Is there a site that connects coders with entrepreneurs in exchange for equity?

I have a company that does development and for some reason I thought that i saw a site like that a couple years ago where people can bid to o code for equity of a project. Anyone knows what I am talking about?

 

Several years ago I think there were some sites along the lines of what you describe. A popular site was PartnerUp but they failed and are now just a google+ group. I went to look recently and the posts are mainly scammers and junk ideas. Some developers post but they are ignored, there is no matching system any longer. After spending hours emailing back and forth serious proposals regarding one offer the guy just disappeared and stopped replying. There are other "partnership" type websites but so far all are scams that just ask for tons of information and after you are accepted you see scam offers from morons.

I mainly develop websites for myself but I also develop websites for entrepreneurs and have taken equity in a client project in exchange for development. I spent almost as much time negotiating the deal and contracts as I did developing the custom e-commerce website needed for the business. At the last moment when the website was done the owner tried to back out of the deal and only the written contracts and legal threats lead to a fair deal.

I developed a project management application for entrepreneurs last year so I know of many projects where I could maybe make a deal for development in exchange for partnership but don't have the time. If you explain your capabilities maybe I can find a project for you. I have thought about building a website to match up entrepreneurs and developers but I am not sure how many developers want such deals. At meetings I have attended where such partnerships are the goal the developers just pretend to want partnerships to get in the meeting but then demand cash payment up front. This behavior has ruined the meetings so no one attends any longer. This is why I think about building a partnership matching website, maybe overseas developers with lower costs can afford to work on partner projects in between paid projects in the hope of making big money on a successful partnership. Entrepreneurship involves taking risk and both parties must understand what risk they can afford to take.

 

Ok,
This is the thing. I am an entrepreneur that built a small team to build a site that I needed which generates steady revenue for my company. I am from Trinidad and Tobago, lived in the US for 9 years and now I live in NIcaragua. The software we developed is targeted towards the US market so I make a decent level or revenue with lowered overhead. I moved a couple developers from the Caribbean and India to Nicaragua to build my team. Cost of living in Nicaragua is super low so I can afford to pay the guys less, give housing, maid service and everything and still come out way lower than the US.

What I was thinking of doing is using some of my teams time to look into developing some projects for equity because of the unique position I am in. We were also thinking of starting an Incubator in Nicaragua but that is more long term.

What are your thoughts?

 

and BTW you were right. I was thinking of PartnerUp.com

 

A while back I was in talks with someone about a partnership in building a site for a domain I had. Spoke to him on the phone for about an hour. Was suppose to touch base a week later and never heard from him again. haha

 

I know a few people that operate development teams in Central and South America as you are doing, but they travel back and forth regularly to meet with clients. If you built a good team the idea of keeping them together work on new ventures is a good idea as this ensures they are also available to maintain and improve your original project. You would need to contact me with details of specific technology expertise on the team for me to tell you if I know of projects that match well with your capabilities.

There are many start-ups looking to raise money in order to hire developers, basically you want to become an investor in the project in exchange for providing services. I think the general idea is fine, the challenge will be convincing the founders that you can perform the development work and aren't just looking to steal their idea, or are actually looking to be paid cash.

I have been going to many events for start-ups the past two years looking for marketing and management people mainly but I talk to developers as well. There are many individuals pretending that they want to be a developer co-founder when really they are just sales people for development companies, they constantly show up at co-founder events. I have been contacted by these types many times and have become very harsh in my questioning to find out if they want equity or cash to not waste my time. I don't mind hiring developers, I do it almost daily, and I am a developer myself, but I don't like being lied to.

If you send me information like the development frameworks and programming languages used and the project(s) the team completed I will take a look and let you know what I think about your chances getting involved in a worthwhile start-up project.