40billion.com is the entrepreneur's micro-funding platform, facilitating business capital fundraising through gifts and loans from the entrepreneur's network of friends and family online. We are addressing a $40 billion gap in small business and startup funding by providing an online platform for social funding (a.k.a. microfinance, "love money", peer-to-peer lending, social lending) so that more entrepreneurs can have access to affordable business financing through gifts and loans.

    The #1 reason why many small businesses fail is lack of adequate funding and access to resources. Together, we can change that statistic, and we can help the 650,000 to 1 million new businesses formed each year, as well as almost 30 million existing small businesses, to increase their chances of success. 40billion.com enables friends and family members to form private networks, in which they can raise money for a new business, fund a business, and find resources to build a successful business. And it's about time!

Market Overview

    It is a well-known fact that many, if not most, private companies raise startup capital from friends and family. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, nearly 15 million people in the U.S. privately funded someone else's business from 2000-2003, half of which funded a friend's or relative's business, and these informal financing transactions total approximately $108 billion each year.

    The average cost of starting a small business is $10,000, and approximately 7% of the working age population is actively engaged in efforts to start a business; i.e., approximately 13 million people this year. Furthermore, there are almost 30 million existing small businesses, which represent over 90% of all employer firms in the U.S and up to 80% of the new jobs created each year (SBA).

    There is a credit crunch in the U.S. due to a challenging economy, and banks have tightened up their lending practices, while credit card companies have increased their interest rates and fees. Consumers and small businesses are finding it more difficult than ever to get financing at affordable rates. The growing demand and reduced supply of affordable financing are accelerating the growth of the online person-to-person microlending market, from $650 million in loans in 2007 (Celent) to $1 billion in 2010 (Online Banking Report), and $5 billion by 2013 (Gartner).

Benefits of 40billion.com

    40billion.com makes small-business funding and resources more accessible, more affordable, and more efficient.

ENTREPRENEURS:

1. Gain access to needed funding to start and grow their business, with more funding options, and at rates that are lower and more affordable than most alternatives.
2. Formalize the terms of funding in order to reduce the risk of ruining relationships with friends-and-family funders, while building a network and reputation that they can utilize for future funding needs.
3. Take advantage of unique features that are created specifically for entrepreneurs that need to raise money; such as scheduling live presentations/pitches online!
4. Find trusted resources and services for their business.
5. Acquire customers by offering services to other members on 40billion.com.

FUNDERS:

1. Gain the satisfaction of helping a trusted friend or family member to fulfill his or her dream.
2. Gain social and/or financial returns. What goes around, comes around!
3. Get involved in new businesses, even if they have never started or run a business themselves... but always wanted to.
4. Mitigate risk by funding small amounts of money (as little as $25) and spreading the risk across a larger number of funders.

Our Management Team

    The talent behind 40billion.com includes seasoned professionals in information technology, financial services, and business management.

Cornelius C. McNab - Chief Executive Officer, Founder

    Cornelius is an Internet entrepreneur who has started 4 businesses since 1999: 3 Guys in a Garage (new media consulting and development), 40billion.com (social funding network for entrepreneurs), Omnilinks (online database of small businesses), and TheyAnswer (social Q&A service). As a non-founding member, he has launched 2 other Internet businesses: Div2000.com (business-to-business resource portal) and VeryFunnyAds (entertaining TV commercials online).

    In addition to launching Internet businesses, Cornelius has held roles in business development, product management, and Web software development with Fortune 1000 corporations such as AT&T, Time Warner, IBM, and Pitney Bowes, as well as AutoTrader.com.

    He is an idea guy and inventor with 4 patents and has been featured in Boston Business Journal, Mass High Tech, and US Black Engineer & IT Magazine.

    Cornelius holds a bachelors degree from Yale University and an MBA from the Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was born on the island of Jamaica, has traveled as far as India, and was the president of a local Toastmasters Club in Atlanta.

Daniel W. Pugh - Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Secretary

    Dan is a business executive and corporate attorney with more than 16 years of experience leading and advising technology-driven companies and counseling business leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, and venture capital investors. He particularly enjoys working with startups and early-stage ventures and has assisted these companies in all aspects of business including founding, organization, operations, early funding, venture and mezzanine investments, IPOs, public and private M&A transactions, intellectual property development and licensing, joint ventures, corporate governance, and many other areas. Most recently, Dan served as a strategic and project management consultant to the hedge fund Silver Point Capital, as business and legal consultant to Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) and Micro Focus (US), Inc., and as strategy and transactions advisor to numerous private companies and entrepreneurs.

    In the role of company legal advisor, Dan has been General Counsel of Synthetic Genomics, Inc., a biotechnology startup focusing on synthetic biology and biofuels research and development, Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel-Corporate of Prism Communication Services, Inc., a broadband telecommunications venture, and Senior Attorney with Arbitron Inc., the media audience and consumer research company. Dan started his career as an Associate in the Corporate Department of the law firm Piper & Marbury L.L.P. (now DLA Piper) representing entrepreneurs and venture capital funds and specializing in venture capital financing, M&A transactions, securities law, and technology licensing. He later was Of Counsel to the firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, working with similar clients and transactions.

    Dan holds a BS degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a JD from the University of Maryland School of Law (where he served as Executive Editor of the Maryland Law Review), and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business. He grew up in Montana and enjoys hiking, skiing, and bicycling.

Harendra B. Jani - Vice President, Finance

    Harendra is a seasoned finance and accounting professional with 33 years of experience, including 25 years at the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Harendra managed and conducted examinations of federal credit unions of varied assets size and developed turnaround strategies for "problem" credit unions. He helped lead many back to profitability and financial soundness, for example, saving the NCUA’s National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund more than $500,000. He also assisted credit unions with mergers, conversions and liquidations, and, where necessary, suspended charters and officials.

    Before joining the NCUA, Harendra worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where he conducted field examinations of complex individual and corporate tax returns to ensure compliance. He started his career working as a tax accountant for City of New York, performing desk audits of individual and corporate tax returns to ensure tax code compliance, preparing assessments and advising tax payers.

    Harendra holds a bachelors degree in accounting and an LLB from University of Bombay-India, as well as an MBA from Long Island University. Fluent in seven languages, he was born and raised in India, and has lived in the U.S. since 1970.

Brent R. Wadman - Vice President, General Counsel

    Brent is a litigator and corporate attorney with more than 11 years of experience. He volunteers substantial time and effort in the entrepreneur community and has created several businesses of his own. Brent has significant experience counseling corporations in IP licensing, litigation, M&A transactions, SEC compliance, corporate governance and general regulatory compliance. He has recently represented corporations before the SEC, State Attorneys General and foreign regulatory agencies.

    In his career, Brent has been Assistant General Counsel of infoGroup, Inc., a publicly-traded, $600 million, marketing solutions provider for businesses; attorney and owner of Wadman Law, a corporate litigation boutique concentrating on corporate formation, commercial transactions, government contracting; and, Attorney at Ameritrade, Inc. a publicly-traded, financial services corporation providing online trading and investing, where he concentrated in NASD/FINRA compliance and maintained series 4, 6, 7, 23, 24 and 63 securities licenses.

    Brent holds a BA degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a JD from the University of Tulsa, College of Law. He grew up in Nebraska and is heavily involved in local music.

Warren K. Neuburger - Advisory Board Member

    Warren is the President & CEO at Innovative Productivity Inc. and has over 32 years of broad executive management experience in technology companies in a variety of markets and industries. Over the years, he has held a range of senior executive management positions in Atlanta, San Francisco and Boston including 3 public companies and several emerging private companies. He has also served on the board of directors of several domestic and European companies.

    In his executive roles, Warren has led the growth and turnaround of several companies through innovative sales and marketing initiatives and operational efficiencies, and he has had direct involvement in mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. He has extensive international business experience from companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation, Glenayre, and Concurrent Computer.

    Warren holds a masters degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, and two bachelors degrees from Syracuse University in both electrical engineering and mathematics.

Dipak Ghosh - Advisory Board Member

    Dipak is the President of Business Excellence, helping small to medium size business owners grow their business, improve profitability and build passionate teams that can help achieve their dreams. He was formerly a Senior Vice President with GE Energy Financial Services and a global, business leader with successful domestic and international experience in P&L and operational management.