Founders: Mike Cagney, Dan Macklin, Ian Brady, James Finnigan
Launched: 2011
Funding: $1.4 billion
Valuation: $3.6 billion
Disrupting: Banks, financial institutions
Rival: Lending Club
In the past five years, San Francisco-based SoFi (short for Social Finance Inc.) has grown into the second-largest online lender in the market (Lending Club is No. 1), having funded $9 billion in loans to date. The company was started by former big bank executives who believed there had to be a better way to lend money to hardworking men and women with good earnings potential.
Read MoreFULL LIST: 2016 DISRUPTOR 50
Student-loan refinancing was the initial focus of SoFi, but now it's expanded to mortgages, mortgage refinancing, personal loans and, most recently, wealth management services. Its offerings include personal loans up to $100,000 and mortgages in 25 states and Washington, D.C.