FounderFox Uniquely Bridges Founders and Investors
[review]
One of the most difficult tasks when starting a company or building an app or anything entrepreneurial in nature is getting the word out and raising money. While boostrapping a new business is a very common approach, it’s not practical for every venture. Many startup founders scratch and claw for publicity and networking opportunities to gain valuable time with angel investors and venture capitalists.
On the other side of the spectrum, the same issue persists as those who are looking to invest are not aware of all of the companies seeking funding. As an investor, it’s hugely important to have options and discover new businesses that have the potential to scale and grow. Probably the biggest goal is finding these companies early while they are still able to take direction from experienced investors and be interested in giving up equity for capital, giving investors leverage.
FounderFox aims at bridging that gap with less text and more video, more of a platform for startup founders to be themselves and include all of the pertinent information that investors want to know. Anyone can watch pitches, making it still a useful app for anyone interested in websites like Product Hunt or discovering new ideas for us early adopters. The ultimate network to bring hungry startups to those with deep pockets looking to accelerate the right team to their dreams of scaling a great idea to change the world.
Founders record and make their 2 minute rocket pitch that can be uploaded through Dropbox or generated using the app itself, which then is hosted on a feed for anyone interested to watch. There are social sharing tools like posting directly to Twitter and letting your network know of novel and unique ideas that are entering the space. Investors have the option to contact founders from the app.
Another interesting aspect of FounderFox is exploring the notion that investors really are just as or more interested in the people behind the projects than the projects themselves. Execution is more important than a great idea and if the relationship isn’t formed by an investor to think that a startup’s team has the right people in place to make a new business work, then generally that company is going to have a very hard time raising money.
The app looks pretty good and definitely strives for a basic look and feel, probably to keep the attention on pitches and videos and profiles rather than the surrounding buttons. FounderFox is available for iOS only and is not only is free to download, but users solely looking to watch pitches and share cool ventures with their networks need not make an account. Released on May 30th, they still aim to keep building their audience, but have gotten positive feedback in the form of iTunes reviews.
If you’re a fan of Shark Tank, this app might be fun just to play around with, but otherwise I certainly recommend the app to anyone seeking funding or new ventures to possibly invest in because of how valuable any free exposure can be if it means meeting the right business partner.