I've by coincidence and lack of foresight become the owner of a site that has an adult component, even though that was not what we had in mind when we started out.
We've had contact with VCs and some very large companies that we have partnered with, and invariably the one thing that floats to the top is brand damage.
This is the big fear of any large player, as soon as there is even the remotest risk of that you have a problem.
That pretty much rules out your second and third option, leaving the first.
And YC being a tech oriented investor rather than a media company I figure that that would not be their cup of tea either, but in the end the best way to find out is to ask Paul Graham directly or to simply apply.
My guess is you'll be turned down, but that's worth very little, it's just a guess. Based on the companies that they've invested in in the past and what I know about the people behind YC.
The first is something that you'd have to spend quite a bit of time and money on mocking up to the point where you can show a potential investor what you're planning to do.
The people you'd pitch to would probably be established players in the market that are looking at expanding their offering without taking on more employees.
Personally, I'd rather get out than in to such a line of business, the website that I run with the 'adult component' has been quietly on the market for years but so far no takers.
I just posted a link to something like that below, but I think they went under, there are some rumors of fraud.
I don't think there is really room for such a fund, simply because the competition is so fierce that you would have to do 100's or more investments to get one that gives you a good ROI. The successful ones can bootstrap, the others die and try again.
One of the more interesting observations that I read on the adult market somewhere (I can't find where, sorry) is that the adult and the gaming industry are the only two 'mature' internet industries, in the sense that the cards have been dealt and new entrants have a very hard time getting traction.
That alone would be a reason to make an investor very skittish.
Biggest problem in adult biz is exits. IPO exits are very rare--adult or not adult. But 10-100M level exits which are common for typical successful startups are almost non-existent.
You do have a TONNE of 10-100K type of exits in adult--but that's hardly attractive even for angels. It's often great money for one-two person shop though.
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I've by coincidence and lack of foresight become the owner of a site that has an adult component, even though that was not what we had in mind when we started out.
We've had contact with VCs and some very large companies that we have partnered with, and invariably the one thing that floats to the top is brand damage.
This is the big fear of any large player, as soon as there is even the remotest risk of that you have a problem.
That pretty much rules out your second and third option, leaving the first.
And YC being a tech oriented investor rather than a media company I figure that that would not be their cup of tea either, but in the end the best way to find out is to ask Paul Graham directly or to simply apply.
My guess is you'll be turned down, but that's worth very little, it's just a guess. Based on the companies that they've invested in in the past and what I know about the people behind YC.
The first is something that you'd have to spend quite a bit of time and money on mocking up to the point where you can show a potential investor what you're planning to do.
The people you'd pitch to would probably be established players in the market that are looking at expanding their offering without taking on more employees.
Personally, I'd rather get out than in to such a line of business, the website that I run with the 'adult component' has been quietly on the market for years but so far no takers.
Then is there is an opportunity for adult-themed angel fund? Brand damage would be a non-issue for such a niche fund.
(A fund on lines of fbFund or iPhone apps fund.)
I just posted a link to something like that below, but I think they went under, there are some rumors of fraud.
I don't think there is really room for such a fund, simply because the competition is so fierce that you would have to do 100's or more investments to get one that gives you a good ROI. The successful ones can bootstrap, the others die and try again.
One of the more interesting observations that I read on the adult market somewhere (I can't find where, sorry) is that the adult and the gaming industry are the only two 'mature' internet industries, in the sense that the cards have been dealt and new entrants have a very hard time getting traction.
That alone would be a reason to make an investor very skittish.
Agreed. Both those industries are decent ones to be in if you want to make a secure income without shooting for the stars.
Biggest problem in adult biz is exits. IPO exits are very rare--adult or not adult. But 10-100M level exits which are common for typical successful startups are almost non-existent.
You do have a TONNE of 10-100K type of exits in adult--but that's hardly attractive even for angels. It's often great money for one-two person shop though.