

I'm young... Maybe a little too young - Aleco

Hello everyone, new to HN.<p>This is probably a really simple question, but I haven't found answers ANYWHERE. Yes, I have searched plenty of times.<p>How old do you have to be; what is the minimum age to get funded by a VC/investing company. I'm currently the founder of a start-up (whos name we don't know yet) and I have another friend who is the co-founder. I've known him for more then 12 years, we're both 16 years old.<p>We have potential and a lot of confidence, however I believe the age will be very misleading.<p>What do you folks think? Do investing companies really look at the age, or just the start-up at hand.<p>Thanks!
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cdsanchez
I'll echo some of the sentiments already put forth: do you actually _need_
funding at this stage? How much do you think you will need? Have you and your
co-founder thought about asking your respective parents for seed money?

I think the answer to the question at hand is really quite obvious. Yes, since
you are relatively young, they will take your age into consideration. They
will also take into consideration your _experience_ , your _maturity_ , and
similarly, your ability to handle responsibilities. I'll play the skeptic and
conjecture that you probably don't excel enough in all three of these traits
to make up for the risk presented by your age.

If that's the case, then at this point in your start up and with all things
considered, I would say the best route would be to attain seed money from
family, friends, etc. and once your start up starts getting buzz or generating
nice revenue, you would be in a better position to start looking for funding
from larger institutions or venture capitalists.

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brk
You may run into issues simply because you are too young to enter a legally
binding contract, among other things.

You've probably also read that the investment is as much in the _people_ as
the product/concept, so age plays a role, even if just subconsciously.

Do you have an idea of what you are looking for in terms of size of an
investment? You _might_ be better off with a local angel sort of investor vs.
A traditional VC route.

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lachyg
Email me if you want. I'm also 16, am doing very well for myself and working
on a 'proper' startup. Set up a side project this month that made mid-high
$xxxx in profit this month.

I might be able to help some.

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andrewstuart
You don't need funding. You are young and smart and have all the time in the
world.

I could see you might need money for hosting and a domain name but everything
else you should be able to do on your own time.

What exactly do you need money for?

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scottkrager
If your idea or business is good enough...the VC's will figure it out for you.
Go ahead and pitch them, the age issue can be overcome!

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Aleco
It is crucial to receive proper funding rather then just a few grand my
parents can pitch it. The problem is without the funding, there is no-way we
can pitch our service to the entertainment industry.

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wslh
If your live with your parents try to bootstrap your company without
investments.

I think you must be emancipated to own your own business at your age. Think in
young actors.

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guynamedloren
Do you have parents?

Then you have investors.

