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"Editor\u2019s Note: If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion in \u201CThe Startup Review\u201D series, please see the details here.\nSTARTUP DETAILS:\nCompany Name: E.Factor\n20-word Description: The fastest growing social network for entrepreneurs and investors that offers health insurance to its members.\n100-word Pitch: With over 47,000 members in 3 short months, the niche social market is binding entrepreneurs and investors through a virtual platform, unparalleled by anything else.  Launching July 1st, entrepreneurs will no longer have to worry about health insurance or a 401K plan as both will be offered to premium members.  In addition expect to see new satellites popping up like the Cambridge University E.Factor site (http://cambridge.efactor.com), business lounges across the world, and bilingual homepages for overseas members.\nThe E.Factor is a virtual economy and a network comprised on one thing - growing businesses. By giving entrepreneurs social tools both online and offline, members can connect, promote, and find funding.\n\nMashable's Take: When you think social networks, you might think megasites. Ones with dozens of millions of members. MySpace. Facebook. Bebo. Or perhaps mid-sized operations. Those with several million members. Or perhaps a few hundred thousand. Networks with five-figure userships, meanwhile, aren\u2019t likely to gain very lasting recognition. At least not those built for your average Joe or Jane.\nE.Factor knows this. That\u2019s why it hasn\u2019t been seeking ordinary folk to populate its servers. At least not people interested in run of the mill networking. Instead, it\u2019s targeting a niche. A rather unique niche. The idea is to connect entrepreneurs with investors. Everything from simple communications to startup promotion and funding solicitations and so forth. None is supported by advertising. Instead, it\u2019s built upon the site's paid premium accounts.\nStill, that\u2019s not the most unusual part.\nWhat\u2019s most intriguing about E.Factor, after 3 months in action, and with a membership 47,000-strong, is it will soon offer users health insurance and 401(k) plans. \nGranted, the structure of E.Factor isn\u2019t the most most visually appealing to come about in the last half year or so. Pay it a visit and you\u2019re not likely to think it elegant, either in layout or in color. But its external value isn\u2019t likely of any concern to its users. Instead, the thousands of people involved in the experiment are what make E.Factor work. And evidently its makings work well enough for the company to pursue a tangible benefits-based system for paying members. (Note: The launches of these programs will occur in less than a week\u2019s time, on July 1.)\nIn addition to these fairly momentous steps, E.Factor will be spending the next several months opening physical lounges for entrepreneurs across an international spectrum to complement its online services. First Amsterdam in July, followed by more than 100 others in places elsewhere.\n\nSponsored By: Sun Startup Essentials\nDisclosure: E.Factor is a past sponsor of Mashable events"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2008/06/26/efactor/>