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Ex-Google executive's new venture helps students avoid corporate life

reuters.com

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Re: Ex-Google executive's new venture helps students avoid corporate life

#4
The backers - acquaintances, alumni or other accredited investors - provide funding that will typically range between $20,000 and $50,000 in exchange for an agreed share of the graduate's future income over a 10-year period.

Well, I am skeptical, but also glad someone decided to try it out - the chances are slim, but this is so unusual some unexpected good may yet come out of it.

Re: Ex-Google executive's new venture helps students avoid corporate life

#8
post #5

Are the "upstarts" personally liable for the funding if they can't pay it back?

No. > Girouard noted the funding is different than a loan because there is no guarantee of repayment.

To be fair, there is no guarantee of a typical loan either.

Re: Ex-Google executive's new venture helps students avoid corporate life

#9
"The backers - acquaintances, alumni or other accredited investors - provide funding that will typically range between $20,000 and $50,000 in exchange for an agreed share of the graduate's future income over a 10-year period. Upstart determines the portion of future annual income to be shared based on the total sum raised and the person's qualifications, including academic record and field of study."

I'm failing to see how this is any different than a loan, with the exception you can pay a loan back early AND you know how much you owe the lender. This just seems like for $100k (based on the 5 backers at the minimum $20k that is quoted above) you could be paying many times that for success that is unrelated to the money that you received.

Re: Ex-Google executive's new venture helps students avoid corporate life

#10
post #9

"The backers - acquaintances, alumni or other accredited investors - provide funding that will typically range between $20,000 and $50,000 in exchange for an agreed share of the graduate's future income over a 10-year period. Upstart determines the portion of future annual income to be shared based on the total sum raised and the person's qualifications, including academic record and field of study." I'm failing to s…

Risk and reward. No bank is going to loan a company at this stage money and there's no guarantee the investors who are providing this money will get any return at all and there is no collateral, so the founders should pay more for the money.
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