An Alternative To Student Loans [AUDIO]

It's a growing problem in the Garden State, many college kids are forced to take out big student loans, and by the time they graduate they're saddled with significant debt, so they frequently have to take whatever job they can find - that's out of their field of interest - in order to start paying back those loans.

This makes it very difficult for many 20-somethings to develop their careers, but a new start-up company is offering another option.

"We offer young people an alternative to debt by connecting them to backers. We define backers as accomplished individuals with connections, resources and experience who want to put their resources to good use for the next generation, so a prospect would receive money up front in exchange for sharing a small percentage of income over 10 years," says the co-founder and CEO of Pave, Sal Lahoud.

He says this social-financial agreement - akin to a revenue share - empowers young people to pursue their passions.

"If things don't work out for you as a student, or after school, and things don't go well you don't wake up with a $100,000 of debt."

Lahoud points out this approach offers an alternative to student debt, and it pairs prospects with people who have experience - in their own field - who have an interest in helping others succeed.

"It's really about investing in a person," he says, "not really a project."

Lahoud adds if people are interested in this, they can visit Pave.com and explain what they want to do, their passions, affiliations, where they went to school, their work experience, what they've done - and from that information, Pave tries to match the prospect with a potential backer.

"In time we hope to grow into a buzzing community," he says, "made up of interesting backers and people who really want to put their resources they've accumulated over their career to good use for the future generation- and specifically in fields they're interested in. We believe that if everyone does what they love, we're all better off on average - society is better off on average."