A local startup is looking for investors – $20 dollars at a time.
The Illuminated Ventures Project is one of 147 burgeoning companies spread across five countries listed on a new crowd-funding website called 33Needs.
The company is in the process of developing a portfolio of revenue-generating websites. Like the other companies on 33Needs, Illuminated Ventures has a social mission as well. It has committed to giving 30 percent of its profits to a program it created to teach business and Internet skills to disadvantaged young people.
The company has a funding goal of $29,000. So far they have six investors who have pledged a total of $106. If the project is fully funded, Illuminated Ventures will share 7 percent of its profits with investors. The 7 percent is split among the investors in proportion to how much they put in.
Drew Little, 27, the founder of Illuminated Ventures, and said they will primarily use the funds for legal needs and video and computer equipment.
Little said he started the venture to try and help local communities.
“I saw how the recession affected local communities, hampered trade in local communities as well as jobs. Most low-income families already were suffering, and the recession hit them harder,” Little said.
When thinking of how he could help, he turned to the web.
“I saw all this wealth being made in social media and new media and thought of a way to balance meaning and profit,” Little said.
The company is staffed by 11 “voluntaries,” who are volunteering their time in exchange for equity in the venture.
Little has given up living a typical life in order to put everything into his startup. Instead of renting or owning a home, he has couch-surfed since last summer, when he launched the company. Prior to starting up, Little worked a number of sales positions, most recently at Money Ads Mobile Advertising in Glen Allen.
“I feel I am a very creative person, and I think I was repressing my creative side a bit working for corporations. I think it was time for me to finally express these ideas I had,” Little said.
The New Haven, Conn., native moved to Richmond in 2001 to study marketing at VCU but left in 2003 because of lack of funds.
His startup’s websites are mostly geared toward a college audience, and most of his volunteers are college students.
Among the websites the company started is KollageKlub.com, a blog that covers the arts, music and nightlife scenes in Richmond. Little said he hopes to evolve it into a sort of online talent agency that makes money through referrals.
Another site is Blinkpons, which is a location-based coupon service. A mobile app alerts users when they are near a place that has a deal going on. Unlike established competitors Groupon and Living Social, Blinkpons deals will be limited and will be available to customers on a first-come, first-serve basis.
A third site in the portfolio is Unified Potential Basketball League, which is the homepage for a tournament basketball league that awards cash prizes to its members. The homepage will be sort of a social network for the teams and players and include stats and other features.
A local startup is looking for investors – $20 dollars at a time.
The Illuminated Ventures Project is one of 147 burgeoning companies spread across five countries listed on a new crowd-funding website called 33Needs.
The company is in the process of developing a portfolio of revenue-generating websites. Like the other companies on 33Needs, Illuminated Ventures has a social mission as well. It has committed to giving 30 percent of its profits to a program it created to teach business and Internet skills to disadvantaged young people.
The company has a funding goal of $29,000. So far they have six investors who have pledged a total of $106. If the project is fully funded, Illuminated Ventures will share 7 percent of its profits with investors. The 7 percent is split among the investors in proportion to how much they put in.
Drew Little, 27, the founder of Illuminated Ventures, and said they will primarily use the funds for legal needs and video and computer equipment.
Little said he started the venture to try and help local communities.
“I saw how the recession affected local communities, hampered trade in local communities as well as jobs. Most low-income families already were suffering, and the recession hit them harder,” Little said.
When thinking of how he could help, he turned to the web.
“I saw all this wealth being made in social media and new media and thought of a way to balance meaning and profit,” Little said.
The company is staffed by 11 “voluntaries,” who are volunteering their time in exchange for equity in the venture.
Little has given up living a typical life in order to put everything into his startup. Instead of renting or owning a home, he has couch-surfed since last summer, when he launched the company. Prior to starting up, Little worked a number of sales positions, most recently at Money Ads Mobile Advertising in Glen Allen.
“I feel I am a very creative person, and I think I was repressing my creative side a bit working for corporations. I think it was time for me to finally express these ideas I had,” Little said.
The New Haven, Conn., native moved to Richmond in 2001 to study marketing at VCU but left in 2003 because of lack of funds.
His startup’s websites are mostly geared toward a college audience, and most of his volunteers are college students.
Among the websites the company started is KollageKlub.com, a blog that covers the arts, music and nightlife scenes in Richmond. Little said he hopes to evolve it into a sort of online talent agency that makes money through referrals.
Another site is Blinkpons, which is a location-based coupon service. A mobile app alerts users when they are near a place that has a deal going on. Unlike established competitors Groupon and Living Social, Blinkpons deals will be limited and will be available to customers on a first-come, first-serve basis.
A third site in the portfolio is Unified Potential Basketball League, which is the homepage for a tournament basketball league that awards cash prizes to its members. The homepage will be sort of a social network for the teams and players and include stats and other features.
This is a really great write. Thanks for the exposure. We are really excited to see where commitment, time and talent takes us.