71–80 of 207 posts
I will never invest in a startup where the founder(s) don't believe in their companies. Moving forward all terms I negotiate will explicitly state that this (e.g. things like FounderPool) will not be a possible scenario.
Thats like saying you'd never drive with someone who uses a seatbelt because wearing one means they don't "believe" in their ability to drive safely.
Can the people involved with the company note their affiliation? It seems like there are several folks chiming in, and some comments make the affiliation clear (eg, by speaking in the first-person about the company). But in other comments it’s much less clear whether someone works for the company or just got info off the website. I’m also a little confused that this isn’t a “Show HN”, but they talk about YC with auth…
Can the people involved with the company note their affiliation? It seems like there are several folks chiming in, and some comments make the affiliation clear (eg, by speaking in the first-person about the company). But in other comments it’s much less clear whether someone works for the company or just got info off the website. I’m also a little confused that this isn’t a “Show HN”, but they talk about YC with auth…
Founderpool are not affiliated with YC in any way. I am not sure who suggested that. I am part of the founderpool team.
How did you decide to do this as a regular post instead of a "Show HN"? Did you already do one, or make a strategic decision? Who else among the commenters is affiliated with the company?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Founderpool are not affiliated with YC in any way. I am not sure who suggested that. I am part of the founderpool team.
Thanks for noting your affiliation. The YC question came up because of the OP's comment "This is one of the most founder requested features in YC", which makes it sound like the company is well-connected to the accelerator. How did you decide to do this as a regular post instead of a "Show HN"? Did you already do one, or make a strategic decision? Who else among the commenters is affiliated with the company?
Only three people are with Founderpool. me, manoj and geoburke
Techstars does something similar.
How is this structured legally and what are the tax implications? Have you spoken with a tax attorney about it?
It is a complex structure under the hood. There is a master LLC, holding c corp and an investment advisor. Tax implications for the founders are similar to their founder stock obligations, when liquidation happens
I'm 1000x better as an entrepreneur at age 42 than I was at age 27. But I'm also 100x more worried about some basic financial things like whether I will be able to retire, maintaining a mortgage, keep up financially with my spouse's career and her changing life expectations.
And what helped stabilize me was some advisor shares that hit or I expect to hit, Beyond Meat (realized) and Calm (expected).
So I would 100% trade my own equity for equity in another startup just because of the size of returns. A 0.1% equity stake in a startup that ends up hitting is life changing.
And if you're about the entrepreneur life, then a hit on an advisor stake can set you up to never have any pressure to leave this life. One of the common patterns in my own circle of founder friends is how often they need to take a job in between companies. I've, so far, avoided that, and just moved on to swinging at the next thing.
As you get older without an exit, you start to freak out a bit about your retirement. At least that was true for me. I'm 1000x better as an entrepreneur at age 42 than I was at age 27. But I'm also 100x more worried about some basic financial things like whether I will be able to retire, maintaining a mortgage, keep up financially with my spouse's career and her changing life expectations. And what helped stabilize m…
You hit the nail on the head. The sad fact is that as an entrepreneur grows and matures, his risk tolerance goes down.
Founderpool's mission is to maintain the entrepreneurial risk tolerance as you grow and acquire skills and connections, by reducing the opportunity cost over time. We believe it can have a positive systemic impact on the startup ecosystem.