As one of the co-founders of MyRichUncle, Vishal stays on the pulse of the Company’s operations as chief financial officer. His depth and breadth of experience with financial markets coupled with a focus on strategic growth has given Vishal the ability to fuel the rapid, purposeful development of MyRichUncle as the creator of the next-generation student loan market.
Prior to graduating with highest honors from New York University’s Stern School of Business, Vishal was trading in upwards of $200 million from his dorm room while working for VZB Partners, a small hedge fund where Vishal concentrated on emerging markets. He did a short stint upon graduation with Morgan Stanley in the Latin American Investment Banking and Mergers & Acquisitions groups. On his 21st birthday, he quit his job and subsequently started his independent venture, 1/0 Capital LLC, a top performing hedge fund with a niche focus on emerging markets.
While attending Stuyvesant High School in New York City, Vishal met Raza Khan. Both also attended NYU, and as each worked through their college years to fund the cost of school, their discussions became more focused on the economics of education. Paying for college was difficult enough, far from the experience of having a rich uncle. They both agreed: the student loan industry was broken and there wasn’t a single player in the market that seemed interested in fixing it.
Vishal co-founded MyRichUncle with Raza when he was 21 years old, and determined to change the way students pay for school.
In 2006, BusinessWeek named Vishal and Raza among Tech’s Best Young Entrepreneurs. Vishal has made appearances to speak about financing education on CNN, ABC and local news stations across the country. As a featured speaker at several conferences on finance, education and innovation, Vishal has shared his views on the state of student lending, innovation, credit risk and assessment, and next-generation products for the student lending industry.
As the president of MyRichUncle, Raza Khan manages the day-to-day business of positively changing the student loan industry. As one of the co-founders, Raza has grown the Company by focusing on developing a brand that reflects MyRichUncle’s advocacy for students and creating the innovative products to fund the widest demographic of student borrowers.
While studying liberal arts at New York University, Raza capitalized on the financial and Internet boom of the late 1990s, working as a contractor handling marketing and branding for companies seeking presence online. As his career expanded so did the demand for his time. The harder he worked, the more successful his employers became, so he moved his compensation to an equity model. Raza founded his first company at age 19, where he spearheaded marketing, finance and development.
While attending Stuyvesant High School in New York City, Raza met Vishal Garg. Both also attended NYU, and as each worked through their college years to fund the cost of school, their discussions became more focused on the economics of education. Paying for college was difficult enough, far from the experience of having a rich uncle. They both agreed: the student loan industry was broken and there wasn’t a single player in the market that seemed interested in fixing it.
Raza co-founded MyRichUncle with Vishal when he was 21 years old, and dead-set on building the best consumer finance company for students.
In 2006, BusinessWeek named Vishal and Raza among Tech’s Best Young Entrepreneurs. Raza has made appearances to speak about financing education on CNN and NPR. As a featured speaker at several conferences, including Harvard Business School’s Entrepreneurship Conference (March 2006), Raza provides expert opinions on a wide variety of marketing and financial topics, namely innovation, entrepreneurial ventures, consumer finance, paying for education and the dynamics of the student loan market.
Joining co-founders Raza Khan and Vishal Garg in 2004, Ed McGuinn is chairman and chief executive officer of MRU Holdings Inc., the specialty finance company that powers the MyRichUncle brand. Ed brings the experience and knowledge that a career spanning more than 30 years in dynamic financial markets can provide.
Since 1998, Ed has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures, namely the development of electronic trading systems for fixed income securities, as well as serving as president and chief executive officer for two companies: Limitrader.com and eLOT, Inc. (formerly known as Executone, Inc.).
Prior to his appointments and from 1992-1997, Ed was senior managing director and head of the equity capital markets and corporate finance for two investment banking boutiques specializing in consumer services, health care and technology. Also a senior managing director for equity and equity-related sales, research and trading at Mabon Securities, Ed orchestrated Rodman and Renshaw’s purchase of Mabon Securities.
From 1981 to 1992, Ed was managing director and a member of Lehman Brothers Fixed Income Operating Committee. While at Lehman Brothers, he was responsible for developing global presence in domestic fixed income arbitrage and international fixed income trading, sales and research.
A graduate of Colgate University, Ed entered the MBA/CPA program at New York University, in which liberal arts students were sponsored by major accounting firms to transition into Finance and Management consulting. This led to a great tenure with what is now Ernst & Young, in the audit and management consulting divisions.
Ed’s entrepreneurial spirit has been part of his career path all along. During the late 70’s and early 80’s, Ed ran a private snow removal company servicing Metro North. Ed was also involved in the restaurant business, overseeing five restaurants in the Wall Street area and two in suburbs of New York City, among them two of the largest in Manhattan: the Hudson River Club and Morans.
Currently, Ed also sits on the Board of Directors of eLOT, Inc. and Enigma Software, and on advisory boards of a venture capital company and several development-stage companies specializing in financial technology and Internet services. He has also lectured extensively on the topics of electronic trading and best business practices for the financial services industry. In addition, he is actively involved in several charitable organizations such as Tuesday’s Children (for children affected by the events of 9/11/01), Greenwich Youth Lacrosse and several Colgate University-related organizations.
Michael has been instrumental in starting innovative companies that challenge established players. MP3.com gave Vivendi Universal a run for their money by creating the largest collection of digital music—long before iTunes. It was so good that Vivendi had no choice but to buy it. He then took on Microsoft by starting Linspire—challenging the software giant’s grip on the operating system market with a Linux alternative. He is currently the CEO of SipPhone, a company that provides phone services over the internet. Michael also founded REEF, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting new and innovative programs of investment in education. Michael helps us at MyRichUncle maintain our edge in taking on the dominant education finance companies that are apathetic to the needs of students.
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