TrustLeaf was an alternative crowd funding service for startups and small businesses to raise money from friends and family using personal loans.
[2] Unlike the more common equity or donation/rewards based crowdfunding systems, TrustLeaf arranged and kept track of personal loans.
[3] Because of legal regulations, such as SEC rules and broker-dealer licensing, the website only allowed users to request loans from people with whom they have existing personal relationships, that is, friends and family.
Anson explained the workings of TrustLeaf while being interviewed on the German television show Weltspiegel (World Mirror) in July 2014 on the topic of Asian-American Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.
[6] On TrustLeaf, users could create a campaign page and invite their friends and family to pledge funding and sign personal loan documents.