1) Pools sizes are not fixed number and more over, founders can invite other companies to existing pool on a rolling basis
2) We have done modeling, obviously selection is the top determinant of payouts (20% avg. success rate vs 40% success rate) but bigger pool sizes ensure potential for a breakout company.
Happy to share if interested, contact us at contact at founderpools.com
We are not splitting pools into themes. It was used as an example in the website. Founders get to choose the companies, so if all space tech companies want to band together, they can form a pool, its an option.
yes, accreditation rules apply and typically founders qualify by virtue of stock paper value. For employees, later stage companies tend to workout because of stock values.
We cover all legal infrastructure and management costs. In the exchange, we reserve the right for a 10-20% (depending on pool risk) carry based on pool outcomes.
Right now, there are no costs for participating founders (we cover all legal infrastructure and management costs). In the future, we reserve the right for a 10-20% (depending on pool risk) carry based on pool outcomes.
Yes and no. Some founders want to diversify in other verticals, but a majority of founders we work with prefer their comfort zone, because they can evaluate startups better. Right now, we are not constraining in anyway and it might evolve to support thematic or diverse pools.
Thats true. We would eventually want to grow this to support employees (think about building your own option portfolio) and student ISAs etc. We are right now emphasizing the community aspect rather than just the equity swaps because for founders, the value is in the network.
We are using this as a screening for adverse selection, but founders who are bootstrapped can also apply if they have proven traction (we have a few stellar startups who were highly ranked but never raised money)
1) We screen companies based on their quality, ex: a round raised within the last 3-6 months.
2) Founders get to interact with participating companies and rank them based on their insight. Only companies that are highly ranked get into a pool. A pool is also dynamic and founders in the pool can invite new startups based on their interactions.
Overall, this is based on the concept that founders are often good judges of other founders/startups. And pool is more than just for risk diversification, they get a community of founders ready to help your startup because they are vested in it.