Fundraising Platform For Startups ProFounder Shuts Its Doors

ProFounder, a startup that offered entrepreneurs ways to raise money for their startups and ideas, is shutting its doors, according to an announcement on the company’s site today.

ProFounder, which is the brainchild of Kiva co-founder Jessica Jackley and fellow Stanford Business School alum Dana Mauriello, allowed entrepreneurs to share a percentage of their revenues with investors (their friends, family, and community) over time in exchange for an investment.

Entrepreneurs could apply to Profounder, upload a pitch to offer to potential investors and then create a term sheet with Profounder’s templated forms and compliance sheets. ProFounder then gave businesses a page where they can invite friends, family, and investors to a destination page that allowed users to make contributions and investments directly on the site. The bonus of using ProFounder was that the platform allows unaccredited investors (i.e. friends and family as opposed to a venture firm) to participate, so anyone can be an investor.

Profounder says the current regulatory environment prevented them from pursuing further innovations on the site. Mauriello explains to us separately: “We wanted to provide more flexibility to our customers, for example around how they can send out invitations to invest and to who, however the regulation including the ban of general solicitation the 504D prevent that.”

The startup will also be joining forces with GOOD on crowdfunding and will be launching “new tools and community experiences to empower entrepreneurs and creators.”