Seventy-eight percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and 47 percent couldn’t come up with $400 of emergency cash without borrowing from someone or selling something.
Travis Holoway is the co-founder of SoLo Funds, a payday loan alternative that allows lenders to make loans of less than $1,000 to people all over the world — and lets people borrow small amounts — using mobile technology.
Holoway got the idea for the company after working as a financial advisor and seeing a disconnect between the “haves and have-nots,” he said.
A peer-to-peer lending exchange, SoLo Funds provides what it describes as “instant and affordable” access to low-value funds, helping to solve emergency cash needs with low-dollar-amount loans that reduce the need for payday loans. So far, the company has raised $1.2 million in funding.
Richelieu Dennis, the founder and CEO of Sundial Brands and new owner of Essence Magazine, led the $1.2 million venture round, according to Crunchbase.
Holoway worked at Milwaukee-based financial services company Northwestern Mutual, first as a financial representative, then as an associate financial advisor and finally as a director of training and development — a role he still holds, according to his LinkedIn page.
“What I found was when I was working in that world was that no one cared about the person who was making $75,000 a year,” Holoway said in a GHOGH podcast with Jamarlin Martin. “They just didn’t. When I was in that world, I was really focused on people or households that made $250,000 of income with $500,000 of household income being that sweet spot. And people were just completely ignoring that person that makes $100,000. And I don’t think that that was right.”
Holoway’s experience as a financial advisor gave him an advantage in scaling SoLo Funds, he said.
“I know that there’s this disconnect between the haves and the have-nots … The average person who’s in financial technology or fintech … they don’t know how to speak to the minority demographic. They don’t know how to speak to people who don’t make $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 a year. So it’s in their messaging. They just don’t know how to capture that demographic. They don’t know what they want, they don’t know what they need, they just don’t understand them. So I think that mixture of kind of seeing both sides, it gives me a competitive advantage.”
Holoway and Jamarlin talked about Mark Zuckerberg as a liberal tech version of Donald Trump, Jake Tapper’s double standards towards Black leaders on CNN, and whether Silicon Valley has negro helpers who set the community back.
Digital media pioneer Jamarlin Martin launched the GHOGH Podcast Franchise — Go Hard Or Go Home — at SXSW 2018, aimed at multicultural millennials.
Hear more about Travis Holoway on Episode 11 of the GHOGH Podcast.
Episode 23: Everette Taylor, a serial entrepreneur and marketing whiz, talks about building GrowthHackers, PopSocial and other companies in his potfolio. He shares what he learned from selling his first tech business at age 21 and working with Snapchat on a new startup accelerator. He also discusses founders investing too much in public relations, and whether negro tech elites need to step up, reach back and help more Black people.
Episode 22: Angelica Nwandu, founder & CEO Of The Shade Room, discusses how she built a multimillion-dollar media platform and her recent moves into films. She and Jamarlin also discuss the academic and business success of Nigerians in America, and why Facebook shut down The Shade Room multiple times while allowing Russians and Cambridge Analytica to market anti-Black ads.
Episode 21: Devin Johnson, president of digital sports programming network Uninterrupted, discusses his career path, changes in the media industry, and what it’s like to work with Lebron James. He and Jamarlin debate whether Spotify targeted Black artists with policy changes and they revisit “white flight” from MySpace to Facebook, and whether this could happen to Instagram.
Episode 20: Andrew Gillum, Mayor of Tallahassee and Democratic candidate for Florida governor, discusses the DNC taking the Black vote for granted, its silence on the killing of 60 Palestinian protestors, and whether big tech and Silicon Valley elites can be regulated at the state level.
Episode 19: Anthony D. Mays talks about Black cultural optimization, getting bullied in Compton for being a computer geek, and how he landed a job at Google.
Episode 18: Dr. Boyce Watkins, Part 3, founder and CEO of Watkins Media Group, talks about potential 2020 presidential candidates, and the lopsided relationship between Black America and the Democratic Party.
Episode 17: Dr. Boyce Watkins, Part 2, talks about building The Black Business School, and how he deals with his negro critics and their victimology teachings. He and Jamarlin also discuss the #MeToo movement and racial bias in Facebook’s content policing.
Episode 16: Dr. Boyce Watkins, Part 1, founder and CEO of Watkins Media Group, talks about Black self-determination and Kanye West bangin’ for MAGA. He and Jamarlin also revisit Bill Cosby’s “Pound Cake” speech, and whether he received a fair trial.
Episode 15: Clarence Wooten, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, sold his first tech business for $23 million. He discusses his new venture — STEAM Role — meritocracy, and common mistakes founders make. He also talks about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects and how blockchain has opened up new capital-raising opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Episode 14: Barron Channer, founder of Miami -based Woodwater Investments, talks about turning down Harvard Business School, and whether Black-on-Black murders need to be prioritized over police-on-Black murders. He also debates what is to blame for the Black murder rate in Chicago and whether most U.S. police departments are racist in the second of a 2-part podcast.
Episode 13: Barron Channer, founder of Miami-based Woodwater Investments, shares how he got to work for billion-dollar real estate developer Don Peebles. This Wharton MBA’s business focuses on real estate development and tech. He revisits how Barack Obama handled Rev. Wright in the first of a 2-part podcast.
Episode 12: Keenan Beasley, co-founder and managing partner of New York digital analytics company BLKBOX, talks about his early mistakes, how NY and Silicon Valley investors differ, and the advantages of getting experience in an industry before trying to disrupt it. The Westpoint grad and former P&G brand manager also discusses M&A activity involving Richelieu Dennis, Byron Allen and Robert Smith.
Episode 11: Travis Holoway, founder and CEO of peer-to-peer lending startup SoLo Funds, discusses Mark Zuckerberg as a liberal tech version of Donald Trump, Jake Tapper’s double standards on CNN towards Black leaders, and whether Silicon Valley has “negro helpers” who set the community back.
Episode 10: Karen Fleshman, the founder of Racy Conversations, talks about women of privilege exploiting civil rights and diversity movements, and whether Kamala Harris can be trusted on criminal justice reform. She also discusses Facebook’s problems, and whether these can be primarily sourced to Mark Zuckerberg’s and Sheryl Sandberg’s values and ethics.
Episode 9: Felecia Hatcher and Derick Pearson talk about Black Tech Week, economic empowerment, and the potential impact of Atlanta landing Amazon HQ2. They also discuss the politics of diversity favoring women of privilege, and whether or not Silicon Valley is the global capital of white supremacy.
Episode 8: Marlin Nichols, co-founder of Cross Culture Ventures, talks about the culturally-themed fund he started with Troy Carter. He discusses the burger-flippin’ robot, Flippy, and socially responsible investing. Marlon offers advice to founders seeking investment, and answers questions about whether there is too much “shut-up-and-dribble” in Silicon Valley.
Episode 7: Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of leading Nigerian mobile payments company Paga, discusses bitcoin prospects, superior Nigerian academic performance in the U.S., and why Nigeria is the African economic opportunity. The podcast also touches on Elon Musk, Aliko Dangote, and whether Oviosu would ever run for president.
Episode 6: Rodney Sampson, founder of HBCU@SXSW and the Atlanta-based Opportunity Hub, discusses investing in Atlanta blockchain startups and the importance of connecting HBCU endowments to Black tech. He covers the intersectionality of oppression, discrimination, and holding SV leaders accountable for inequality.
Episode 5: Angela Benton talks about starting NewMe Accelerator, building her personal brand as a single mother while battling cancer, and whether or not most of the “diversity” gains in Silicon Valley will go to privileged white women.
Episode 4: Detavio Samuels, president of Interactive One, leads a $30M digital media business that in 2017 acquired Bossip, Madamenoire, and HiphopWired. He discusses Richelieu Dennis’ acquisition of Essence, Facebook’s recent fumbles, and whether Complex Media is a culture vulture.
Episode 3: Arlan Hamilton talks about Backstage Capital, the VC fund she dreamed up while she was homeless. She talks about the Silicon Valley establishment and about Tamika Mallory, who attended Saviours’ Day with Louis Farrakhan.
Episode 2: Rodney Williams, founder and CEO of Lisnr, talks about raising $10 million in venture capital, HBCU endowments that invest in black tech, and how to fire loyal employees you like.
Episode 1: Brian Brackeen talks about his path to starting his facial recognition firm, Kairos, how blockchain can be applied to the NFL, and whether Disney’s’ “Black Panther” is revolutionary.
