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eBay + LinkedIn = Prosper Marketplace

February 22, 2006

At least according to VentureWire.  They describe Prosper as a mix of both types of companies.  Prosper’s goal is to connect borrowers with money lenders, while leaving banks out in the cold.  Brrr…

The company just closed a Series B investment of $12MM lead by Fidelity Ventures (including Accel, Benchmark, Omidyar Network).  Accel and Benchmark invested $7.5MM in the Series A last April.  Chris Larsen, the founder of E-Loan, is the CEO and founder.  Here is the explaination of the model b VentureWire:

The company’s Web site, launched two weeks ago, uses eBay-style auctions where individuals bid to fund all or part of a personal loan. With the technology, borrowers create a loan listing for up to $25,000, to be paid over three years, and set a maximum interest rate that they are willing to pay to a lender. Lenders - who have set a minimum interest rate for themselves - begin bidding on loans, investing from $50 to $25,000, and judging applicants based on credit history, income-to-debt ratios and self-written profiles.   Lenders can mitigate their risk by investing small amounts in a number of loans. Once the auction ends, Prosper takes the bids with the lowest rates and combines them into a single loan, handling all the loan administration, including loan repayment and collections. Prosper generates revenue from a one-time 1% fee on loans from borrowers, and from a 0.5% annual loan servicing fee to lenders. 

Written by Alexander Muse · Filed Under Uncategorized 

Comments

One Response to “eBay + LinkedIn = Prosper Marketplace”

  1. Alex Leverington Says:
    February 22nd, 2006 at 11:33 am

    Somebody should do this specifically for funding open source initiatives.

  2. Alexander Muse Says:
    February 22nd, 2006 at 11:55 am

    I think Raven is doing it as a side project with Berkley.

  3. Tom Presenza Says:
    February 23rd, 2006 at 10:41 am

    I have tryed to leave an elevator pitch ,with no sucess ! Please tell me how it works!!

  4. Alexander Muse Says:
    February 23rd, 2006 at 4:37 pm

    Email your pitch to me and I will upload for you: amuse@m-ven.com - just include what page you had a problem on with the mp3. I will get the bug fixed and help upload the show for you.

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