Comments on: Soaking the rich

By: Jacob R.

Jacob R. — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:34:32 +0000

Great idea. As we rely upon small businesses to grow & prosper for the sake of the economy, entrepreneurs should receive more opportunities for VC funding.

By: Grubbs

Grubbs — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 21:53:09 +0000

Now that’s a funny pic what cat let u do that lol

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:20:50 +0000

This is innovation by itself. I guess we need more Andy like person in policy making positions in the government. But usually that’s a place these innovative people would avoid.

By: Charlie V.

Charlie V. — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:23:21 +0000

I love your thinking Andy! Sounds like a great idea to me.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:59:21 +0000

Cleaver and smart, Andy. Not sure which would be harder, though… getting the rich folk to make the investments or getting the govt. to structure a tax disincentive for not investing.

Maybe a simpler way would be to create a new business classification for startup companies that makes investments in them up to the first 100K fully tax deductible… as though they were a charity of kind. The deduction would also cover any funds the entrepreneur self-invested. AND, make any returns on the investment tax free as long as they are rolled over to other early-stage investments. Just imagine, innovation and job creation as the new tax shelter.

By: Cleveland

Cleveland — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:18:59 +0000

This is a great idea! This will make becoming an entrepreneur more attractive to our youth and thus revive the American spirit.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:46:40 +0000

I just read this over on GeekWire. For entrepreneurs, particularly those micro-startups that begin with just one or two people, going the investor route really doesn’t make a lot of sense. Even with support from the government (in the form of subsidies, tax breaks for investors, etc.) they’re still left in a position of having to raise a lot of money on their end, and giving up a big piece of their company for what amounts to a small amount of money on the part of the investor. In this economic climate, the pool of “friends and family” who have any kind of disposable income to contribute is extremely small.

Want to know what the future of funding startups is? It’s not angel investors, it’s not the government, it’s crowdfunding. Look at sites like KickStarter that have been generating interest in, and money for, all kinds of projects. As support for crowdfunding grows, you’re also going to see a lot of specialization. For example, for technology and research startups, there’s a new crowdfunding site called FundaGeek that’s coming out. Expect that will be others that focus exclusively on crowdfunding for various niche markets. They may focus on a particular industry, or even particular regions.

Just take a look at some of the funding that projects on these crowdfunding sites have gotten, and you’d be amazed. In this economy, getting 1,000 people to contribute $50 in exchange for a reward of some kind is a heck of a lot easier than walking around to your family members with your hand out, looking for $50K. And frankly, unlike with traditional investors, crowdfunding lets you get the money that you need without giving up any ownership of your company or exposing yourself to the shark-infested waters that is venture capital.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:25:06 +0000

I love your idea for getting uber rich to invest and create jobs. You are smarter than you look!

Hope all is well pal.