SELLING FUTURES: There's quite a buzz surrounding Upstart, a startup offering a service that allows recent college graduates sell a share of their future earnings in return for money to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions. Founded by former Google VP of Apps and president of enterprise, Dave Girouard, the company has so far raised $1.75 million in seed funding from the likes of Kleiner Perkins, Mark Cuban and others. The platform asks students to create a profile and estimates how much a student will likely make in the future based on one's background, major, grades, and other factors. Upstart uses this figure to tell students how much they can raise. Funded students then pay up to 7% of their future income to their backers for ten years--with certain exceptions in case students make under $30k in a year. Forbes has more in-depth coverage, along with a look at the first students who considered taking this leap. Somehow it doesn't surprise us that there's a Thiel 20 Under 20 fellow on the team.
