FundersClub unveils Venture News — a community news site for investors (exclusive)

Investing in startups requires a lot more than just giving money.

FundersClub launched “Venture News” today, which founder Alex Mittal described as “Hacker News for private investors.” The goal is to create a place where private investors can read and share relevant articles, promote interesting content, and have discussions.

“A broader shift is happening in the investment landscape — more and more people are starting to have an interest in startup investing and get involved with opportunities that were previously only available to institutional investors,” Mittal said in an interview. “There needs to be resources for folks to learn more about what is happening from the angle of a private investor.”

FundersClub is an online network that connects accredited investors with “the world’s most promising startups.”

People who are interested in angel investing often do not have the time to source deals and conduct due diligence on their own. Furthermore, it can be difficult to gain access to exciting startup investment opportunities if you are not well-connected in the tech community.

FundersClub overcomes these challenges by finding and vetting the startups for its members, and making it easy for any of them to invest. Thus far, its approach has been successful. Mittal said that its network now includes 8,000 investors who have invested $11.5 million in 57 companies.

Venture News aims forge stronger connections between these members by becoming a hub for information, as well for deals.

“From the beginning, we wanted to provide a community and not just be a transactional platform,” Mittal said. “It is important for any type of investor to become more educated and stay current, and there hasn’t been a home for them to do that in a community-centered sort of way.”

Conceived along the lines of community news sites like Reddit or Y Combinator’s Hacker News, members post links on Venture News to relevant and interesting content. The best articles rise to the top through voting, as do comments.

Anyone will be able to read Venture News, but you must sign up to post or comment. (This doesn’t mean you have to be an accredited investor.)

FundersClub participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2012 class, and raised a hefty seed round of $6 million. Mittal said that now the startup is demonstrating the “fruits of curation.” Companies that raised money on FundersClub, including Coinbase, Teespring, and Instacart, have gone on to raise signifiant institutional rounds from elite venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia.

FundersClub is based in San Francisco.