Ask HN: What start up would you invest in ?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=930507

by Murkin • 17 years ago

15 15 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

It seems like lately I hear many people say that they wish they could invest in Facebook(twitter/Zynga/etc). But those are big and quite obvious choices.

What small startups do you believe enough in, that you would be willing to put some money in (if you had some extra) ?

aristus2• 17 years ago

First, I'd wonder if it would be possible to have an "index fund" of sorts, say 0.001 of 1,000 startups. :D

I'd say the same criteria to invest apply to where you'd want to work. I seriously considered the following three companies, and got to the interview stage with one of them:

I think AirBnB are on the launchpad great idea, great team, making the cash. Dropbox had rabidly happy users and are able to attract top talent (eg, Zed). Dolores Labs are quite successful, though they have a tendency to drop watermelons from great heights.

None of that matters, of course. They don't need my dumb $5K or even $50K. To make an investment that's worthwhile to both ends of the transaction it'd have to be much earlier than where they are now. An investor also needs to be more than just a fanboi with money -- I'd need contacts, expertise, time to advise, etc.

Murkin• 17 years ago

I was wondering about this about reading lots of material on fund raising.

Sure its easy to say "Id invest in this already proven company".

But when you invest as an angel say 50-100K. How would you know ? It seems that even entrepreneurs in the market are finding it hard to asses others.

aristus2• 17 years ago

You don't know; that's why it an investment. :D

If I had this money to invest, I'd put it in a 6-month CD while I did research. I'd spend 2+ days a week going to meetups, hanging out at cafes, talking, listening, making friends, making notes. Also I'd try to get time with more experienced investors and ask their advice. After that intense immersion, then I'd feel qualified to invest.

Here's the problem with that plan. The startups I'd been talking with would be very annoyed with me by that time. Here I am, with all this cash, and all I want to do is waste their time asking them questions over coffee!

mahmud• 17 years ago

I am waiting for Twilio to go public. I even contacted them to see if I can get in, but no luck :-)

auston• 17 years ago

I agree with mahmud - Twilio has a great offering (& from I know, it's only going to get better!)

Other than that, I am really liking Yext, a lot!

After that, the company I used to work for seems like they're positioned to make some money (leadlogsys.com)

prakash• 17 years ago

The ones I use on a daily basis and love using since it solves a problem/need/pain for me.

FreeRadical• 17 years ago

Such as...

jacquesm• 17 years ago

layar.

BvS• 17 years ago

Dropbox (if they still count as small).

andrewtj2• 17 years ago

My geo/social situation means I'm not likely to hear about a startup before it's beyond my investment capability; which leaves my own startup, which doesn't really count.

malte• 17 years ago

Any startup that is working on an easy mobile payment solution. I'm excited for Jack Dorsey's new project and would definitely put some money in if I could.

andrewtj2• 17 years ago

Can you be more specific about what an easy mobile payment solution is and why you're enthusiastic about it?

To me it sounds like a system in Australian and New Zealand called mobile EFTPOS (I believe Europeans have something similar although it's called something else) that allows merchants to do transactions wherever they can get GPRS coverage — does the US not already have something similar?

Banzai10• 17 years ago

Dropbox, awesome product! Probably a nice future!

iamelgringo• 17 years ago

For me, it's not a questing of what startups I'd invest in. I run across a lot of people at the hackers and founders meetups that I host, and it's fairly often that I come across someone that I'd love to bet on. The question of what particular company they are working on at present is rather immaterial.

MaysonL• 17 years ago

http://www.fluidinfo.com/

Ask HN: What start up would you invest in ?

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