Dave Girouard: It’s not technically “selling” anything. Upstart is about raising capital (or borrowing) with repayment defined as a fixed and small fraction of income earned, instead of a fixed interest rate. Upstarts can choose either a five-year or 10-year agreement and can share as much as seven percent of their income (they can raise approximately twice as much for the 10-year as the 5-year contract). The average upstart aims to raise about $30,000, and nets about $25,000. They have 60 days to fund. And we manage all distribution of funds, collection and redistribution of repayments etc. Our investors are referred to as “backers.”

Drake: Technically you are crowdfunding future earnings, for which you do not need to register as a security under SEC regulation. Tell us how you see this working.

Girouard: We are a private offering under SEC rules, only available to accredited investors as of today.

ED: Crowdfunding in the Asia Pacific region is still somewhat limited with Government Legislation struggling to keep up. Australia has a new discussion paper (which means changes to legislation are a long way off), there is a good review here http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/it-opinion/crowdfunding-rules-to-change-help-australian-entrepreneurs-20130916-hv1pn.html and a discussion website launched by Andrew Ward here http://www.csef-australia.com.au/

Drake: In your first year last April, you had 83 “upstarts” backed by 135 “backers” with 555 offers, and a total value of $1,030,740. Who are these backers? Do they have to be accredited or can anyone offer to put money in?

Girouard: As of now, we have 130 upstarts, 200 backers, and 1,000 offers made for about $1.8 million. Backers are a varied lot: successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, other types of investors. You do need to be an accredited investor today. We hope to change this over the next few months by registering the security interest with the SEC, similar to what Lending Club and Prosper did in 2008.

Drake: You’ve raised $7.65 million in funding to date, and previously spent eight years at Google. Where do you want the scale to be 18 months from now? Is it domestic mainly or will it be global?

Girouard: I expect to focus on the U.S. for the next couple of years. Each country has entirely different regulations in this area, so I’d rather get it right in one big market before spreading to others. We’d like to have several thousand upstarts funded within a couple of years.

Drake: Who should be looking to raise money against their future earnings on your site?

Girouard: We’re focused today on people early in their careers who need capital to invest in themselves and their careers. This can include eradicating student debt, starting a business, or investing in their skills in opportunities such as learn-to-code programs that are becoming really popular. We see a huge part of our population that has little or no access to capital on reasonable terms, but who could benefit enormously from a bit of economic freedom.

Drake: Who are the ideal investors that should get the most out of this program?

Girouard: Upstart isn’t about donations or philanthropy, but we are mission-driven. Ideal investors are those who are compelled by a novel new financial instrument, are interested in generating a compelling return, but also want to participate in a network designed to help young people succeed and do compelling things with their careers.

Drake: How do you scale this business, as you clearly have to underwrite all the individuals applying, and what are the challenges to growth for your firm?

Girouard: We’re quickly automating many aspects of the underwriting: the identify proof, credit verification, verifying academic credentials, and more. We are confident we can scale that part of our business very quickly. The biggest challenge in a two-sided market like Upstart is to balance supply and demand, to make sure the marketplace works well for all participants. In our short life, we’ve already experienced times when there are too many backers and not enough upstarts, and vice versa.

Drake: How do you differentiate your service from other crowdfunding platforms out there?

Girouard: Upstart is 180 degrees different than other crowdfunding sites because it has real economics underpinning it. On the upstart side, the idea of borrowing from your future self is liberating and has far-reaching potential to unlock value in the economy. On the investor side, the opportunity to invest in the wages and income of a diverse group of people has been discussed for decades, has a risk/return profile that is really compelling, and provides a way to hedge against your own future earnings. The idea of human capital contracts (the economist’s term for what we do) goes back to Milton Friedman, and has potential to create an entirely new asset class for the next 100 years.

@ David Drake is an early-stage equity expert and the founder and chairman of LDJ Capital, a New York City private equity firm, and The Soho Loft, a global event-driven financial media company helping firms advertise for investors. He writes regularly for Forbes and Thomson Reuters. You can reach him directly at [email protected] or make connect on linkedin.com/in/ldjcapital