How Fintech Is Changing The Small Business Game

In the new book Fintech, Small Business, & the American Dream, Karen Mills describes how technology is opening up new capital for entrepreneurs. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data will transform financial services and small-business lending long before they impact driverless cars, predicts Harvard Business School Senior Fellow Karen G. Mills. "As we speak, large banks and fintech providers are working on solutions that will dramatically change the options for small businesses." Her new book, Fintech, Small Business, & the American Dream: How Technology is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity, explains why small business is key to the United States economy, and how innovation in financial services will reduce the friction and barriers in small-business lending, helping more of them thrive. In our Q&A, Mills, who served as a member of the Obama Cabinet and headed the US Small Business Administration from 2009 to 2013, outlines the challenges and opportunities facing small businesses, the rise of fintech innovation, and the policy implications for regulation.