Be a Dragon with RebuildingSociety
Are you a fan of Dragon’s Den, have you ever sat there thinking; I wonder what it is like to invest in a company, to help out a small business at a time of need, but worry about the fact you don’t have millions of pounds to loan out to someone? Well RebuildingSociety could be a website for you, they offer loans to small business, which are peer funded and allow you to help a business out with as little as £10.
I am going to admit now I don’t do jargon – never have, for one thing I can’t spell half of it (thank you dyslexia) and I also feel like things should be presented in a way everyone understands – so please don’t expect an all singing, all dancing technical review – it just isn’t going to happen.
There are two types of loan you can fund on RebuildingSociety:
The first one is to of course loan money to a business, to give you a bit of an idea about each business they are given a risk rating of A – C , you can also find out information such as years trading, how the loan will be secured, what the loan will be used for, a background of the company and a view of the financials of the company, while lastly you can ask any questions you may have to the company. Personally I found this last part very useful, I wouldn’t know where to start asking questions and some of the thing people have brought up can be very enlightening as the companies are pushed to answer to any discrepancies or queries anyone may have.
The second is a microloan, this allows you to buy a loan from someone else and receive the remainder of the payments and interest for the original loan. The seller of the microloan of course asks for a premium meaning both they make money on the original investment as well as you.
Personally I decided to skip the microloans section and look into lending straight into business, perhaps this is where my downfall came from as at first every company I decided to try and put a few pennies into feel through, with the total loan amount not being made – finally though I managed to loan £30 in Hippoprint Limited, who are looking to take on a PR and Marketing campaign (very apt for me I think) and £20 into Wacnet Limited who were looking to start a ‘Concierge service’ that delivers over weight items such as Exhibition Equipment or heavy bundles of paper; for less than the price people would pay in excess baggage costs.
My loans give me an interest rate of 14% for Wacnet – which is to be paid back over 60 months and 12% for Hippoprint who are paying it back over 24 months, compare this to the rates you would get if you left the £50 sitting in your bank – well I’m making quite a bit more in interest and being filled with the knowledge I am helping a business get its feet of the ground a little more.
Personally I love the idea of RebuildingSociety, I think it’s a nice way to give a little back and gain back a little more and *fingers crossed* it will give a better return than throwing some money into bank account and hoping. As a site they seem to have thought of everything when it comes to getting the information across to the ‘lenders’ even making sure the loan is secured again something, which along with the fact other people are loaning into the same thing (some of them offering up £1000s), many of which know the right things to say and ask makes me personally feel a little more secure if offering up some money.
I can see myself popping in a little more here and there when I have some spare pennies as well as seeing how much I can turn my original £50 investment into.
What do you think of RebuildingSociety, could you see yourself taking part in a peer to peer loan?
*I received £50 to try out RebuildingSociety
That’s a very interesting concept. Not sure I’d be brave enough – don’t think I have any head for business. Though of course when Dragon’s Den is on I yell at them to invest in things like a trunkie lol.
I have to say, I have never heard of Dragon’s Den before. I’m not sure if I would ever use something like this – maybe when I get a little older, though.
Thanks for introducing me to this. It sounds like an interesting investment opportunity.
If I want to make my first million in less than 5 years I should look into this a little bit more! I’m always scared to invest though lol
I’ve never heard of this but I am very financially savvy and I’m always looking to diversify so I will look into it.
This is a great resource for sure. I am not too big on investing, but I will definitely show this to my husband.
What a great resource for finding funding. Very interesting.
We have tried investing, it can be stressful to choose what to put money into though. It’s worth it !
This is different and something I don’t usually get involved in a whole lot. My husband is an accountant and he stays pretty on top of things. I will have to share this with him.
thank you so much for telling me about this site! my husband is starting his own business and i will show him your post.
I love the concept of this program, It is so new to me.
This is really neat– I am going to look for a similar platform in the U.S. I have seen peer to peer lending, but nothing that you could really get into for less than thousands of dollars invested.
I am still a savings account person. This looks very interesting. One to take a closer look at.
It’s an interesting concept, and I think it’s a popular way of investing right now. The rebuilding does sound nice!
What a great program. I think they have stuff like that in the US as well. Great investment opportunity
I love that you can help others and help yourself too. I may just be tempted to try it out!
It’s nice that they are so transparent with their information, that’s one of the first things that would put a mind at ease. And the double benefit of helping and earning too, really is nice!
This is all confusing to me . I’m old fashion I do the saving account and that’s all I know.
I think it is an interesting concept; though we’ve always been so frugal and low income it’s never been something we’ve ever considered as we’ve barely made ends meet while one or both of us went to school.
This sounds really neat. I always like helping out small or local businesses, and this is a neat way to do that and also earn a little money.
I am nervous when it comes to spending but if i ever get brave, this looks like a site to check out.
I had never heard of it. Sounds great and love to see there are ways of helping others and one self. Interest is a bit steep though
I have never heard of it to be honest. I love the idea of helping out little businesses though right now we are trying to find jobs so it is not a good time to invest anywhere.
I’m a fan of Dragon’s Den, this looks tempting and I might give it a try.
I might be tempted to give it a try. I am old fashioned, though. I still have a savings account and my hubby keeps trying to get me to invest in other things.