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Listen "The Democratization of Venture: Gerry Hays and the Rise of Venture Staking"
Episode Synopsis
What if startup investing wasn’t just for the 1%? In this episode of Innovate or Evaporate, Toph Day sits down with Gerry Hays — five‑time founder, venture professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School, and CEO of Doriot — to unpack a revolutionary idea: venture staking. Gerry’s been on a decades‑long mission to open access to early‑stage capital, and now with the launch of Doriot and his Qualified Accredited Investor (QAI) curriculum, he’s building a platform that could reshape who gets to play and win in startup investing.
We explore:
Gerry’s journey—from painting houses in college, through teaching 6,000 students, to scaling
What venture staking is—and how it lets anyone buy an option to invest in promising startups late
Why friends-and-family funding is a broken $60B problem
How Bloomington, Indiana is emerging as a hub for financial innovation
Whether you care about entrepreneurship, wealth-building, or financial inclusion, this episode offers a bold vision for the future of venture.
Takeaways
Startup Investing Needs a Rewrite: Traditional VC is inaccessible to most. Venture staking, a concept pioneered by Gerry Hays, offers a radically more inclusive model—letting everyday people buy the right to invest in startups later, rather than being priced out early.
Personal Lessons, Real Stakes: Gerry lost his first $25K trying to invest in a hazardous waste company—and that "fool’s tax" informed everything he built after. From law to real estate tech, he’s experienced the full cycle of startup wins and losses.
The QAI Curriculum: Gerry developed the Qualified Accredited Investor exam to help serious retail investors prove they understand venture mechanics. It’s like a Series 7 for startup investing—and it’s sitting at the SEC, waiting for approval.
Venture Capital ≠ Venture Community: Family-and-friends rounds are often toxic. Venture staking aims to replace them with a community-driven system—funding founders early while creating future investment access for those who helped at the start.
Small Dollar, Big Impact: With venture stakes starting at just $10, this model removes barriers to entry and aligns investors around long-term commitment—not quick flips. It's built for real people, not just professional financiers.
From Bloomington to the World: Doriot and its venture staking model are being built in Indiana. Gerry believes the next era of capital innovation doesn’t need to come from Sand Hill Road—it can come from the heartland.
The Future Is Option-Oriented: The big idea? In startup finance, the option to invest later is more valuable than making a blind bet early. Venture staking codifies that logic into a platform—and could change startup investing forever.
#InnovateOrEvaporate #VentureStaking #StartupInvesting #FinancialInclusion #GerryHays #Doriot #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #QAI #DoriotUniversity #Crowdfunding #StartupFunding #AngelInvesting #DisruptVC #FutureOfFinance
We explore:
Gerry’s journey—from painting houses in college, through teaching 6,000 students, to scaling
What venture staking is—and how it lets anyone buy an option to invest in promising startups late
Why friends-and-family funding is a broken $60B problem
How Bloomington, Indiana is emerging as a hub for financial innovation
Whether you care about entrepreneurship, wealth-building, or financial inclusion, this episode offers a bold vision for the future of venture.
Takeaways
Startup Investing Needs a Rewrite: Traditional VC is inaccessible to most. Venture staking, a concept pioneered by Gerry Hays, offers a radically more inclusive model—letting everyday people buy the right to invest in startups later, rather than being priced out early.
Personal Lessons, Real Stakes: Gerry lost his first $25K trying to invest in a hazardous waste company—and that "fool’s tax" informed everything he built after. From law to real estate tech, he’s experienced the full cycle of startup wins and losses.
The QAI Curriculum: Gerry developed the Qualified Accredited Investor exam to help serious retail investors prove they understand venture mechanics. It’s like a Series 7 for startup investing—and it’s sitting at the SEC, waiting for approval.
Venture Capital ≠ Venture Community: Family-and-friends rounds are often toxic. Venture staking aims to replace them with a community-driven system—funding founders early while creating future investment access for those who helped at the start.
Small Dollar, Big Impact: With venture stakes starting at just $10, this model removes barriers to entry and aligns investors around long-term commitment—not quick flips. It's built for real people, not just professional financiers.
From Bloomington to the World: Doriot and its venture staking model are being built in Indiana. Gerry believes the next era of capital innovation doesn’t need to come from Sand Hill Road—it can come from the heartland.
The Future Is Option-Oriented: The big idea? In startup finance, the option to invest later is more valuable than making a blind bet early. Venture staking codifies that logic into a platform—and could change startup investing forever.
#InnovateOrEvaporate #VentureStaking #StartupInvesting #FinancialInclusion #GerryHays #Doriot #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #QAI #DoriotUniversity #Crowdfunding #StartupFunding #AngelInvesting #DisruptVC #FutureOfFinance
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