These Sites Are Great For Researching Startups
Whether you are the owner of an up-and-coming startup business, or you are an investor looking to help a company in its early stages, you will need a good list of sites that assist people with researching startups.
There’s a multitude of options you can choose from, and all these sites offer something unique when it comes to looking for and learning about various startup companies. From databases and company directories to crowdfunding sites, we’ve scoured the internet and have compiled the best websites geared toward startup investing.
Crowdfunding Sites
Crowdfunding sites will allow you to pool your money with other investors in order to invest in various companies. Our topic pick is AngelList, as they also offer research features in addition to their investing services. An example of this is their company and personal profile feature on their site, like the one profiled here.
Alternative crowdfunding sites include Wefunder, SeedInvest, StartEngine, and Republic. The SEC requires that you invest a maximum of either $2,200 or 5% of your income or net worth if you make under $107,000 per year. If your annual income is over $107,000 however, you can invest up to 10% of your income or net worth into startups.
The benefit of crowdfunding is that you don’t need to put a large portion of money into one startup. Many of the sites above will let you invest as little as $100 or $500 into each startup company. We highly recommend diversifying when getting into startup investing as many projects die out and you could lose a large portion of your investment if you’re not careful.
Startup Directories
Startup directories are a fantastic method of searching for startups in a fast yet efficient manner. Many investors use these sites to conduct their research on various startups, so applying to be on these sites is one of the first things a startup should do.
Our recommendation is Crunchbase. They have a specialized advanced search feature for its members that will allow you to narrow your company search based on a variety of factors. You can filter what companies you see based on their location, industry, employee count, year founded, among other factors.
Forbes Investment Guide for Startups
Before making the decision, it is important to take a step back and go over a few questions Forbes has put together in an article to ensure you’re making a sound investment. The startup could be promising from a financial perspective, but you might not have considered a few things, which the questions help you address.
We won’t go over every question in their list, but ask yourself questions such as, “What do I know about this startup’s industry?” If you don’t know a lot about the industry, you may want to consider investing in another company.
Conclusion
Investing in startups is highly risky, and we do not recommend pursuing this if you’re not an experienced investor. With that said, you should be taking advantage of crowdfunding sites and startup directories to give yourself the best chance of success.
