SoFi Blog

If you’re a doctor, dentist, or lawyer nearing the end of your training, give yourself a pat on the back. Getting to this point hasn’t been easy—financially or personally. But you’re eager and ready to put all you’ve learned to task! After spending years answering to your professors, mentors, partners or attending physicians, you might even be thinking of starting your own practice.

Yet, while becoming your own boss can be pretty appealing, it can also be terrifying. Medical, dental, and law students often graduate with heavy student debt loads, but little practical training on how to start a practice. But that doesn’t mean that building the private practice of your dreams is impossible.

Name: Elien Blue Becque

Age: 30

Location: New York, New York

Business: RoomZoom

Business Goal: To help young urbanites find roommates they’ll love sharing space with

Alma mater: Graduated in 2008 with a degree in International Relations with a minor in English from Tufts

Student loan debt: $85,000

SoFi Solution: Student loan refinancing

Entrepreneur member since: 2016

Elien Blue Becque is the founder of RoomZoom, a platform that does for co-living what OkCupid and Tinder do for dating. RoomZoom asks members questions about their lifestyle, personal habits, and general conduct, and grinds those answers through an algorithmic scoring system. The scores are then used to pair up compatible people who will make awesome roommates.

SnappyScreen is a touchless sunscreen application system. You select your protection level (SPF) and height, step into a booth, and SnappyScreen applies a head-to-toe protective coating in about 10 seconds. The sunscreen is oxybenzone-free, paraben-free, alcohol-free and does not damage your bathing suit. It’s a slick and sought after product—one that can now be found at 4- and 5-star hotels across the U.S., in locations such as Florida, Hawaii, and California, and in such exotic locales as Aruba. Before the final launch, entrepreneurial sisters Kristen McClellan (founder and CEO) and Katelyn McClellan (COO) built several prototypes to refine the product and make the experience smooth and easy.

On July 27, SoFi hosted one of its popular community member events in New York City. Held at Interface, an intimate creative space and lounge in North Chelsea, the evening featured Matt Bachmann, co-founder of Wandering Bear Coffee, and Ben LeBlanc, founder of Good Stock Soups. Ainsley O’Connell of Fast Company moderated the lively panel discussion titled “MBA to CEO.”

If the United States economy was a movie, student loans would be the super villain– or at the very least, a founding member of the Suicide Squad.

Over the past decade or so, outstanding student loan debt has grown faster than a toxic algae bloom, surpassing a whopping $1.3 trillion. Saddled with increasingly scary levels of debt, young professionals have decreased spending and put off major purchases, such as buying a home, fueling an ongoing drag on the economy. Inability to pay student loan debt can even lead to mental health issues and physical illness, which can have a major impact on employee productivity and business performance.