The way they do it is quite obvious.

> virtually invest in any of the YC companies from W18 - S20.

> Be quick, the earlier you buy the better the deal.

Sound like a scam to me

Know the founders personally, but my comment still stands. Was honestly not a fan of the whole idea up until their launch day today.

We only know janhenr, who's an avid PH reader, personally

Your investment creates no value, this is less like synthetic stocks, and more like horse track betting. Just like with betting, you bet on some companies (horses). The bets then go into a pool (of which visionrare takes 20%). Based on the performance of the company (or horse) you pick, you get paid from the pool.

I'd be surprised if this didn't get regulated as gambling if a government watchdog decided to look into this.

It is indeed a lot like synthetic stocks, but for private companies. This brings quite some complexities along in terms as how to value the companies even if just relative to each other. To help solve that we're partnering with startup data providers and are building scoring algorithms.

If you have enough money and access to deals, it is undoutably better to invest in real equity. However, through our game we aim to empower people that don't meet that description to learn, have fun and become micro-backers of companies they believe in.