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But if a restaurant goes under, you have all the capital right there (pizza ovens, tables). Software consumes its capital. Banks aren't the answer. If it fai

But if a restaurant goes under, you have all the capital right there (pizza ovens, tables). Software consumes its capital. Banks aren't the answer. If it fails, what are they going to get back? That year of your life? What we need is crowd-sourced, micro-equity. Anyone who thinks an idea is good to invest small amounts for small stakes of equity. The barriers have been regulatory legal issues, but those will be soon eliminated. OpenStarts is one such initiative working on this.

Swizec 16y ago
But isn't it also true that "crowd-sourced, micro-equity" can easily be understood as, you know, SELL SOMETHING to SOMEONE? No giving up equity and you still get the "funding". The thing is, that's called bootstrapping and the problem with bootstrapping is that it's just very damn slow. Sure you can do it, but you won't get the anorganic super fast growth you need to compete against the whole world. It works when you're doing stuff locally, now that everybody's shooting for global markets via the internet it can be a dash troublesome no?
- david927 16y ago
  But isn't it also true that "crowd-sourced, micro-equity" can easily be understood as [bootstrapping]? No. I'm talking about something else. Micro-equity means giving up a small amount of equity for a small amount of money. Instead of an angel getting 100,000 shares for 200,000 dollars, you get lots of investments of 50 dollars for 25 shares. Take a look here: http://www.me-vc.com http://www.me-vc.com
  - eru 16y ago
    Yes. Too bad the legal framework isn't ready, yet.
T_S_ 16y ago
If a restaurant goes under, whoever provided funding takes a big hit. Losses = value destroyed. Liquidation values on fixtures and equipment are low. BTW, here's a good rule of thumb for investing in restaurants as a non-controlling partner: Don't. I never heard of a good ending, even if it was good for a while.
- blasdel 16y ago
  That's why realistic restaurateurs buy all their initial fixtures and equipment used from liquidation auctions :)

Swizec 16y ago

But isn't it also true that "crowd-sourced, micro-equity" can easily be understood as, you know, SELL SOMETHING to SOMEONE? No giving up equity and you still get the "funding". The thing is, that's called bootstrapping and the problem with bootstrapping is that it's just very damn slow. Sure you can do it, but you won't get the anorganic super fast growth you need to compete against the whole world. It works when you're doing stuff locally, now that everybody's shooting for global markets via the internet it can be a dash troublesome no?

david927 16y ago
But isn't it also true that "crowd-sourced, micro-equity" can easily be understood as [bootstrapping]? No. I'm talking about something else. Micro-equity means giving up a small amount of equity for a small amount of money. Instead of an angel getting 100,000 shares for 200,000 dollars, you get lots of investments of 50 dollars for 25 shares. Take a look here: http://www.me-vc.com http://www.me-vc.com
- eru 16y ago
  Yes. Too bad the legal framework isn't ready, yet.

T_S_ 16y ago

If a restaurant goes under, whoever provided funding takes a big hit. Losses = value destroyed. Liquidation values on fixtures and equipment are low. BTW, here's a good rule of thumb for investing in restaurants as a non-controlling partner: Don't. I never heard of a good ending, even if it was good for a while.

blasdel 16y ago
That's why realistic restaurateurs buy all their initial fixtures and equipment used from liquidation auctions :)