While I can appreciate this approach from a one-off perspective, it seems like it would make more sense to package this process up, like some of the micro-lending services. The key difference is that there's no fixed interest (compound or simple) on the investment, but the sky is the limit. Call it anyVC.com.<p>You'd allow people to submit their startup idea, business name, contact info, anticipated operating expenses, fund-raising goal, and so on. Once anyVC.com had accepted the venture for presentation to it's users, anyVC posts these ventures with an "Invest Now" button. Or have an auction-type interface: X-many dollars at y% stake in company per dollar. You could just queue those up from smallest stake per dollar to highest. (Funds would probably have to be escrowed, so there'd have to be some serious legalese and possible snail-mail notary-public stuff going on to sign up to become a microVC. Maybe that's a show-stopper.)<p>Then, the entrepeneur looks at his queue and begins accepting funds from the smallest-stake per dollar to the highest.<p>This might limit certain exit strategies, like incorporation, unless anyVC.com aggregates the various micro-investments, paying out to the micro-investors when they want to cash out, minus a small handling fee.<p>The firms would then be subject to some oversight from anyVC.com, and joint reports would be filed to the micro-investors via the web site, or via a private channel if security is an issue. (Maybe the micro-investors have to be under NDA or non-compete?)<p>Has something like this been done? If not, have I overlooked something glaringly obvious that makes this impossible?<p>Edit: This may make even more sense in a tight credit market.
Apologies but: hahaha.<p>You are asking me for money and you'll owe me a favor and membership to a service which you admit isn't quite well defined yet? Under the current economic circumstances? And you cannot raise 25K on your own?! So when the 25K runs out, what?<p>OK, I'd rather provide some constructive feedback. Please tell me why you are a skilled entrepreneur. Here is an idea: you mention running a social media company for 3 years. How did it grow under your leadership and how did the initial investors do?<p>Alternatively you can just be funny:
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/29/080929sh_shouts_borowitz" rel="nofollow">http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/29/080929sh_shouts_bo...</a><p>Sorry to be negative, nothing personal - best of luck to you.
@mkn That's a great idea, but the point is that I don't have the money to build it. How do you raise money for a site to raise money? And I am extremely dedicated to this idea right now.<p>@gz The idea is fully developed, I just don't want every aspect of my business to be public before I have a concrete product built.<p>And to "so when the $25k runs out, what?" Isn't that question the cornerstone to every investment ever made? It's to bring you to a next round, just because the source is different, it doesn't mean the same rules don't apply.<p>And it's not that I can't get angel money or VC, it's that I'd rather do it after I have a prototype.<p>I didn't have any investors to my first company, it was a marketing company. It was a service, not a product.<p>I would love to answer your question about why I think I am a skilled entrepreneur. I will do so shortly on calleynye.com.<p>Thanks for the feedback :)
You should try doing what we did when Publictivity first started. Find a potential customer or two, in this case it would also be a PR and/or marketing firm. Proposition them to pitch in $5000-$10000 each. Give them:<p>a) the software free for life
b) a small stake in the company
c) direct line access to new features + beta testing<p>Also:<p>a) Put a pitchdeck online that you're comfortable with
b) Put some sort of small FAQ so douchebags like @gz can't really say anything.<p>Lastly, you should apply to YC for the upcoming session :-).