SoLo Funds is a capital marketplace reimaging how traditional lending platforms should operate in communities. Founders Rodney Williams and Travis Holoway created a solution to financially empower underserved communities. The fintech company was launched after witnessing the economic hardships of close peers and family members that arose during an unplanned emergency.  In fact, most Americans can not afford a $1,000 surprise expense, according to a new survey. For cash-strapped Americans who do not have aid from family members or access to financial solutions, the founders pondered, “Where can they go for assistance?” This question served as the premise for SoLo Funds’ inception in 2015. The company prides itself in offering equitable solutions to build minority communities. Now through the company’s mobile app, individuals looking to acquire emergency capital can acquire a loan in less than 30 minutes. “For us, this is huge. I think about what the community bank is supposed to do...

Growing up, Rodney Williams always yearned to see technologists, creatives and world-changers who looked like him. A would-be innovator himself, he recalls his less-than-ideal childhood environment in Baltimore as a credit towards forcing him to think outside the box and inspiring his ingenuity. This outside the box thinking would work in his favor as he would go on to co-found LISNR, a data-over-audio software company based in Cincinnati. LISNR develops technology that can be used to power transactions from short-range, making his technology the perfect tool for retail customers. Over the past three years, Target has helped startup companies like LISNR through its growing portfolio of accelerator programming. The portfolio of programs includes their U.S.-based Retail Tech Accelerator, Target Takeoff, Target Incubator, and the India-based Target Accelerator Program, which focuses on Bangalore-based startups. Targeted teamed up with German retailer METRO AG — one of the world’s...

SoLo Funds is a Cincinnati-based startup that’s providing a solution for the average American worker — many of which can’t afford emergency expenses because of how small loans work in our financial institutions. And it’s using community to do so.   For most people who need to borrow a small loan, traditional banks aren’t an option. And we know that payday loan institutions charge high interest rates and often take advantage of borrowers. But SoLo Funds is a mobile lending exchange connecting lenders and borrowers for the purpose of providing more affordable access to loans under $1,000.   SoLo Funds launched officially on April 2 and closed their $1.2M seed round. Founders for the mobile startup include Travis Holoway, Rodney Williams, Jarrel Carter and Taylor Conophy.   Photo: SoLo Funds   “The idea of people lending and borrowing amongst each other in this form is refreshingly different than our predecessors,” says Travis Holoway, CEO & Co-Founder of SoLo Funds. “This is an...