[mikecane]

Wouldn't this quickly run afoul of the SEC? Is this money to be considered equity, a loan, or what? There are many laws to trip over here, especially Federal. I know if I gave such a startup, say, $1,000 and it became huge, I wouldn't want only $1,000 repaid! I'd see myself as an investor for equity and that would invoke the laws governing stocks right there.

[kadavy]

Yeah, it's a shame. The guys over at http://scalewell.com looked into this and it was pretty much impossible to do it legally. So, they're just giving away the money instead.

[lambdom]

It would be cristal clear before you pay the $1,000 what will happend with that money if the company is succesful and how much you would get.