A startup is a young company that is just beginning to develop. Startups are usually small and initially financed and operated by a handful of founders or one individual. These companies offer a product or service that is not currently being offered elsewhere in the market, or that the founders believe is being offered in an inferior manner.
How to invest in Startups and make money
Investing in startups is a trend, but the million dollar question is how to generate huge returns?
How do you actually make real money? If you had invested just $10,000 in Amazon, Dell, Apple, or Microsoft, when they went IPO – Initial Public Office (the first time that the stock of a private company is offered to the public), you’d be a million dollars richer just from that investment according to the IPO Playbook. Apple kicked that 100x with a 4,581.7% rise in stock value between 2002 and 2012 alone.
For some of you reading this, $1million may just be change. But imagine if you had invested long before the IPO? How would that make you feel right now? What would that do for you?
Even Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth has been trumped by Uber founder Travis Kalanick, at $6B as of 2015. But as a startup investor you don’t have to be the founder, and do all the work to experience viral investment returns.
Investing in early-stage startups is truly an art, there’s no such thing as a formula for success. But instead of going at it on your own, it does help to leverage investing platforms like 1000 Angels that offers highly curated, direct investment opportunities.
However, for some, startup investing has proven to work well, and many individuals are finding this an absolutely essential financial move for generating the returns and results they crave. So what are the specific advantages of investing in early stage startups? How can you invest in startups too? How do you actually make money doing it, while minimizing risk, and elevating reward potential? How do you pick awesome startup investments?
Four Reasons People Invest in Startups:
Which start up below is worth investing in?
1. Venmo — Ca$h Money – Why they’re awesome: By connecting to your bank account, Venmo allows you to pay people back directly through your phone. Gone are the days of 3 year old phone notes reminding you of your debts (Jim, I promise I’ll get you back for that McDonald’s run freshman year).
Funding: $ 30 Million Size: 73 employees
2. Birchbox – Beautylicious – Why they’re awesome: Birchbox sends monthly curated beauty, and lifestyle samples right to your door. If you fall in love with a certain cream, lotion, soap, shampoo, perfume, fireplace cleaner, or model figurine of the Millennium Falcon you can order more right through the BirchBox platform. They’ve also recently expanded into curated boxes for men as well.
Funding: $60 Million Size: 351 employees
3- FlyCleaners – Airing out New York’s Dirty Laundry – Why they’re awesome: FlyCleaners is door to door laundry pickup and delivery service. “But they’re probably only open when I’m at work.” WRONG. They operate from 6 AM to midnight 7 days a week and have already handled 500,000 pounds of laundry in NYC.
Funding: $2 Million Size: 19 employees
4. Hinge Matchmaker Make Me an App – Why they’re awesome: Hinge is a dating app for people who want to make genuine human connections. The app curates a finite list of potential matches, all of whom are friends of friends (or friends of friends of friends). Also, it’s been rumored that employees get exclusive access to the Hinge files allowing them to only match with the most attractive users.
Funding: $12 Million Size: 15 employees
5. ONEFINESTAY – DUPLEX IN THE CITY – Why they’re awesome: ONEFINESTAY allows globe – vacationers to sleep in houses occupied by real humans. Though as opposed to other hotel alternatives, by the time you get there they’ll already be long gone. This means you can do whatever you normally do alone in your house without the occupants shooting you judging looks or posting pictures of you on Facebook.
Funding: $12.2 Million Size: 281 employees
6. WeWork -The Office – Why they’re awesome: WeWork brings together early stage startups, freelancers, artists, and other creators, and throws them together on the same floor of a building. It’s like one of those restaurants that sits you with strangers, and one turns out to be the love of your life, and then you get married and have kids and they make a movie about it and Hugh Grant plays you. But instead of experiencing that once a year, you can get it every time you go to work!
Funding: $355 Million Size: 235 employees