I think this is a fantastic idea because it partly solves a real problem I have, which is mentioned in the article: “Anecdotally, many entrepreneurs bounce off the EA community, which has been described as overly risk-averse, too academic and theoretical, and ‘biased against action’’.
That has been my impression since becoming more active as a EA entrepreneur. The amount of help from EA’s is fantastic, but there seems to be a gap to help early stage EA entrepreneurs move forward with funding. This is anecdotal, but it seems if you can’t show a low-risk, high EV opportunity your odds of funding are low. I have a business that’s high-risk/high EV (although some disagree) that VC seems to like but EA just recommends me to earn to give. What if the VC’s are right and the EA’s are wrong?
I share most concerns, mostly that it might become low-tier. You’re mentioning that other VC’s do a lot of DD and you want to avoid that (e.g. 30 minute call for EA alignment and intro), but isn’t the DD a large part of why VC’s are succesfull? Another part of the success is the value added in addition to the money. EA has been extremely helpful for me, and that would be a large factor in my decision to work with the snowball fund. EA could leverage it’s intelligence and network of investors (many of whom are philanthropists and ROI investors) to achieve above average returns.
I believe in the snowball effect this might have through word of mouth and founders pledge. I talk to other entrepreneurs about how they can give more (effectively) and if we have more EA aligned founders that might create a viral effect where it will be increasingly normal for entrepreneurs to be EA’s. The success of this fund might be a catalyst for FP and future Bankmans’ and Moskovitch’s.
I think this is a fantastic idea because it partly solves a real problem I have, which is mentioned in the article: “Anecdotally, many entrepreneurs bounce off the EA community, which has been described as overly risk-averse, too academic and theoretical, and ‘biased against action’’.
That has been my impression since becoming more active as a EA entrepreneur. The amount of help from EA’s is fantastic, but there seems to be a gap to help early stage EA entrepreneurs move forward with funding. This is anecdotal, but it seems if you can’t show a low-risk, high EV opportunity your odds of funding are low. I have a business that’s high-risk/high EV (although some disagree) that VC seems to like but EA just recommends me to earn to give. What if the VC’s are right and the EA’s are wrong?
I share most concerns, mostly that it might become low-tier. You’re mentioning that other VC’s do a lot of DD and you want to avoid that (e.g. 30 minute call for EA alignment and intro), but isn’t the DD a large part of why VC’s are succesfull? Another part of the success is the value added in addition to the money. EA has been extremely helpful for me, and that would be a large factor in my decision to work with the snowball fund. EA could leverage it’s intelligence and network of investors (many of whom are philanthropists and ROI investors) to achieve above average returns.
I believe in the snowball effect this might have through word of mouth and founders pledge. I talk to other entrepreneurs about how they can give more (effectively) and if we have more EA aligned founders that might create a viral effect where it will be increasingly normal for entrepreneurs to be EA’s. The success of this fund might be a catalyst for FP and future Bankmans’ and Moskovitch’s.