Have you ever wondered how you could invest in the next big startup? Investing in startups can be complex. Where do you find trustworthy startups? How can you invest in their ideas and dreams? On Today's show we chat with Chuck Pettid, CEO of Republic Funding Portal. Republic was founded by alumni of AngelList, the world's largest online investment platform for accredited investors, following the passing of the JOBS Act in May 2016. With this new legislation, non-accredited investors (the majority of the US population) could invest in startups for the very first time--but the complicated legal requirements called for a founder and investor-friendly platform to make startup investing truly accessible.


Republic was built with this mission in mind. They're SEC-registered, FINRA-licensed and part of a large family of startup platforms together with AngelList and Product Hunt. Additionally, while they welcome all kinds of entrepreneurs, Republic specifically encourages startups with diverse teams and backgrounds to apply to raise with them. They're proud to report that last year, 25% of all investments made on Republic went to companies with founders of color (compared to 1% among traditional VCs), while 44% went to companies with at least one female founder (compared to 13% among VCs.) Diversity and inclusion are core parts of their mission and they believe that hidden gems can be found where the masses aren't looking.


You can learn more about Republic at https://republic.co/


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