Q: What is this site?

A: I’ve built this site to help attract a single investor willing to put funds toward my continued education, in return for 10% of my net income, for a period of 4 years starting the day of my first full-time job post MBA, to be paid at the end of each 12 month period.

Q: Is the auction still live?

A: No. The auction ended at 13:00 CET Monday December 23, 2013. The winning bid was for 21,000.00 Euro.

Q: Why don't you just get a loan?

A: I have already taken out a loan with a financial institution in the UK. Six months after I’ve finished the MBA programme, I will start repaying my loan to the financial institution at a rate of 715.12 Euro per month - that leaves plenty of space for this auction.

Q: Can’t your family just give you the money?

A: Unfortunately, no. I’ve spoken with the all members of my close family, and none of them have the means to help me out.

Questions?

If you have any questions or comments please click here.







Q: Why don’t you just use Lumni.net, Upstart.com, Pave.com, GraduRates.com, Zopa.com, Kickstarter.com, FundingCircle.com, SeedUps.com, or Kiva.org to source your funding?

A: There are a couple of reasons. Because I currently live and work outside the US (no Lumni, no UpStart), I am not a US citizen (no Pave), I haven't lived in the UK for three years yet (no GraduRates, no Zopa), I am seeking to finance my own education (no Kickstarter), I am a person and not actually a business (no FundingCircle, no SeedUps), and I need to secure a sizeable amount (no Kiva), these channels are not open to me.

Q: Then why don’t you use a platform that does allow crowdfunding for tuition and education, like IndieGoGo.com, GoFundMe.com, or RocketHub.com to source your funding?

A: As I am only looking for a single investor, establishing a crowdfunding campaign with various reward levels that appeal to investors with different appetites seems misplaced. Also, I don’t have any products or services to offer the investors - I’m offering high fives and a comparatively non-sexy simple financial return on the investment. Additionally, as the number of investors increases, the financial transaction costs of distributing the returns will consume a progressively larger part of the funds.

Q: What if you die before our agreement is concluded?

A: During the life of our agreement I will maintain a personal life insurance policy with you as the sole beneficiary, to the sum of 67,039.41 Euro.

Q: What if I don’t trust you?

A: During the life of our agreement, I will provide you with relevant financial statements and payslips as proof of my net income. Additionally, if you want, we can split the cost of a third party accountant or auditor.

Q: Who is your ideal investor?

A: My ideal investor is sensible. It's someone who wants a return on their investment - and wants it from me. It's someone who will feel an additional value from the agreement, specifically because of its curiousness, uniqueness, and structure. My ideal investor will appreciate a solid return on their investment.


Questions?

If you have any questions or comments please click here.

Q: What do you need the funds for?

A: My expenses for the year break down as follows -

Tuition fee: 59,500 Euro

Programme fee: 1,450 Euro


Accommodation: 12,000 Euro

Meals: 5,500 Euro

Local transportation: 1,800 Euro

Books, stationery, etc.: 800 Euro

Laptop + Hardware + Software: 2,050 Euro

Telephone: 600 Euro

Travel for exchange and job search: 3,000 Euro

Storage: 930 Euro

Miscellaneous: 2,370 Euro


Total: 90,000 Euro

Q: What do you need the MBA for?

A: I want to accelerate my career into general management within the business-IT space, the networks I will build and the exposure I will gain at INSEAD lead directly towards this goal. The first step to reaching my objective is building a foundation for the continued development of my skills and insight. Since early 2001, I’ve served in the intersection between business and technology, operating, developing, deploying, and anchoring solutions to the challenges businesses and institutions face. Now, I need to expand my toolbox and deepen my understanding of the strategic challenges enterprises face - the INSEAD MBA programme will provide the necessary competencies.

Q: Who else has done something like this?

A: Muhammad Ali’s early boxing career was funded by a group of backers who paid for his training in exchange for a share of his winnings. Tournament poker players are regularly staked by investors. Creative work is often funded in a similar way. Publishers advance authors sums of money and take the vast majority of the profit until the advance is recouped. It’s like Jay-Z said: I'm not a businessman; I'm a business, man.

Q: What if you don’t get a job immediately post-MBA?

A: The calculation of my net income won’t start until I’ve secured a full-time job, so any time spent taking a short vacation post-MBA will not impact the volume of the payments, only their timing. Also, according to INSEAD’s statistics, 94% of MBAs have received at least one job offer 3 months after graduation.

Q: What if your job doesn’t pay well?

A: Even if I were to come out in a job that pays less well, with my current lifestyle pre-MBA I would be able to afford making the payments described the expected Cash Flow table. Moreover, I guarantee that my payments to you will be at least your winning bid and additional 10,000.00 Euro, even if this means I have to pay you more than 10% of my net income. So if your winning bid equals 17,000.00 Euro, I guarantee that I will pay you back at least 27,000.00 Euro over the agreed time period, no matter my income.

Q: What parts of your net income are subject to the 10%?

A: You will receive 10% of all net income that is paid out to me, including sign-on, performance based, and other bonuses. Any contributions to my pension are exempt from the 10%. You will not receive 10% of the value of a car, telephone, or similar made available to me - but I can give you a lift if I’m in the neighbourhood. Further, you will not receive 10% of any other assets I acquire as compensation for my work or otherwise.

Q: Could we arrange payments more frequently than once per year?

A: Yes, but that would require you to have a bank account with an institution where there would be no transaction cost for me, when transferring the money. I will bear the cost of the once annual transfers.

Q: Could we make the payments transferable, could you make the payments to someone else?

A: Yes, I’d be happy to make the payments to whomever you designate.

Q: What is this site?

A: I’ve built this site to help attract a single investor willing to put funds toward my continued education, in return for 10% of my net income, for a period of 4 years starting the day of my first full-time job post MBA, to be paid at the end of each 12 month period.

Q: Is the auction still live?

A: No. The auction ended at 13:00 CET Monday December 23, 2013. The winning bid was for 21,000.00 Euro.

Q: Why don't you just get a loan?

A: I have already taken out a loan with a financial institution in the UK. Six months after I’ve finished the MBA programme, I will start repaying my loan to the financial institution at a rate of 715.12 Euro per month - that leaves plenty of space for this auction.

Q: Can’t your family just give you the money?

A: Unfortunately, no. I’ve spoken with the all members of my close family, and none of them have the means to help me out.

Questions?

If you have any questions or comments please click here.


Q: What do you need the funds for?

A: My expenses for the year break down as follows -

Tuition fee: 59,500 Euro

Programme fee: 1,450 Euro


Accommodation: 12,000 Euro

Meals: 5,500 Euro

Local transportation: 1,800 Euro

Books, stationery, etc.: 800 Euro

Laptop + Hardware + Software: 2,050 Euro

Telephone: 600 Euro

Travel for exchange and job search: 3,000 Euro

Storage: 930 Euro

Miscellaneous: 2,370 Euro


Total: 90,000 Euro


Q: What do you need the MBA for?

A: I want to accelerate my career into general management within the business-IT space, the networks I will build and the exposure I will gain at INSEAD lead directly towards this goal. The first step to reaching my objective is building a foundation for the continued development of my skills and insight. Since early 2001, I’ve served in the intersection between business and technology, operating, developing, deploying, and anchoring solutions to the challenges businesses and institutions face. Now, I need to expand my toolbox and deepen my understanding of the strategic challenges enterprises face - the INSEAD MBA programme will provide the necessary competencies.

Q: Why don’t you just use Lumni.net, Upstart.com, Pave.com, GraduRates.com, Zopa.com, Kickstarter.com, FundingCircle.com, SeedUps.com, or Kiva.org to source your funding?

A: There are a couple of reasons. Because I currently live and work outside the US (no Lumni, no UpStart), I am not a US citizen (no Pave), I haven't lived in the UK for three years yet (no GraduRates, no Zopa), I am seeking to finance my own education (no Kickstarter), I am a person and not actually a business (no FundingCircle, no SeedUps), and I need to secure a sizeable amount (no Kiva), these channels are not open to me.

Q: What if you don’t get a job immediately post-MBA?

A: The calculation of my net income won’t start until I’ve secured a full-time job, so any time spent taking a short vacation post-MBA will not impact the volume of the payments, only their timing. Also, according to INSEAD’s statistics, 94% of MBAs have received at least one job offer 3 months after graduation.

Q: What if your job doesn’t pay well?

A: Even if I were to come out in a job that pays less well, with my current lifestyle pre-MBA I would be able to afford making the payments described the expected Cash Flow table. Moreover, I guarantee that my payments to you will be at least your winning bid and additional 10,000.00 Euro, even if this means I have to pay you more than 10% of my net income. So if your winning bid equals 17,000.00 Euro, I guarantee that I will pay you back at least 27,000.00 Euro over the agreed time period, no matter my income.

Q: What if you die before our agreement is concluded?

A: During the life of our agreement I will maintain a personal life insurance policy with you as the sole beneficiary, to the sum of 67,039.41 Euro.

Q: What if I don’t trust you?

A: During the life of our agreement, I will provide you with relevant financial statements and payslips as proof of my net income. Additionally, if you want, we can split the cost of a third party accountant or auditor.

Q: What parts of your net income are subject to the 10%?

A: You will receive 10% of all net income that is paid out to me, including sign-on, performance based, and other bonuses. Any contributions to my pension are exempt from the 10%. You will not receive 10% of the value of a car, telephone, or similar made available to me - but I can give you a lift if I’m in the neighbourhood. Further, you will not receive 10% of any other assets I acquire as compensation for my work or otherwise.

Q: Who else has done something like this?

A: Muhammad Ali’s early boxing career was funded by a group of backers who paid for his training in exchange for a share of his winnings. Tournament poker players are regularly staked by investors. Creative work is often funded in a similar way. Publishers advance authors sums of money and take the vast majority of the profit until the advance is recouped. It’s like Jay-Z said: I'm not a businessman; I'm a business, man.

Q: Who is your ideal investor?

A: My ideal investor is sensible. It's someone who wants a return on their investment - and wants it from me. It's someone who will feel an additional value from the agreement, specifically because of its curiousness, uniqueness, and structure. My ideal investor will appreciate a solid return on their investment.

Q: Could we arrange payments more frequently than once per year?

A: Yes, but that would require you to have a bank account with an institution where there would be no transaction cost for me, when transferring the money. I will bear the cost of the once annual transfers.

Q: Could we make the payments transferable, could you make the payments to someone else?

A: Yes, I’d be happy to make the payments to whomever you designate.