The $37 Investor: When Publicity Is Worth More Than Cash A web personality takes six budding startups under his wing and gives them each $37 in financing.
By Michelle Goodman •
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Maciej Cegłowski didn't know what to expect when he announced the Pinboard Investment Co-Prosperity Cloud, a tech startup fund that emphasizes publicity and mentorship more than cash. In December 2012 more than 300 hopefuls e-mailed Cegłowski their startup ideas--a number the San Francisco web guru says "completely stunned" him.
In January, Cegłowski announced the six winners. Among them: a weather-forecasting system for sailors, a web community for board-game enthusiasts and a site on which people can sell home-baked goods.
The prize? Each received $37--and a nice publicity boost and mentorship from Cegłowski, who has grown Pinboard, the social bookmarking site he launched in 2009, into a one-man, $250,000-per-year operation.
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