Saturday, May 2, 2015

Viktoria Krane talks about Crowdlending -- Lendoor


Viktoria Krane talks about Crowdlending -- Lendoor

Where are you from originally?

I was born and raised in Bulgaria. I came to the US as a student almost 20 years ago.  Since then, I had lived and worked mostly in New York, but also spend couple of years in London, Hong Kong and LA.


What university did you go to?

University of Oklahoma. I’m a Sooner. Don’t hold it against me.


What brought you to Austin?

Crowdfunding. I came to Austin for the first ever Texas crowdfunding roundtable.


What is your group’s mission?

Our mission is to help start-ups and small businesses in Texas get crowdfunded loans from friends, customers and supporters — instead of bankers — with terms that work for both sides. 


What need does it fulfill?

Affordable growth capital is crucial but hard to secure for small business.


What exactly does it bring to startups?

Through technology, we re-invent and improve the traditional friends and family market for small business financing.  We make it more efficient, official, transparent, and automated, which is better for both sides.


What type of startup would benefit from your group?

A startup with strong social network and cashflow. If your are expecting sufficient cashflow to service a loan, you should consider crowdlending.


What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the initiative?

Perhaps educating people about crowdfunding. There is great deal of misunderstanding and confusion, especially with the new Texas rules.


What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?

Everything takes twice as long and cost twice as much. Plan accordingly.


What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?


TEN has been a great partner in Austin. Local knowledge is very important. 

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