Beyond Equity (Techstars '22)

A founder typically goes though 4 to 6 funding rounds in the lifecycle of a startup, by the end of which they're left with 5 to 15% equity on an average. The value of their diluted capital is $1 trillion annually! Startup investors on the other hand have to wait 5-10 years before seeing any returns as startup rarely ever pay dividend. While VC investors are comfortable with this, non-VC investors that represent a much larger pool of investors are not. Enter, RINOs. We have invented a new financial instrument called Revenue Incentive Notes (RINOs) that combines the best elements of equity and venture debt. Through RINOs, startups can sell a percentage of their future revenues to raise funds today. RINOs can be indefinite, however founders have the option to buy them back at any time. For founders this means no dilution, no control losses, and a potentially lower cost of capital. For investors RINOs mean making startup investments that are liquid, generate cashflow and have a potentially lower risk profile to equity. Hence opening the door to non-VC investors. We operate a platform where companies sign-up, connect their accounts to our pricing engine and issue RINOs directly, which are then bought by investors on the platform.