Meet Kaben Clauson | Co-Founder at Pigeon Loans

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaben Clauson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaben, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Pigeon Loans is bridging the gap between money and relationships. Our platform makes it easier to raise the funds needed to start a business, go back to school, or pay for emergencies. As income inequality has skyrocketed, in Miami and beyond, we’re seeing an exploding need for tools that allow people to help one another financially.

In the U.S., roughly $200B in personal loans are made each year — often through a ‘handshake’ deal that can go badly financially and interpersonally. Through Pigeon Loans, any two people can easily create a loan agreement that includes a contract, payment plan, and friendly reminders. Getting financial help from those who care for you most is the best path for many to get low-interest rates on favorable terms. We make this easy for the world.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Pigeon Loans is being led from a fundamentally different viewpoint than most of the traditional financial companies that exist today. We operate off of an ethos of helping our community reach their financial goals in a way that is fair and empowering. The majority of our users are people of color. We are proud of this and plan to build on our goals of serving groups that are often overlooked in a massive way.

Starting any company is hard. The key lesson is to pick an idea that makes you so excited you can’t stop talking about it. You just live the idea! After the idea, you need to find the highest character and smartest people you know to build it with. This is hard work.

I was lucky to have found my co-founder, Brian Bristol, who is a real star talent while also being a great human being. We then teamed up with two amazing early hires, Ben Schein and Brennan Batalla, who are setting an amazing tone for the type of company we plan to build. Having a great core team is the most important aspect of any company. If the core team is wrong, nothing will save you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Breakfast at Oja De Agua in Brickell to plan the week. The energy there is great.

Lunch Sanguich in Little Havana, a great hole-in-the-wall Cuban place.

A walk and talk around Brickell key followed by watching the Heat play at FTX Arena.

It would feel like a mistake to not introduce them to LIV at least once while a stop at Kiki on The River is always a memorable experience for friends who visit.

Lastly, South Point Park on a Sunday night is great. Live music, great people, and a perfect spot for a game of Chess.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My startup journey would not be where it is today without a number of mentors who came in to help me early on with my first company, TruePublic. In particular, John Aiello and Jim Streibich, were two investors who were willing to give me their time and network when my crazy idea was just getting off the ground.

In addition, I credit the book ‘War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield, for giving me that little kick in the butt we all need to jump from the plane that is our comfort zone.

Website: pigeonloans.io

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pigeonloans/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pigeon-loans/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pigeonloans

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrustPigeonLoans/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2uE0MYUEhUSxTBg_QCOcDA