StreetShares
A U.S. fintech marketplace that originated veteran-focused small-business lending and later supplied lending technology to banks and credit unions.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
StreetShares, Inc. is a United States financial-technology company and small-business funding marketplace based outside Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2014 by Mark L. Rockefeller, Mickey Konson, and Ben Shiflet as a peer-to-peer lender designed initially around military veterans and veteran-owned businesses. Its original proposition was summarized by the idea of “veterans funding veterans”: borrowers sought business financing through an online platform, while military veterans, military supporters, and other eligible investors could provide capital. The company’s early lending model used a reverse-auction structure. Individuals could offer to fund portions of a borrower’s request at proposed rates, and the platform combined the lowest-cost offers into a single loan. StreetShares presented affinity among members of the military and veteran community as a way to improve trust, assess risk, and potentially reduce borrowing costs. Its stated mission also positioned the service as an alternative to expensive forms of short-term or payday-style credit for veteran entrepreneurs and other small-business owners. StreetShares received a $1.2 million seed investment in May 2014 from a group that included Accion International, Washington-area community bankers, military-veteran investors, Harvard Business School angels, and Capital One alumni. From 2014 through 2016, the business operated primarily as a veteran-oriented peer-to-peer lending marketplace. Beginning in 2015, it was associated with the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights, a transparency and fair-lending pledge for online small-business finance providers. The company later expanded beyond a narrowly defined peer-to-peer marketplace. In 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a public social-impact investment product connected with veteran lending under Regulation A+, a provision of the JOBS Act. This structure enabled members of the public to participate in lending through the StreetShares platform, subject to applicable qualification and account requirements. In January 2018, StreetShares announced a $23 million equity financing led by Rotunda Capital Partners. StreetShares continued to broaden its target market and technology offering. In January 2019, it introduced a funding product for veteran-owned government contractors affected by federal government shutdowns. In June 2019, it launched the StreetShares Platform, a white-label lending-technology service intended to help community banks and credit unions originate small-business loans. The platform supported term loans generally described as having three- to thirty-six-month maturities, with funding potentially supplied by StreetShares, a participating financial institution, or both. The platform’s underwriting and eligibility model was designed for established small businesses rather than pre-revenue ventures. Applicants were generally expected to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, to have operated for at least one year, to generate revenue, to be organized as a corporation or limited liability company, and to provide a business guarantor. StreetShares charged borrowers a disclosed one-time origination fee influenced by the loan term, risk profile, and requested amount, while banks and credit unions paid subscription fees for the technology service. Qualified members with established accounts could also access StreetShares investment products. StreetShares gained recognition in entrepreneurship, financial technology, and veteran-business circles. It won the investment category of the 2015 Harvard Business School New Venture Competition, received the Greater Washington Innovation Awards’ Professional Services Innovator of the Year award in 2017, and saw co-founders Rockefeller and Konson named Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2018. Commentary about the company highlighted its auction-based lending approach and its potential competitive significance within alternative small-business finance. The available reference material documents the company’s founding, financing, product evolution, and platform strategy, but does not establish its current operating status, ownership, website, or later corporate history.
History
StreetShares was established in 2014 by Mark L. Rockefeller, Mickey Konson, and Ben Shiflet as a fintech business focused on financing military veterans and veteran-owned small businesses. Its initial model was a peer-to-peer marketplace in which members of the veteran and military-supporter community could fund business loan requests. Investors submitted offers through a reverse auction, and the lowest-cost offers were combined to assemble a borrower’s financing. The company used shared military and veteran identity as a source of trust and social affinity, while presenting its loans as an alternative to high-cost short-term credit. The company’s first outside financing came in May 2014, when it raised $1.2 million in seed capital. The investor group included Accion International, Washington-area community bankers, veteran investors, Harvard Business School angels, and former Capital One employees. Through 2016, StreetShares was principally described as a “veterans funding veterans” peer-to-peer lender. Its marketplace connected small-business borrowers with individual capital providers and sought to use technology and community-based underwriting to improve access to finance. In 2015, StreetShares supported the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights, a voluntary framework emphasizing clear disclosure of loan terms and fair treatment of small-business borrowers. That same year, it won the investment award in the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition. The recognition reflected the company’s combination of financial technology, social-impact goals, and veteran entrepreneurship. Contemporary commentary compared the auction mechanism with a combination of an investor competition and an online marketplace, emphasizing its potential to put downward pressure on borrowing costs. A significant development came in 2016, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a StreetShares public social-impact investment product for veteran businesses. The product used Regulation A+, a JOBS Act provision that made it possible for a wider group of investors to participate in certain offerings subject to regulatory requirements. This moved StreetShares beyond a conventional private investor network and reinforced its public-facing social-impact identity. StreetShares received further institutional recognition in 2017, when it was named Professional Services Innovator of the Year by the Greater Washington Innovation Awards. In January 2018, the company raised a $23 million equity round led by Rotunda Capital Partners. In June of that year, co-founders Rockefeller and Konson were named Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year. During 2019, StreetShares expanded both its borrower focus and its business model. In January, it launched a financing product for veteran-owned government contractors facing disruption from federal government shutdowns. In June, it introduced the StreetShares Platform, a white-label service for community banks and credit unions. Rather than relying only on direct marketplace lending, the company sought to provide the software and operational infrastructure that financial institutions could use to originate small-business term loans. The platform supported loans with terms generally ranging from three to thirty-six months. Applicants were generally expected to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, to have operated for at least one year, to be generating revenue, to use a corporate or limited-liability-company structure, and to provide a business guarantor. StreetShares described a disclosed one-time origination fee based on factors including term, risk, and loan amount. Financial institutions paid subscription fees for access to the technology, while capital could come from StreetShares’ balance sheet or directly from participating banks and credit unions. Qualified investors could access StreetShares investments through an established account. The available source material ends with the company’s 2019 platform expansion and does not provide reliable information about later ownership, management, website operations, or whether the business remains active. Those elements therefore remain unresolved in this dossier.
- 2019
Government-contractor financing
[1]StreetShares introduced funding for veteran-owned government contractors affected by federal government shutdowns.
- 2019
Launch of StreetShares Platform
[1]The company launched white-label lending technology for community banks and credit unions seeking to serve small-business borrowers.
- 2018
Equity financing
[1]StreetShares announced a $23 million equity round led by Rotunda Capital Partners.
- 2016
Regulation A+ investment product
[1]The SEC approved a public social-impact investment product associated with veteran lending on the StreetShares platform.
- 2015
Borrower-transparency commitment
[1]The company joined the group of fintech firms supporting the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights.
- 2014
Company founded
[1]Mark L. Rockefeller, Mickey Konson, and Ben Shiflet launched StreetShares as a veteran-focused peer-to-peer small-business lender.
- 2014
Seed financing
[1]StreetShares raised $1.2 million in seed financing from a group that included microfinance, community-banking, veteran, Harvard Business School, and Capital One-related investors.
Products and positioning
A mission-oriented fintech platform focused on veteran entrepreneurs, small-business lending, and financial infrastructure for community financial institutions.
Small-business lending · 2014
Veteran-focused peer-to-peer business loans
StreetShares’ original product connected veteran and other small-business borrowers with individual investors through an online marketplace. The platform used a reverse-auction process in which prospective funders offered portions of a loan at proposed costs. The lowest-cost offers were combined into one financing package. The product was designed around veteran community affinity and was marketed as a more transparent alternative to expensive short-term credit.
Investment product · 2016
Veteran social-impact investment product
Approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2016, this product used Regulation A+ under the JOBS Act to broaden public participation in lending associated with veteran-owned businesses. It extended StreetShares’ original community-finance concept from a limited peer-to-peer network toward a regulated public social-impact investment structure.
Small-business lending · 2019
Government-contractor funding
Launched in 2019, this financing product addressed veteran-owned government contractors whose cash flow could be affected by federal government shutdowns. The product represented an expansion from general veteran-business lending into a more situational working-capital use case.
Banking technology · 2019
StreetShares Platform
The StreetShares Platform was a white-label lending-technology service for community banks and credit unions. It enabled participating institutions to offer small-business term loans, generally with maturities of three to thirty-six months, while StreetShares supplied technology and related marketplace or balance-sheet capabilities. The model shifted the company toward financial infrastructure and banking-as-a-service rather than only direct-to-borrower marketplace lending.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights participation
United States
StreetShares associated itself with an industry pledge promoting transparent loan terms and fair treatment for small-business borrowers.
Outcome. The commitment reinforced the company’s contrast with opaque or high-cost small-business credit providers.
- 2014Veterans funding veterans
United States
StreetShares built its early brand around the idea that veterans and military supporters could finance veteran-owned small businesses through a community-based online marketplace.
Outcome. The positioning established veteran entrepreneurship and social-impact lending as the company’s initial market identity.
Brand decisions
2019
Move into white-label lending infrastructureStrategyBackground
StreetShares had originated as a direct marketplace connecting borrowers and individual investors, but sought additional scale through institutional distribution.
Action taken
It launched the StreetShares Platform for community banks and credit unions, enabling them to offer small-business loans using StreetShares technology.
Aftermath
The company’s model expanded toward software and banking infrastructure, with financial institutions paying subscription fees and funding potentially coming from StreetShares or the institutions themselves.
2016
Expand investor participation through Regulation A+Product launchBackground
StreetShares sought to extend its veteran-lending model beyond a private peer-to-peer investor community.
Action taken
The company obtained SEC approval for a public social-impact investment product using Regulation A+ under the JOBS Act.
Aftermath
The move broadened the potential investor base and gave the platform a more formally regulated public-investment structure.
Recent events
StreetShares and Farm Bureau Bank partner on small business lending[3]
Reported:
StreetShares announced a partnership with Farm Bureau Bank to provide small business lending services to Farm Bureau's six million members nationwide using StreetShares' Lending-as-a-Service platform.
Sources4 sources
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