Investing is not just about returns anymore. On Kickstarter, millions of people invest in products, not for a return but because they want the product to exist

Investing is not just about returns anymore. On Kickstarter, millions of people invest in products, not for a return but because they want the product to exist. I would very willingly toss my money down the blackhole of seed markets, because it is a "fair shot." Other markets are not. The stock market and index funds are driven by volume (i.e. rich people) fear, our economy, or stupid politicians. I would gladly fund a product to see it exist, and all the better if I have a shot at making a return on something I believe in. People don't invest in the stock market because they believe in the company, they do it because they have a gut-feeling it might move up that day. In '96 or '97, I predicted that Valve was going to be very successful, just based on a very early preview I saw of Half-Life - I was just a teenager at that time. I have made many similar calls (honest to god) across many companies including NVidia, Intel, Google -- because I believed in them before any of them went public (for the record, there is not a single public company that I believe in). What I wouldn't give to be able to invest my money where I believed it would do good.