What If You Could Bet on 10x More Startups for the Same Risk?

01 /The Concept

Doriot has invented a new startup investment model it calls "VentureStaking." The model:

- reduces investor risk,

- makes it possible to start investing with small amounts,

- while still preserving the potential for outsized returns – which is the whole point of investing in startups.

The core idea: instead of investing directly in a startup, the investor buys an option that guarantees them the right to participate in any future funding round.

The key insight is that the option costs one-tenth the amount of the future investment it unlocks. In rough terms: buy an option for $10 today, and you get the guaranteed right to invest $100 in this startup in any future round. The maximum option price currently is $1,000, which unlocks the right to invest $10,000 in the startup.

Startups sell these options at the very earliest stage – before any formal funding. This lets them raise money to build an MVP and test hypotheses without giving up equity. And without the even the moral obligation that comes with a formal investment or a SAFE note.

This isn't spelled out explicitly, but Doriot presumably takes a commission on option sales through its platform. Alternatively, instead of a cash commission, it could receive a corresponding option itself – and then invite outside investors to exercise it, charging them a fee for access to a startup that has already shown traction.

Founders who want to sell options through Doriot must first pass a background check and a startup due diligence review. They also need to score at least 70% on Doriot's own exam, which tests their understanding of how the venture market works – for both founders and investors.

The final step is signing a contract with Doriot, which includes two substantive commitments: the startup agrees to open all future funding rounds to option-holders, and founders commit to publishing daily progress updates to that community. This obligation applies during the "hypothesis testing phase" – likely until the startup closes its first formal investment round and becomes subject to the disclosure requirements of that deal.

Interestingly, not just anyone can buy options on the platform. Every investor must first pass a gamified simulation exam that teaches the basics of venture investing before they're licensed to buy options.

Doriot projects that by 2030, 1,000 startups per year will be selling options to 1 million investors through its platform.

For now, Doriot itself is the first startup to sell options through its own platform. That sale closes July 31, though the site shows only about 150 buyers so far.

Doriot published its platform launch on Product Hunt two days ago.

02 /Why It Matters

The option-based investment model Doriot is proposing is genuinely interesting – for both startups and investors.

For investors, the first advantage is portfolio diversification: with the same budget, you can make ten times as many bets on startups you believe in – which means ten times more chances of backing a winner in the venture game.

There's also a leverage angle: the option lets investors multiply their return tenfold in a single move – by deploying ten times the option price into a startup that has already proven its potential.

Critically, the investor can choose when to exercise their right – in any future round, not just the next one (as with SAFE notes). And since each successive round typically reduces risk and increases startup credibility, VentureStaking gives investors the flexibility to pick the entry point that best matches their preferred risk/return profile.

For founders, selling options raises early capital without diluting their equity. That said, SAFEs already make this possible to some extent – converting debt into equity at a later round when valuation is established. Options, however, are priced at one-tenth of the eventual investment, which means a startup can attract ten to a hundred times more potential future investors. At that scale, option buyers start to feel less like investors and more like a community: people who have skin in the game and want the startup to succeed.

That community can be mobilized in practical ways – as advocates, as testers, as recruiters. And there's a psychological dimension too: option holders haven't yet given money in exchange for equity, so they don't feel owed anything yet.

They've simply placed a bet that the startup might take off – and reserved the right to back it properly when it does. Psychologically, that's closer to poker or buying a lottery ticket than to making a formal investment. The stakes feel lower, the emotional attachment is healthier, and there's no one to blame but yourself if it doesn't work out.

03 /Opportunities

If you're looking at the VentureStaking model on its own terms, there are two immediate directions: build a similar platform, or use the model to raise your startup's very first money without giving up equity.

But zoom out and there's a broader idea at play: building communities of people who have a stake in a startup's or business's success. And there are many ways to create those communities beyond options.

KOOS ([covered here](/review/kak-dobitsja-uspeha-samomu)) built a platform for exactly that. A company defines a goal and the rules by which community members can help achieve it. The platform tracks contributions and, once the goal is reached, distributes rewards proportionally. KOOS last raised in 2022, but still publishes updates.

SMBX ([covered here](/review/kredit-doverija)) takes the concept into offline business and away from the venture world entirely. Its platform lets small brick-and-mortar businesses raise debt financing from their own customers: if you want your favorite corner store or neighborhood café to stick around, lend them money and earn interest. The review was written in 2021, but SMBX raised new funding in 2023 and appears to still be active.

The venture capital landscape – and funding in general – is in the middle of a structural shift. Financial conditions across markets have changed. That means now is exactly the time to experiment with new models – including models that existed before but didn't gain traction simply because the timing was wrong. The timing may finally be right.