Ask HN: I have $25,000 to invest I have $25000 to invest. I am thinking of applying to angel.co but they are asking for $1M is assets! Where can I apply! I am software engineer in bay area and have experience in programming. So ideally I would like to invest in a startup that is gaining traction, and need money + expertise ! Any advice? I should be able to contribute both financially and in developing the company! Any ideas? I am willing to help out a current startup in bay area or remote! |
Technically speaking, no private startup can legally take investment from someone who does not meet the SEC's definition of an "accredited investor." The Jobs Act was supposed to change this, but that part of it hasn't come into effect yet sadly.
I was thinking of investing as partner, financially + hard work!
If you want to keep your nest egg and see it grow at least a little bit, you need to find something low-risk, low-reward. Startups are literally the worst thing you could invest in.
In this case it was pure luck, but it is possible.
Why not be a technical co-founder in a startup that you truly believe in. Then use the $25k to support yourself and get the startup to angel stage quickly.
Nothing personal, but $25,000 doesn't make someone even a prosumer investor. That is the kind of money a company raises in an FFF round. As a stranger, you're neither friends nor family.
It doesn't make sense for a company with traction to take your money. It's a week of operations, maybe. In exchange they get someone without diversification and without experience writing off five figure investments. And that person gets legal standing beyond anyone can sue anyone normalcy.
[accredited investor]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accredited_investor#United_Stat...
I've been working on a Bitcoin related web-based/mobile software for the past few months and have a working MVP (Node.js, PostgreSQL, Angular stack although I'm flexible about using other technologies in the future - Go and React come to mind). I haven't publicly launched it yet (no traction :/) but I'm fairly certain there is a market for it and there are a few obvious paths to monetisation. The idea is novel, it's a white market (no direct competition at the moment) and the barrier to entry is reasonably high (mostly due to technical complexity and potential network effect).
I'm not sure if in its current incarnation the idea could scale to become more than a "lifestyle" business but I have some ideas. I've been thinking about the possibility of getting a co-founder and funding lately. One problem I'm facing right now is that on one hand, I want to give my potential co-founder a large chunk of equity (30-50%) so that (s)he feels motivated but on the other hand, I'd feel a bit uncomfortable about just "giving away" a few months worth of labor and expenses. Having a co-founder who is willing to throw in a small investment would solve that problem.
If you think you might be interested, shoot me an email at seekingcofounder@tempmail.de
I don't need money, but I'd still like to buy you a cup of coffee if you're free before Wednesday. Phone number/twitter is the same as my HN handle.
25K is barely a yearly salary, don't throw it away by investing it.
I believe that a co-founder can contribute financially to a company without having to comply with the SEC rule.