Pioneering Research
Technology is transforming the small business lending market and shaping a new era of
small business opportunity.
Karen Mills charts
how fintech has changed and will continue to change small business lending, and how
financial
innovation and wise regulation can restore a path to the American Dream.
“In this important book, Karen Mills shows how financial innovation can empower small businesses to fulfill their owners’ dreams and push the American economy forward. It will change how you think both about financial innovation and small business”
Lawrence H. Summers
Former Secretary of the Treasury, Former Director of the National Economic Council,
and Harvard President Emeritus
“In this important book, Karen Mills shows how financial innovation can empower small businesses to fulfill their owners’ dreams and push the American economy forward. It will change how you think both about financial innovation and small business”
Lawrence H. Summers
Former Secretary of the Treasury, Former Director of the National Economic Council,
and Harvard President Emeritus
“Karen Mills is one of the foremost experts on our nation’s small businesses and the policies that are central to their growth and vitality. She demonstrates how new technology and smart regulation in Washington can usher in a transformative era for entrepreneurialism and the American dream. A powerful book.”
Olympia Snowe
Former U.S. Senator and Former Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee
“Karen Mills is one of the foremost experts on our nation’s small businesses and the policies that are central to their growth and vitality. She demonstrates how new technology and smart regulation in Washington can usher in a transformative era for entrepreneurialism and the American dream. A powerful book.”
Olympia Snowe
Former U.S. Senator and Former Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee
“Karen Mills recognizes that small businesses are vital to America’s development. For anyone interested in understanding the complexities of small business growth and the technologies, systems and companies vying to simplify and strengthen the financial lives of American small businesses, this book is essential.”
Kathryn Petralia
Co-Founder and President of Kabbage
“Karen Mills recognizes that small businesses are vital to America’s development. For anyone interested in understanding the complexities of small business growth and the technologies, systems and companies vying to simplify and strengthen the financial lives of American small businesses, this book is essential.”
Kathryn Petralia
Co-Founder and President of Kabbage
Podcast
Using Fintech to Disrupt Eastern Bank from Within
Karen Mills
Karen Mills
- 20 DEC 2018
- |
- Cold Call Podcast
Was Eastern Labs a huge success or an expensive mistake? Eastern Bank CEO Bob Rivers
innovated from within by partnering with fintech entrepreneur Dan O’Malley to launch
a completely automated small-business lending product. Karen Mills discusses key questions
from her case study: Did Rivers have the right intrapreneurship model? Did he change
the culture at Eastern? Did he make a mistake spinning off Numerated into a separate
company?
Was Eastern Labs a huge success or an expensive mistake? Eastern Bank CEO Bob Rivers
innovated from within by partnering with fintech entrepreneur Dan O’Malley to launch
a completely automated small-business lending product. Karen Mills discusses key questions
from her case study: Did Rivers have the right intrapreneurship model? Did he change
the culture at Eastern? Did he make a mistake spinning off Numerated into a separate
company?
Media Coverage
PNC’s fight with Venmo highlights bigger issue over who owns your banking data
Kate Rooney
- 16 DEC 2019
- |
- CNBC
Karen Mills, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School says the PNC-Venmo spat shows “how much we need to adopt opening banking” that “lets customers own their own data.”
In conversation with Karen G. Mills: How fintech could pave the way to small business utopia
- 22 NOV 2019
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- Imperial College Business School
Gender Bias Complaints against Apple Card Signal a Dark Side to Fintech
Karen Mills
- 19 NOV 2019
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- HBS Working Knowledge
The possibility that Apple Card applicants were subject to gender bias opens a new frontier for the financial services sector in which regulators are largely absent, argues Karen Mills.
BankThink: Fintech will reshape how entrepreneurs seek loans
Karen Mills
- 01 NOV 2019
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- American Banker
Karen Mills: «La pyme en España no tiene una voz líder en tecnología que le represente»
- 29 OCT 2019
- |
- Finovate Podcast
Finovate Podcast Episode 11: Karen Mills, Harvard Business School
- 22 OCT 2019
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- Finovate Podcast
A New Small Business Tech Ecosystem is Emerging
Peter Renton
- 17 OCT 2019
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- LendIt Fintech News
A new financial ecosystem for small business owners is being built that is customized, intelligent and real time.
Fintech: las ‘big techs’ a la caza de los bancos
- 30 SEP 2019
- |
- Fundación Rafael Del Pino
Small-business owners have no fear of a US recession, according to one online lender
John Detrixhe
- 10 SEP 2019
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- Quartz
Stripe, the world’s most valuable private fintech company, is getting into lending
Kate Rooney
- 05 SEP 2019
- |
- CNBC
Executive pursuits: Bill Murray is everywhere you want to be
Lawrence Gennari
- 30 AUG 2019
- |
- Boston Business Journal
Read former SBA Administrator Karen Mill’s outstanding new book: FinTech, Small Business & the American Dream, a smart, savvy, and useful landscape of lending, fintech, and small business. Mills knows how the engine of small business powers the U.S. and her recommendations about how to sustain it through technology are thoughtful and direct. Her observations about how small banks can anchor communities are especially astute and important. Relationships still matter, especially today and even with online banking.
Fintech on Main Street: How small businesses are banking on new technology
- 14 AUG 2019
- |
- HBS Managing the Future of Work Podcast
Technology is changing financial institutions’ relationships with local businesses and sole proprietors, which account for half of America’s workforce. HBS professor and former head of the Small Business Administration Karen Mills sheds light on the ongoing transformation. Will new technologies expand access to credit for sole proprietors and small businesses on Main Street? How will these new technologies affect community banks? And what are the key challenges to smart Fintech regulation?
Karen Mills and the case for open banking
- 23 JUL 2019
- |
- American Banker
The former head of the Small Business Administration and current Harvard professor says data sharing can be transformational for banks.
The most common mistake made by small business owners, according to former SBA head Karen Mills
- 19 JUL 2019
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- Yahoo Finance
3 Fintech Innovations That Could End Financial Hurdles For Small Businesses
Brock Blake
- 13 JUL 2019
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- Forbes
Can the Market Deliver the Consolidated FinTech Tool Small Businesses Need?
Kimberly Zhang
- 27 MAY 2019
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- Entrepreneur
Karen Mills: Small businesses need and want a seat at the table
- 23 MAY 2019
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- Finovate TV
Half of Americans own or work for a small business, yet they often are not given the priority. During FinovateSpring, we spoke to Karen Mills, Senior Fellow, Harvard Business School and former cabinet member under President Barack Obama as Head of small Business Administration, about how important small businesses lending is to the health and well-being of the businesses and ultimately the economy, and how technology may transform this process.
Small Business Lending Soars at Banks; Technology Is A Big Reason Why
Rohit Arora
- 15 MAY 2019
- |
- Forbes
Former SBA Administrator Karen Mills said that the next wave of the evolution of banking will be partnerships between fintech innovators and banks -- particularly small banks. “We have come to a moment where banks want to partner with fintechs for technology and for platforms without developing it themselves,” said Mills, who has just written a new book called Fintech, Small Business and the American Dream. “They can access bank accounts, Amazon purchases, and eBay activity to determine if a small business is creditworthy.”
Karen Mills on Technology and the Future of Small Business
- 14 MAY 2019
- |
- C-SPAN
Former Small Business Administrator Karen Mills talked about her new book on technology’s impact on small businesses.
Data privacy, AI, regulation: Small-business lending is changing fast
Bonnie McGeer
- 14 MAY 2019
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- American Banker
In this podcast, Mills also talks about data privacy and the benefits and risks of AI — along with the regulatory challenges that these issues present. She calls data privacy “the absolute most complicated and difficult and meaningful issue that is going to face financial services regulation, and in fact technology regulation, coming in the next year or two."
Weekend Essay: Fintech, Small Business, and the American Dream
Jordyn Dahl
- 9 MAY 2019
- |
I sat down with Karen G. Mills, the former head of the Small Business Administration and author of “Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream,” to discuss how fintech might level the lending playing field.
How Fintech Can Push Small Businesses to the Next Level
- 22 APR 2019
- |
- Bloomberg Surveillance
Karen Mills, former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, discusses the influence of smaller financial technology companies on big banks and how the U.S. government could help small businesses.
Fewer small businesses expected to hire new employees in 2019
Brian Cheung
- 16 APR 2019
- |
- Yahoo Finance
Karen Mills, former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, said that fintech companies are becoming bigger players in small business lending as underwriting algorithms get smarter. "The big winners are going to be the small businesses themselves because they are going to have more options."
Karen Mills on Fintech, Small Business and the American Dream
- 9 APR 2019
- |
- LendIt Fintech
How Amazon is both friend and foe to small businesses
- 9 APR 2019
- |
- CNBC Squawk Box
Karen Mills, former administrator of the Small Business Administration, joins "Squawk Box" to discuss the state of small businesses in America and why optimism among owners seems to be somewhat stagnant.
Former SBA Head Karen Mills: I’m Optimistic
John Thomas
- 8 APR 2019
- |
- Business Forward
Karen G. Mills has written a book entitled, Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream, where she describes how technology is opening up new doors for entrepreneurs and the transformative properties of artificial intelligence and big data. As any entrepreneur knows, capital is the life blood of business. You need it from start-up through all phases of growth. The advent of Fintech and the realities of online and virtual banking are all making this possible.
Obama's former cabinet member says US fintech lags UK and European rivals
Roger Baird
- 5 APR 2019
- |
- AltFi
Karen Mills, who served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the administrator of the US Small Business Administration from 2009 to 2013, says the arrival of fintech firms at the start of the financial crisis a decade ago helped save many small businesses in America. In her book - Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream: How Technology Is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity - she explains how fintechs move spurred established providers like Wells Fargo and new players like Amazon to catch up.
Episode #283: Small Things with Big Impact
- 4 APR 2019
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- Breaking Banks
Jason Henrichs talks with Karen Mills, former head of the Small Business Administration about her new book Fintech, Small Business and the American Dream
HKS Regulatory Policy Seminar: Karen Mills on Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream
- 4 APR 2019
- |
- Harvard Kennedy School
Karen G. Mills, former M-RCBG senior fellow and former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (2009-2013) gives a seminar as part of the Regulatory Policy Program's weekly seminar series.
How Can Technology Help Small Businesses? Think: 'Cash Flow.'
Laura Goldberg
- 4 APR 2019
- |
- Entrepreneur
The speed of business is changing, and today’s technologies and services are giving small businesses the tools they need to level the playing field with their bigger competitors. Academic research suggests this is the future. Former SBA administrator and senior fellow at Harvard, Karen Mills, wrote in her new book, Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream, about the concept of a "small business utopia."
Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business
Martha Lagace
- 3 APR 2019
- |
- HBS Working Knowledge
In the new book Fintech, Small Business, & the American Dream, Karen Mills describes how technology is opening up new capital for entrepreneurs. Around the corner: The transformative benefits of AI and big data.
'Fintech, Small Business, and The American Dream' Author Discusses New Book
- 2 APR 2019
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- Yahoo Finance
Karen Mills, author of 'Fintech, Small Business, and The American Dream' discusses her new book with Jen Rogers, Seana Smith, and Brian Cheung on The Final Round.
Small Businesses Will Turn to Fintech: Karen Mills (Radio)
- 2 APR 2019
- |
- Bloomberg
Former SBA Administrator Karen Mills, Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School, discusses her new book, "Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream." Hosted by Lisa Abramowicz and Paul Sweeney.
CNBC: Hard for voice of small businesses to be heard, says former SBA head
- 29 MAR 2019
- |
- CNBC
Karen Mills, former administrator at the Small Business Administration, discusses the departure of Linda McMahon from the same role in the Trump administration.
Baystate Business: Karen G. Mills
- 26 MAR 2019
- |
- Bloomberg Radio
Professor Karen G. Mills discusses her new book, Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream with Bloomberg Baystate Business hosts Tom Moroney and Janet Wu (segment starts at 52:15).
LendIt Fintech Podcast with Karen Mills
- 8 MAR 2019
- |
- LendIt Fintech News
Professor Karen G. Mills talks with Peter Renton, Founder of Lend Academy, about her new book, Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream and what is in store for the future of small business in America.