For small business lender Capital Access Network, finding worthy borrowers is about a lot more than their credit scores. It’s taking real-world data into account in order to distinguish financial fools from savvy entrepreneurs. Read more »
Oyster, a new startup that wants to be the Spotify of books, announced it has raised $3 million led by Founders Fund. The money will help Oyster build a library that allows members to access an unlimited number of books for a monthly fee. Read more »
Why buy something if you can borrow it from a friend? That’s the simple premise behind Why Own It, although the way the app works could turn it into a revenue-generator as well. Read more »
Payday loans business Wonga has become hot property in the U.K. over the last few years — but with the prospect of a Nasdaq IPO on the cards, the company is still struggling to overcome the public’s distrust of money lenders. Read more »
Amazon is trying to reinvent the library by offering e-books through public libraries and through its own Netflix-style service, but publishers and authors are digging in their heels. Going electronic should theoretically make books easier to lend, but so far, it hasn’t worked out that way. Read more »
Apple wants to make it easy for its retail employees to get some one-on-one time with its iPad, according to a new report. A new pilot program would allow employees at one store to check out iPads for up to a week at a time. Read more »
Two financing-related startups announced new funding of their own today: Lending Club, a peer-to-peer loan company, closed a Series C round of $24.5 million from a series of venture groups and DebtGoal, which provides online debt-management tools, closed its own Series A round of $2 million. Read more »
