SproutBox came to my attention the other day because of the really great work it is doing investing in startup companies. But as it helps out entrepreneurs, not to be overlooked is how entrepreneurial it is in offering a new approach to venture capital.
When the SproutBox founders established the entrepreneur investment firm, they knew they didn’t want to be just another venture capitalist that simply wrote a check. So they set out to redefine the term by actually investing their expertise into the company’s success.
The founders have an extensive background in business, technology development, software engineering, product development and creative marketing and design. Most are successful entrepreneurs in their own right and have an insider’s perspective of the challenges budding entrepreneurs face under the current startup culture. So they’ve basically set out to change it.
With the SproutBox formula, they invest their talent in exchange for equity at the idea stage, as opposed to the traditional product implementation stage. For startup companies, that means you can focus your attention on turning your idea into a money maker without having to worry about business functions, like accounting, product production, hiring, raising funds, workspace issues, human resources and legal matters.
Under the SproutBox model, the business is ready to exit after a few months of SproutBox guidance with a marketable product or service and a healthy revenue stream. This is achieved by enabling ideas to develop and generate revenue without having to worry about large reoccurring costs, like overhead and personnel, while trying to get your product to market.
SproutBox is particularly interested in working with entrepreneurs with Web, mobile, or desktop business ideas since these types of applications are best suited for its venture capital model.
As the traditional venture capital model is redefined to better meet the needs of entrepreneurs, it’s reassuring to see that entrepreneurs are a major part of the change by bringing a first-hand innovative focus to the concept.
Although SproutBox is relatively new, entrepreneurs should be excited about its possibilities for providing valuable financial help to startups. What do you think about the concept? Leave us your thoughts and comments.
Matthew Toren
We would be interested in getting in touch with Sprout Box:
About ADstruc:
ADstruc is an early stage internet startup company preparing to launch the first online marketplace for the buying and selling of outdoor media space. We are partnering with agencies of all mediums (billboards, digital, etc) to truly create a vertically integrated market whereby agencies can not only sell their space to media buyers/advertisers but also acquire space from property owners (landlords, etc.)
Faster, easier, and more profitable.
Love the concept! Having a hard time with the required move to Indiana after acceptance. I am a mother of a young child, and just..can’t..make..that..choice right now. Could there be an exception for those very versed in “telecommuting” – esp. if the idea is very web-based? They could be missing a few gems with that requirement. Otherwise, awesome.
I actually had this very same idea, and always wanted to get into it. But I was a little scared away from the idea as I thought that any company that was onto a good idea wouldn’t really need to have all the services SproutBox provides done for them, they could just pay for it anyway.
But I really like how they’ve gone about it and marketed themselves, and I’m really interested to see how things work out and wish them all the best.