Bypassing Wall Street

Bankers, rating agencies, and venture capitalists exist to provide funding to businesses and individuals. In the process, they earn a return for the owners of capital and themselves. As professionals, they are trusted by both the owners of capital, as well as those who want to use that capital, to identify and evaluate people on the other side of the transaction. However, the Internet is making it increasingly possible for investors and users of capital to identify and vet each other, thus bypassing Wall Street. In principle, this provides opportunities for a whole new.....