Stonks.com: Expediting Seed Investments

“The hardest part in raising [money within a] round [of pitching] is getting that first check.”

This is the idea that motivated Ali Moiz to found the crowdfunding platform, stonks.com, in 2020. Stonks.com provides a unique space for startup founders to present short pitches (five minutes or less) to hundreds of angel investors and venture capitalist firms, strengthening their ability to obtain necessary seed money to kickstart their company. 

Combating the exclusive system of close networking circles, in which only a select few startups have access to the attention of notable investors, Stonks serves as a platform for demo days and even provides their own demo days once a month. 

The idea is simple. 

A small group of founders pitch their companies to hundreds of investors. The degree of returns for founders is astronomical. Through this platform, they can quickly overcome the initial hurdles of finding investors from only a five minute pitch. 

On the other hand, Stonks allows investors to spend short but quality time with companies that have been through an extensive and competitive cycle, allowing only the most promising to present. Presenting at the monthly stonks demo day event alone has a 1% acceptance rate (out of every 500 applications, 6 are accepted). 

The Stonks user interface is clear and accessible for anyone to use. Demo events are displayed when one opens the front page and users and investors can easily filter the events according to their interests by choosing between a variety of categories, from FinTech to Mental Health. Additionally, founders can easily apply to pitch their events through the website. 

Stonks is a unique view into the future of the startup and investment community. We wait eagerly for what will come next.