed $2 million worth of loans since it was launched almost one year ago, providing users with loans less than $1,000. Read More

Where customers are also lenders: One fintech’s payday alternative

April 4, 2019

SoLo Funds specializes in small-dollar loans with a $1,000 cap, allowing consumers to act both as lender and borrower. It's a market generally viewed as underserved given that banks generally avoid small-dollar loans because of compliance concerns. Travis Holoway, SoLo’s co-founder and CEO, started the company last year after he saw the relatively high fees and interest rates charged by many payday lenders. Read More

Interview: Travis Holoway, CEO & Co-Founder of SoLo Funds

March 12, 2019

"Get comfortable with being uncomfortable because it’s critically important for both personal and professional growth.” Travis Holoway is the co-founder and CEO of SoLo Funds, a mobile lending exchange that connects lenders and borrowers for the purpose of providing more affordable access to loans under $1,000. SoLo was created to disintermediate the predatory payday lending system. Today, SoLo is one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in the country." Read More

An App For Borrowers Living Paycheck To Paycheck

August 21, 2018

How does SoLo work? Potential borrowers are vetted with a scoring process that includes information like cash flow history, as well as social data, such as how many friends someone has on Facebook. Borrowers and lenders also provide access to their bank accounts, to make money transfers easier and automatic. Read More

How Digital Disbursements Tools Are Changing Low-Dollar Lending

August 2, 2018

“Technology like Venmo and Cash App have made it really easy for people to ask for money because it’s no longer a convoluted process,” Holoway said. “I just assumed there had to be someone using the same technology for lending, but when I looked for that solution, I couldn’t find it. What we’re trying to do is bring that technology to lending.” Read More

SoLo Funds gets $1.2M to expand its affordable loaning platform

April 5, 2018

In addition, most of the times these financial instruments are not focused on small amounts, which is not useful for people going through a short financial struggle. In order to solve all these issues, we have SoLo Funds, a lending exchange that allows people to obtain loans of small amounts (under $1,000). The idea for SoLo came from the fact that its founders were often faced with loan requests of small amounts from their family and friends. Realizing that there are currently a lot of ways to easily send money to any two people, they tried to find a solution that made these loans possible but was not successful. Read More