Pool your equity with a power network of founders and access the power tools every founder needs.
FounderPool matches you with founders from your industry or adjacent verticals and/or complementary backgrounds and skill sets.
You get to connect with and rate founders and their companies. Pools are constructed based on mutual ratings.
Once you’re invited to join, you contribute upto 5% of the equity you own (your vested common stock) to the pool and get a proportionate amount of pool ownership in return.
FounderPool tools help you with Investor introductions, growth tactics, customer relationships and whatever else you need. Your pool is your personal support group that helps, inspires, and grows with you through your founder journey. Think of it as your team of Avengers or your own Paypal mafia.
Big misalignment between founders & VCs:
VCs take dozens and dozens of shots on goal, founders only take one.
Founders should band together & share upside. VCs should facilitate this.
If VCs can raise new funds off the back of paper markups and stack new mgmt fees, why is it taboo for founders and team to do similar via secondary if they’re all in & need to spend 10 yrs building one thing while potentially getting married, having kids etc. along the way.
"Everyone claims that they understand the power law in angel investing, but very few people practice it. I think this is because it’s hard to conceptualize the difference between a 3x and a 300x (or 3000x) return.
It’s common to make more money from your single best angel investment than all the rest put together. The consequence of this is that the real risk is missing out on that outstanding investment...
Instead of downside risk... think about upside risk—not getting to invest in the company that will provide the return everyone is looking for. "
“ ...the best safety net is the wisdom of the community and the experience of fellow entrepreneurs.”
Investors say "Don't take the early M&A offer. Build the business". But sometimes it's so tempting to take the security. .......partial founder liquidity can relieve that and get investors and founders on the same page to say "Let's go for the dream. Let's go for the big opportuity and not worry that it'll be ruinous."
The average founder is finished. Only the most resourceful and resilient will survive. Using a “crazy” number like 36months should reset your timeframe. This isn’t a 3-6month thing. It may be measured in years...
"The great majority of investments I made, I don't expect them to make it honestly through this trough. I just don't.”
Your startup may become the next great company. It’ll take years and sacrifice and opportunity cost to find out.
FounderPool allows you to unlock the value of your equity and diversify your risk before an exit.
Advisors who rarely help you are dime a dozen. Founders who are in your shoes are the best resource. Share the best insights from the people in the trenches like you.
Founders pledge a small portion of their vested equity to a pool consisting of equity contributed by other similarly situated, mutually selected founders. This group becomes jointly vested in each other’s success, and each member has a long-term hedge provided by the overall performance of the pool’s equity.
Your transfer of a portion of your personal equity stake in your own startup is governed by the transfer rules that your company has in place. In some cases, this could require approval by your board of directors. We can help explain to your board why participation in FounderPool is a win/win that helps ensure that you as a founder remains aligned with the interests of your company’s investors (by providing some measure of hedging against a loss that allows the founder (you) more flexibility in pursuing an ambitious, long-term, high-value exit for the company — while building a helpful network and focusing on your company instead of financial worries).