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eCommerce - Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Zopa vs. Prosper

Thanks to our friends at Prosper.com for doing the leg-work to let us know how they are different from their UK-competitor Zopa.com. Per our post below. Zopa and Prosper were both funded by Benchmark Capital. The a:c and our readers wanted to know why Benchmark would invest in two competitors.

Says Prosper:
"Because Zopa hasn't actually launched in the U.S. and we have no idea what their model on this side of the pond will look like, it's difficult to make concrete comparisons of the two sites right now. However, the following table provides a snapshot of some the key differences between Prosper (in the US) and Zopa (in the UK):

"Also, I encourage you to visit the two sites... I think you'll see some clear differences in terms of the social elements (e.g. Groups and personality associated with individual loan listings on Prosper) and openness of the sites."

"Although we can't speak for Benchmark, I can tell you that Benchmark Silicon Valley/US is backing Prosper, whereas Benchmark Europe is backing Zopa."