Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams are flipping the financial script with “The Wealth Break” and SoLo Funds

In a world where the financial system has historically overlooked underserved communities, SoLo Funds stands as a beacon of innovation and advocacy. Co-founded by Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams, the company offers a peer-to-peer lending platform rooted in community, transparency and affordability. Since its inception, SoLo Funds has surpassed 2 million users and facilitated over $1 billion in transaction volume — tangible proof of its massive impact on financial empowerment across America.

Now, the duo is extending their mission with “The Wealth Break,” a new podcast launched in partnership with iHeartRadio and ESSENCE. Designed to bring real, relatable conversations to the forefront of financial literacy, the show invites entrepreneurs, creators and everyday people to share their wins, losses and lessons learned on the road to wealth.

As it always is with innovation and entrepreneurship, roadblocks are guaranteed — but they are only temporary. Earlier this year, SoLo Funds scored a major win when a lawsuit questioning its business model was dismissed. “We look forward to continuing this critical work now that this costly litigation is behind us,” wrote Holoway at the time. Ultimately, the experience further validated the company’s commitment to financial transparency, consumer empowerment and community-driven solutions.

REVOLT was fortunate enough to chat with Holoway and Williams about the inspiration behind “The Wealth Break,” the power of community finance, their vision for a financial ecosystem and how they’re turning advocacy into action. Check it out below.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

What inspired you both to launch “The Wealth Break,” and how does it connect to your mission with SoLo Funds?

Williams: We always wanted to create the real version of what financial literacy should be. If you ever look at financial literacy today, the tone and terminology is really difficult to understand. It’s usually being voiced from a consumer who we believe a lot of other consumers just don’t relate to. Most people don’t learn like that. They learn by seeing and experiencing things they can relate to. So, the inspiration for us was honestly to create some real content from the real voice of American consumers who need it.

Holoway: Yeah, I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that people don’t really learn by someone just talking at them. It’s more about doing. The best way to learn how to manage money is by having money. Unfortunately, some people make mistakes in that process, but that’s how you learn. It’s about saying, “This is what I did. This is what worked. This is what didn’t.” From that, people can learn from others’ mistakes. It’s not about presenting a perfect world. It’s about presenting real experiences.

Williams: Sometimes, it’s been difficult to find good financial content. If you’re really good at finance, you’re probably out doing finance — not creating a podcast. But we want to help people with the entire financial journey. Travis is a dad and a husband. We want to speak from authentic perspectives that reflect the everyday American experience.

How did you connect with iHeartRadio and ESSENCE to launch the podcast?

Williams: It was a long journey. I think iHeart is used to working with celebrities — not necessarily founders who want to help people. It took some convincing. But, once they got to know us, they really gravitated toward the concept. With ESSENCE, we also wanted to make sure women — especially Black women, who are disproportionately marginalized by financial services — are part of the conversation. Both iHeart and ESSENCE are partners of SoLo Funds, so that allowed us to bring “The Wealth Break” to life.

SoLo Funds recently passed 2 million registered users and $1 billion in transaction volume. What does hitting that milestone mean to you both?

Holoway: That milestone means the vision Rodney and I had in a room — to create something more equitable and affordable for our community — is real. There are over 150 million people in this country who need access to emergency capital. We knew people needed help with things like car repairs, rent, prescriptions... Seeing how many lives we’ve impacted is incredible. And we’re just scratching the surface.

The billion dollars in volume shows there’s real scalability. People tried to marginalize our idea, saying it was too small or only for people who looked like us. But over 70 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. That’s not just Black and Brown folks. Everyone is impacted. Our work shows the need is vast and real — and we’re delivering where others only made promises after George Floyd. We’re still here, and we’re going to turn that $1 billion into $100 billion.

I read that, through SoLo Funds, 30 percent of borrowers later became lenders. What does that say about the power of community finance?

Holoway: It means people aren’t stuck. Just because someone needs help today doesn’t mean they’ll need it forever. When people recover, they come back and pay it forward. We’ve had engineers laid off who got back on their feet and returned to help others. People don’t want handouts — they want a helping hand. And we’re proud to enable that.

Williams: Community finance is real. Look at Caribbean “partner” systems, African “susu” models — informal saving pools. These work. We’ve created a scalable version for the U.S. that honors those traditions and makes them accessible.

You've had some major partnerships. What did it mean to lock in with Serena Williams through her venture firm? How did that validate your work?

Holoway: I give Serena a lot of credit — not just for being a legend in sports, but for not falling out of touch with her roots. With all of her success, she still understands what people go through financially. When she and her team heard our idea, they saw the impact it could have. They wanted to be part of that. It’s about giving back, but also realizing that community impact can still be economically powerful. She saw that and has supported us every step of the way.

With upcoming features like debit cards and high-yield savings, I wanted to know more about your plans for evolving SoLo Funds into a full financial ecosystem — especially for underserved communities.

Williams: We’re creating offerings that people have historically been denied. Our current product is already more affordable than payday loans or credit cards. And we give our lenders a better yield than traditional banks. With our debit card, you’ll start seeing heightened rewards — something special for our users. And our high-yield savings account? We want that to be best-in-class. These are just more ways we’re closing the gap and bringing real financial tools to underserved communities.

You recently overcame a major legal challenge; specifically, a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Now that the lawsuit has been dismissed, what do you want consumers to understand about what happened?

Holoway: It’s much less about SoLo Funds specifically and more about the industry as a whole. There’s no real framework for models like ours. The laws were written for a different time, and they don’t account for how people use money today. Think about how we used to send money — now there are five different apps. You shouldn’t force innovation into outdated boxes. We want people to be protected, yes, but let’s regulate based on what these companies are actually doing, not on perceptions.

And remember — there are licenses for things like payday loans and subprime credit cards, even though people criticize them. Our model is more affordable, more equitable. We just want people to be open to that.

What about the scrutiny around your “tip and donation” model? It’s user-driven and optional — so what was the issue?

Holoway: From our view, the tip-and-donation model is the most transparent system on the market. Borrowers create their own terms. They decide what to borrow, when to repay it, and whether they can offer a tip. Sometimes, they can’t — and that’s okay. Everyone told us it wouldn’t work, that we had to mandate fees. But we stayed the course, and now we’ve processed a billion dollars this way.

Cost and transparency are at the heart of consumer protection. We even released a total cost report that shows our model and other similar ones are more affordable than many traditional options. So yes, we were confused by the scrutiny. But we see it as part of the learning curve for a new system. We’re going to keep advocating, not just with words, but with action.

What kind of legacy do you hope to leave for Black entrepreneurs, for FinTech, and for the next generation?

Williams: Travis just said it. Advocacy matched with action. Historically, advocacy has looked like protest, speeches or boycotts. But now, we can build. We can create the products and services we want to see. That’s a new lane for us. We always knew we were on the right path because our moms, aunts, cousins — they were using SoLo Funds and telling us it worked. Before any academic report, we had their support. That’s the validation that matters most. I hope that becomes our legacy.

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of financial advice, what would it be?

Williams: I would’ve started earlier. I followed the path laid out for me — college, a good job, long-term security. But I would’ve told myself to start building sooner. Start a company. Run toward technology. Don’t wait.

Holoway: Same here, but I’d add to take more risk. Especially in Black and brown households, we’re taught to be risk-averse — get the good job, save every penny. But savings alone isn’t building wealth. I would’ve invested earlier, started businesses earlier, and taken risks while I was young enough to bounce back. That’s how you grow.