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October - 2015 - issue > Top 100 Tech Companies Founded and Managed by Indians in the U.S.

YieldStreet: Online Investment Marketplace

SI Team
Monday, October 19, 2015
SI Team
If you are a typical hard-working professional, you are wondering how you can possibly grow your savings into real wealth in the current investing environment. You are likely thinking, Bank rates are almost 0 percent, and stock and bond markets are so volatile. I need investments with less volatility and better yields. Do such investments even exist? Can I access them? Is there an easy way to evaluate and invest in them affordably?

This problem inspired Milind Mehere and Michael Weisz to start YieldStreet, an online marketplace that has democratized investing by connecting accredited investors to asset-based investments with attractive yields that were once reserved for the uber wealthy and institutional investors. YieldStreet's $5,000 minimum makes investing in small business loans, receivables funding, real-estate lending, legal finance, and even pro-athlete loans finally possible for accredited investors. That is why Business Insider has named YieldStreet one of the 'Top 20 Companies Changing Wall Street.'

We started YieldStreet so accredited investors could finally access asset-based investment opportunities, says founder and CEO Milind Mehere. Our easy-to-use platform provides due diligence details for each offering, and our investors invest and manage their accounts online. Participating in YieldStreet offerings is as simple as buying stock or ETF online. We intend to forever change how people invest and think about financial planning and wealth management.

YieldStreet provides offerings from businesses with proven management teams seeking affordable capital. These offerings provide target yields between 8-25 percent are backed by strong collateral, and are short in duration. Prior to beginning due diligence, says YieldStreet founder and President Michael Weisz, every offering must meet YieldStreets three-rule investment philosophy: 1) Present low correlation to broader markets, 2) Represent greater asset value than the investment amount, 3) Be offered by an easy-to-understand business run by proven managers.

The 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act opened the door to general solicitation and crowd funding online, and was the catalyst for YieldStreets formation. YieldStreets recent Quest Livery Leasing offering is just one example. Quest is a NYC-based lease-to-own company that provides cars to livery drivers eager to work with ride sharing or limo services like Uber, Lyft or Carmel. Quest turned to YieldStreet to raise $600K of growth capital.


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