• Rules from the BABY’s Book on Becoming a Billionaire
  
  

  • Rule #18: You can be an entrenaut at any age. Age is a state of mind, not a barrier.

  • Rule #83: To quote Bob Dylan: "Everybody has to serve somebody," and if all you serve is yourself, you have served no one.

• A leaky roof is better than no roof at all. Neil suggests that most Americans have weathered the sub-prime lending storm pretty well.

• Import revenue from exports: Thomas J. Burr identifies several emerging technologies and export products that are particularly attractive to overseas buyers.

• Micro-lending with macro-results: Accion CEO, Patti Mason, describes how character factors into the lending risk equation.

• Wheels, deals, and automobiles: They may be older than the Model A, but two entrenauts prove that age isn’t a barrier to entrepreneurial success.

• The path to prison is a crooked one. The BABY’s latest inductees to the Corporate Hall of Shame thought they’d outsmarted Uncle Sam.

• Time for a tune-up? Online Advisor Garage links entrepreneurs with mentors, technology, resources, and investors to keep their businesses running smoothly.

Thomas J. Burr serves as senior vice president and manager of City National Bank’s Export Finance department. A seasoned international finance professional, Burr joined the bank’s International Department in 2005 to enhance and develop products and services to meet the growing demand from clients for export finance and international credit assistance. Previously, he served as a managing director and partner of Trade Source International, an international financial advisory firm he co-founded in Pasadena, Calif. in 2001. There, he originated and structured offshore finance transactions, presented export finance-related seminars, and developed a business network in Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana and Nigeria.

Burr also served for five years as managing director at Bank of America’s Structured Trade Finance office in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for export finance products for large corporate accounts in the western U.S., the defense and aerospace industries, and for northern and southern Asian territories. Burr also worked as a trade services officer at Union Bank, where he structured the bank’s first Ex-Im Bank Credit Guarantee Facility with Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C., in Mexico. He began his career in 1981 in international banking at Mitsui Manufacturer’s Bank.

Patti Mason is the president and CEO of ACCION San Diego, the city’s largest micro-lender. Her former work experience includes positions in management, sales, accounting, and auditing. She received her B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Northern Colorado.

Launched in May of 1994, ACCION San Diego is a licensee of ACCION USA, a subsidiary of ACCION International, worldwide leaders in micro-enterprise development. Founded in 1961 in Latin America, ACCION International and its licensees have micro-lending programs throughout 20 countries in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.

ACCION San Diego currently assists small business owners in San Diego County, and the unique lending methodology is strongly character-based. Loans range from $300 to $35,000. Each loan is underwritten on a case-by-case basis, with collateral and co-signers required depending on the level of risk. For all loans over $10,000, the application is underwritten by an external loan committee comprised of ACCION San Diego's Board of Directors. ACCION uses a "stepped lending" model, in which clients are given relatively small, first-time loans. Monthly payments must be made on half the term of the loan or for a minimum of six months in order to become eligible for larger loans. As ACCION San Diego builds a working relationship with each client, subsequent loans are usually approved quickly and good credit history is established.

Andrew Ive is the founder of Advisor Garage which seeks to match entrepreneurs with investors and mentors. Prior to starting Advisor Garage, Ive was on the founding team of two companies, and his experience made him realize the importance of getting the right help and advice early on. He has served as a member of the board of entrepreneurs of the United Kingdom’s Small Business Council and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.