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One of their investment paths is "Beacon": > We believe that there are exceptional individuals with great ideas who likely have the skills to build a company b

One of their investment paths is "Beacon": > We believe that there are exceptional individuals with great ideas who likely have the skills to build a company but lack the network or personal financial means to get started. So we will invest a small amount of capital -- $50K (for roughly 2% of the startup idea you pursue) -- to support very, very early-stage founders explore an idea, validate a key hypothesis, or build an early prototype. https://github.com/Bloomberg-Beta/Manual/blob/master/1%20-%20Manual.md#beacon https://github.com/Bloomberg-Beta/Manual/blob/master/1%20-%2...

sidlls 7y ago
Just a hunch, but it's likely something close to 100% of said individuals will have a (pre-existing, not a result of reaching out specifically for this investment) network to connect them the "right way" for the money. That's just the way this industry works. It's exceptionally rare for someone without connections to make any headway.
- mchristen 7y ago
  They pretty much say that in this document. > If we don’t know you ourselves, we prefer if someone we trust knows you.
  - jkuria 7y ago
    I believe Marc Andreessen has said the same thing in the past. When he was accused of elitism, he said: "That is my test of whether this person is a true entrepreneur. If they are, they will find a way, by hook or crook, to get to someone who knows me"
    - mchristen 7y ago
      Also something similar in the manual! > If you don’t know how to find us, figure it out.
    - dwoozle 7y ago
      It’s a good test for whether when the entrepreneur needs to close a big sale they can get connected to the purchasing decision maker.
    - sidlls 7y ago
      What's not elitist about that statement?
      - CamperBob2 7y ago
        I think what he's saying is, if that stops you, you weren't going to get very far anyway. It will obviously be easier to draw Marc's attention from a high socioeconomic stratum, but as a VC it's not in his interest to make it completely impossible for anyone. At least that's the way I read it.
- Railsify 7y ago
  That is likely true but would they settle for 2%, probably not. 2% is a very small price to pay for essentially a years time of one employee. The startup I am working on has spend roughly 55k over 18 months and have a prototype that is on par with tools I had seen used commercially in my previous positions.
  - mkim383 7y ago
    That's great! Beacon is a separate, experimental type of investment we started recently. For these, the terms are straightforward ($50k on a $2M post-money SAFE). This is different than our typical Seed investments, which are much larger checks and target much higher ownership percentages. If either are opportunities of interest, many of us on the team can be reached a variety of ways (email, twitter, LinkedIn).
    - Railsify 7y ago
      Thank you for the positive comment! I will keep Beacon in mind.

sidlls 7y ago

Just a hunch, but it's likely something close to 100% of said individuals will have a (pre-existing, not a result of reaching out specifically for this investment) network to connect them the "right way" for the money. That's just the way this industry works. It's exceptionally rare for someone without connections to make any headway.

mchristen 7y ago
They pretty much say that in this document. > If we don’t know you ourselves, we prefer if someone we trust knows you.
- jkuria 7y ago
  I believe Marc Andreessen has said the same thing in the past. When he was accused of elitism, he said: "That is my test of whether this person is a true entrepreneur. If they are, they will find a way, by hook or crook, to get to someone who knows me"
  - mchristen 7y ago
    Also something similar in the manual! > If you don’t know how to find us, figure it out.
  - dwoozle 7y ago
    It’s a good test for whether when the entrepreneur needs to close a big sale they can get connected to the purchasing decision maker.
  - sidlls 7y ago
    What's not elitist about that statement?
    - CamperBob2 7y ago
      I think what he's saying is, if that stops you, you weren't going to get very far anyway. It will obviously be easier to draw Marc's attention from a high socioeconomic stratum, but as a VC it's not in his interest to make it completely impossible for anyone. At least that's the way I read it.
Railsify 7y ago
That is likely true but would they settle for 2%, probably not. 2% is a very small price to pay for essentially a years time of one employee. The startup I am working on has spend roughly 55k over 18 months and have a prototype that is on par with tools I had seen used commercially in my previous positions.
- mkim383 7y ago
  That's great! Beacon is a separate, experimental type of investment we started recently. For these, the terms are straightforward ($50k on a $2M post-money SAFE). This is different than our typical Seed investments, which are much larger checks and target much higher ownership percentages. If either are opportunities of interest, many of us on the team can be reached a variety of ways (email, twitter, LinkedIn).
  - Railsify 7y ago
    Thank you for the positive comment! I will keep Beacon in mind.