What TechStars Boulder Taught Us

One of the first things that TechStars helped us understand is how to focus and get things done quick. As a team, we are all focused on one goal, and working together to achieve it. We're dedicated to listening to our customers, discovering what you want, and making your dreams into a reality.

Most importantly though, TechStars taught us how to use their amazing system of people willing to help. Their motto is "give first" and it's easy to see how much everyone lives up to that standard. They showed us how important a great network is and how to support others. This network will be vital to our team moving forward. We want to thank everyone who supported us along the way. And special thanks to Andres and Malte, who ran the program and never hesitated to jump in and help when needed.

Where do we go now?

Now we put it all together and bring it into action. We'll continue to move fast to bring the greatest product possible to our fans. We're going to continue to improve and learn from each of you. Our team is super excited to get rolling on the next phase of our journey, because even though we hit a huge milestone, we're just getting started. 

We're going to continue to solve the student debt crisis. And you can help us along the way by following us and sharing our story. You can also ​apply to refinance​ your loans with us today. If you're interested in helping us solve the student debt crisis, you can even invest in Defynance. Just fill out this interest form and we'll contact you ASAP!

That's right! Recently Defynance was recognized as one of the top fintech companies in Florida by Daily Finance! We're thankful to have been recognized for our hard work to tackle the student debt crisis through out income share agreement refinancing program. And we don't plan on stopping anytime soon. So what does this accolade mean for us?

What does this mean?

Daily Finance based their selections on performance in four different areas: innovation, growth, management, and societal impact. Based on this criteria, they picked companies of all sizes, from innovative startups (cough cough) to established brands. The list is comprehensive and holds some of the biggest financial companies around. We're excited to be recognized along with some of the best fintech companies in the business. 

How we became one of the top fintech companies in Florida:

We like to think that Defynance fits all that criteria pretty well. We've spent a couple years now developing our student loan refinancing product that uses income share agreements to be the best it can be.

Innovative:

Defynance breathes innovation, it's in our blood. We're constantly innovating, whether that's by using income share agreements to refinance loans or offering resources to customers through our resource marketplace. We love to come up with new and creative ways to help our customers. 

That's why we've even went beyond a traditional ISA to offer new structures. We created a payment cap that scales over time, so if you do well earlier, you can buy out of the agreement quicker. There's no longer a flat payment cap that punishes you for doing well. We also created a way to make extra payments to remove months off your ISA. So even if you don't hit the payment cap, you can remove months and get out of the agreement quicker.

Growth:

Defynance is constantly growing and expanding it's reach.  We've grown our resource marketplace over the last few months, starting with a handful of resources to the 50 we have today. We also keep adding new features to our online application to make the process easier and smoother for customers. We like to think we're all about growth; both personal and as a fintech company. 

Management:

We're not trying to brag, but we like to think that we have a pretty awesome team. Our founder and CEO, Farrukh Siddiqui, has been living socially responsible finance for the last 25 years. His experience has led this team in the right direction and allowed Defynance to experience the innovation and growth that it has. The rest of the team is pretty great too. They've been working hard to help solve the student loan crisis and are passionate about the problem. 

Societal Impact:

We do what we do because we love it and the impact we make. We know that student debt affects millions of people across the US and we want to help. We were founded on the idea that people can finance their loans in a debt-free way. Our ISA product can do that and take people out of debt. 

We have our resource marketplace, which offers career, financial, and mental resources to help people improve their career and their own health. We know how important different factors are for your career and we are here to support you. We want to see you go on and succeed, so we try to help you get there. 

What's next?

We're going to continue to grow, innovate, and make an impact. It's just what we do. We're passionate about solving the student loan crisis and you can't do that by sticking to the status quo. Currently, we're working on upgrading and expanding our online platform to offer you all a world-class experience. We'll keep adding features and innovating, so keep an eye out!

And if you haven't heard yet, we're also a part of the newest TechStars Boulder class. This experience is a huge learning opportunity and we can't wait to bring what we learn back to you all!

Time really does fly. It seems like just yesterday that we opened up the doors to our crowdfunding campaign, allowing you to own your own share of Defynance for as little as $100. And if you didn't take advantage of that opportunity then, it's not too late. Our crowdfunding campaign is still alive and kicking. But hurry, because this window of opportunity will close on January 29th, 2021. 

What is Crowdfunding?

You've probably heard of sites like ​Kickstarter​, which allows you to put money into an idea to help build it off the ground. That's crowdfunding, getting a crowd of people to fund an idea or a project. However, not all crowdfunding is focused on giving you items for certain cash payments.

There's also equity crowdfunding, where companies can sell shares of their company in return for some capital. In this kind of crowdfunding, you actually own a share of a company, just like when you purchase stocks in a company. This also means that the share is worth a part of the company, so it's price can change over time. And if the startup is successful, you could sell those shares for a huge profit. 

Why Invest in Defynance?

Over the last three months, Defynance has offered equity in their company through their ​Netcapital crowdfunding campaign​. This allows you to have a share of the company and invest in an idea that you believe in. Investing now can also help push us down the path to success. An investment in Defynance tells us that you believe in us and what we're trying to build. And every dollar that we raise is an extra dollar that we have to help eliminate the student debt crisis. We hope that it's a goal you can get behind.

But if that's not enough to convince you to invest, we also have a great team who's dedicated to solving the student debt crisis. Our founder and CEO, Farrukh Siddiqui, has over 30 years of experience in financial services and social responsibility. He basically eats, breathes, and sweats this stuff. And the rest of our team is just as great and have been working day in and day out to solve this crisis and bring the best solution possible. Together we can solve the student debt crisis.

TechStars?

One other reason to invest is that we just got accepted into ​TechStars​ accelerator program! We're really excited to be joining this ​great program​ and hope that you can get excited too. TechStars has helped many startups to succeed and thrive on their own through their three month program. With the program starting today, we're excited to learn as much as possible so we can continue to grow. TechStars wants to help entrepreneurs succeed and we know that their expertise can help us grow. With their backing, we know that the sky is the limit.

So if you haven't yet, make sure you invest in our ​crowdfunding campaign​ before it's too late.

For the past two and a half years, Defynance has been hard at work creating our student loan refinancing product using income share agreements (ISAs). And while we've been growing and are excited about our future, we decided that it was time to get a little help. Building a product is difficult and you can't do it alone. That's why we decided to apply to a leading startup accelerator. And not just any accelerator, but one of the best in the business, ​TechStars​.

What is an Accelerator?

An ​accelerator​ is a program or company that can, well, accelerate your startup. They can help get you ready to grow quicker by providing you with the resources and connections you need to succeed. Many of the people working in accelerators have built a successful business in the past or have worked with many other successful companies, so they know what it takes to make it in this world. The main difference between accelerators and other startup tools, like incubators, is that they have an intense, structured program that typically lasts for 3-6 months. 

Another benefit of accelerators is that they often invest in you. That means that they'll provide some funding in exchange for a share of your company. So, they want to see you succeed and will try as hard as they can to make that happen. Since the accelerator becomes a stakeholder, it's in their best interest for your company to thrive. It's also the accelerator telling you that they believe in your team and your product. 

What is TechStars?

TechStars is one of the most recognizable and established accelerators out there. Founded in 2006, it was the second seed accelerator to be established, with a goal of helping entrepreneurs succeed. They started with three ideas: entrepreneurs create the future, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. This led to them investing in more than 2,300 companies over the last 15 years. And it all started in Boulder in 2007 with the opening of their first accelerator. This location alone has helped over 150 companies grow. 

The TechStars program features three months of intense programming to help your company succeed. The first month is all about helping you grow your network and finding the perfect mentors for you to succeed. In month two, you start to execute on goals you made at the beginning of the program and tracking your progress. And the final month is all about funding strategy and showing off your business. The program is structured to help a business succeed and so far 85% of graduates have been acquired or are still active.

Why TechStars Boulder is Perfect for Defynance?

So why would TechStars be a perfect fit for Defynance? Well we know they're some of the best in the business at helping companies grow and as an early-stage startup, their program would be valuable to our growth. Boulder specifically has some of the best mentors who have been there and done that. Connecting with these mentors and this program offers invaluable experience to a team like Defynance. To top it off, the Managing Director of the Boulder program, ​Andres Barreto​ has first-hand experience with ISAs. We have a fully committed team who's passionate about solving the student debt crisis and now the experience and global network of TechStars will bring us over the edge.

So why have we spent so much time talking about TechStars and Boulder? It's because we have some pretty big news: We were accepted to TechStars Boulder's 2021 cohort! We're excited and thankful for this opportunity. We're glad that we have someone like TechStars backing us and can't wait to learn from them and become part of their great legacy.

You may have seen the term income share agreement, or ISA for short, pop up a lot more lately and be wondering what it even means. To make matters even more confusing, they also throw around more terms like payment cap and income share percentage. You may know that they're supposed to replaces loans, but it's hard to compare the two when they seem so different. It can be hard to look at income share agreements in a different scope from a loan, since they serve the same function. However, it's easy to see that they're two very different concepts. 

What is an income share agreement?

An ISA is a method of funding that doesn't have principal and interest, like a loan does. Instead, with an ISA, you pay back a percent of your income for a set period of time. This means that payments will fluctuate up and down as your income changes throughout the years. However, since it does scale, this means that your payment will always be affordable. Another benefit of an ISA is that it normally has a minimum amount of income you must make before you have to make a payment. This means that if you ever make under that amount, your payments will pause. And unlike a loan, there's no interest building up, the payments are really just paused until you start earning above the limit again. 

Once you make a set number of payments, based on the length of the term agreed upon at the beginning, the ISA will end, no matter what you paid back. That's right, you just have to make a set number of payments based on your income. But what happens if you get a huge raise or want to get out of your agreement early? Most ISAs also cover you on the upside with their cap. 

What is the payment cap?

The payment cap is the maximum amount that you will have to pay in an ISA. In many cases the payment cap is set at 2.5x the funding amount, meaning you'll pay 2.5 times what you are funded. If you took a $10,000 ISA, the most that you could pay is $25,000. This is there to prevent you from paying way more than you would with a normal ISA. Once you hit the set payment cap, your ISA will end.

With a ​Defynance ISA​, the payment cap actually scales with time. When you refinance your student loans with us, your payment cap will start at 1.1 times your funding amount and grow by 0.1 times the funding amount each year. This means that if you accepted a $10,000 ISA with Defynance, your payment cap would be $11,000 for the first year, $12,000 for the second year, and so on. And I know what you guys must be thinking, you guys must be cappin? Nah, no cap. 

So the payment cap is what I'm gonna pay?

No, the payment cap is just the maximum amount that you will ever pay. In fact, in most cases, it's not even going to be reached and you will end up paying less than the cap. The payment cap is more of a protection for the consumer, because it prevents them from paying way more than their funding amount. Most income share agreements are also priced so that you won't hit the payment cap unless your income explodes, which is a good problem to have.  So when thinking about an ISA, don't get stuck on the payment cap as the amount that you will pay, but a protection so that you won't pay more than that amount, no matter your situation. 

Where can I learn more about income share agreements?

At ​Defynance​, we refinance student loans using income share agreements, so if you have student debt and are working full-time, you can apply for our solution today. As we mentioned, we have a payment cap that scales over time to protect you. If you pay more earlier, your payment cap is lower. 

If you're interested in applying, ​click here​. Or if you want to learn more, you can find more information on ​our website​.

Defynance​ is revolutionizing the way that you think about your student debt. With over ​$1.6 trillion​ spread across 45 million borrowers, student debt is the second largest source of debt in the United States. That's to say, student debt affects a lot of people and leaves many of them behind to figure it out on their own. For some, student debt seems to be impossible to pay off and prevents people from being able to do other things, like save money or ​start a family​. That's why Defynance has created an ISA program to refinance loans that includes a self-equity account which can help you start saving more money. 

What's an ISA

ISA is an acronym for income share agreement, a funding agreement where a person pays a percent of their income for a period of time, instead of debt which has principal and interest to be repaid. The unique thing about an ISA is that the amount paid is tied to your income, so your repayment amount differs based on your changes in income. An ISA is unique because it is based on income and the payments aren't set. This can have it's own benefits because if you lose your job, or are under a certain threshold in income, then your payments are paused. Income share agreement programs also have a payment cap, which prevents you from paying way more than you would with a loan. If your income rises unexpectedly, this can prevent you from paying too much.

Defynance offers an ISA to refinance your student loans. If you have existing student debt, you can refinance them with Defynance to switch to paying a percentage of income. On their platform, you can get a free quote that will tell you the details of the program. You can check it out ​here​.

Ok, that's great, but how do you help me save money with a self-equity account?

While our program may sound promising as it is, we spiced it up just a little bit more to help you save more money in the end. If you refinance with us, you'll be responsible for buying 5% of your ISA, meaning you own 5% of your own ISA. This is beneficial to you because with each payment, we'll take the 5% you own out of it and put it in an account for you. Over time, this account will build up and after you complete your ISA, you'll get all the cash that built up over time.

This self-equity account leaves you with a nice saving account that you can use however you want. You can pay down other forms of debt, keep it as an emergency fund, or even put a down payment on a home. It's a great way to build up savings and set yourself up for future success. 

If this sounds like a great situation for you, ​apply now​!

If you're a landlord or financer, one of your customers losing their job can be a huge headache. For tenants, evicting someone and trying to find a new renter can be expensive, especially with the costs of keeping a room empty. If you give someone a loan and they can't repay, it's also a large loss for your business. So, how can you prevent these situations from happening in the case that someone does lose their job? ​Restart​ is helping you fix that.

What is Restart?

Restart is a company that helps job seekers find jobs. A business will sign up for the platform and refer customers to Restart and give that customer access to their career platform. On the platform, you can upload your resume and a picture, then you can get help from a certified career advisor to help you find what you're looking for. They've partnered with various companies to help you get your foot in the door and land a job. They also offer help building your resume or ways you can advance your career as part of this platform. 

How can Restart help me?

If you're looking for a job, Restart can be a great resource. Their platform offers resources to help you advance your career. They can help you improve your resume, get you in touch with open jobs that fit your needs, or let you speak to a career advisor at no cost to you. If you're sponsored to join Restart, you'll get access to their platform for free. Using this great resource can help you find a job in your field quickly.

If you have customers that can't pay you because they recently lost their job, you can refer the customer to Restart. Restart will work with them to help them find a job. Once Restart helps them land a new job, they will start earning again and be able to start paying sooner. That sounds like a win-win to me. Restart can be a great benefit to offer customers and make your product even better. 

If you're a business looking to offer this great resource to your customers, you can ​click here​ to learn more. You won't regret it.