Ryan Gilbert Founder of Better Finance & Partner at Propel Venture Partners

Ryan's Bio:

Ryan is a General Partner at Propel Venture Partners (www.propel.vc), a venture capital firm investing in the financial services sector backed by BBVA.

As an entrepreneur-in-residence at Venrock, Ryan co-founded Better Finance and its small business lending marketplace SmartBiz (www.smartbizloans.com), serving as CEO and now as Executive Chairman. As the #1 online marketplace for SBA loans. The company’s advanced software streamlines the SBA loan application and origination process.

Ryan was an early investor in EventBrite and a founding advisor to Square. He’s also a director of River City Bank in Sacramento, CA, and is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s nominated director on the board of bKash, Bangladesh’s leading remittance network.

Previously, Ryan was co-founder and CEO of real estate payments company, PropertyBridge, which was acquired by MoneyGram International. He also brings strategic experience from Wells Fargo Payment Services and Andersen Consulting.

Ryan is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice law in the United Kingdom and South Africa. He is a member of YPO, and is active in civic affairs in Piedmont, California, serving on the city’s Public Safety Committee. Ryan earned his Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.