This Entrepreneur Is Proving That a Zero-Interest Loan Platform Can WorkCheck out what's taking crowdfunding to a new level.

Rachel Maxwell's path to financing entrepreneurs wasn't an obvious one. Before receiving her MBA in 2012, she worked in international climate policy while running an analytics and market research firm with her husband. But her data-crunching background and interest in sustainable energy soon led her to pursue sustainable business financing solutions for local communities.

“我发现我们真的需要一个distributed economic system, much like we needed a distributed energy grid," says Seattle-based Maxwell. A year spent researching the topic led to Community Sourced Capital, a zero-interest crowdfunding platform for community-based ventures. To ensure that future directors, advisors and investors would honor the mission, CSC became a certified B Corporation and a registered Social Purpose Corporation, a Washington state business designation.