Micro-Lending in America

AngelsInAction

Hi everyone,
As some of you know I work for a micro-lending company called Angels In Action (angelsinaction.tv). Our goal is to have millions of Americans lending to American entrepreneurs, musicians, artist, farmers, etc....
When an entrepreneur becomes a member of our site they are given a profile page which will describe their products and intentions. They will be rated by what we call Guardian Angels (Entrepreneur coaches). Our rating system will reward them with "wings" (an icon) when they complete various necessary business tasks such as creating a business plan, selling first products on our site, hiring more employees etc....  A patron rating system will also be in place where your customers can rate you. In theory the higher the rating the more lenders you will have.
Entrepreneurs also have the option to sell their products and services through our site. The catch is those who market their products & services via Angels In Action will agree to forward a percentage of sales into the Angels In Action Micro-lending System to support and expand US based entrepreneurs.
Iam  looking for your thoughts, opinions, questions etc.... As we are just starting out, I value all you answers greatly.

Rich

are you simply advertising your new business (which is not consistent with our forum rules) or are you looking for specific feedback on your business plan?
 
if the latter, please throw out some specific questions. micro lending is a very compelling form of financing, especially for those who are disadvantaged...
 

www.kiva.org comes to mind and has been hugely impactful around the globe.

AngelsInAction

No I am not advertising at all, although it may sound like it. My goal is to create an "online focus group". I went into detail about our operations because I wanted people to have a general understanding of what we do.
Yes we operate very similar to kiva and our main goal is to become the Kiva of the United States.
So I guess the first question could be: What do you think about requiring patrons (members on our site) to make a purchase of an entrepreneurs product before they can lend to them?

AngelsInAction

Thanks for responding. Our "pay to play" system is set up to generate money to loan to entrepreneurs and creating a revenue for AIA. My new understanding is that you do not have to purchase to lend, but we are stressing that you buy a product from the entrepreneur to support our system.
Next question for everyone: Do you feel more enforcement on how US entrepreneurs use their lending money is needed for patron confidence?

infinique

Micro Lending only works in Sri Lanka because the amounts are just $5oo to $5,000. You can start nothing substantial with that in US. It's way better to loan from your close friends and relatives.