After getting burned for at least the 3rd time on business deals with friends,  I've been looking into how to invest intelligently outside of the saturated stock market.  Here's a quick summary of sites I've found for investing in debt or equity or some other type of financial instrument related to startups. Investment Portals Prosper.com -  peer to peer lending. It lets you invest unsecured loans I believe with 3 and 5 year terms.  Prosper clearly labels the risk level for each loan and the purpose of the loan. needs docs to prove bank account.  Its to offer debt with no collateral.   I’m just getting an account established here.   YieldStreet.com - only accredited investors. RealtyShares.com - only accredited investors. Fundrise.com - This is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that you can join online. I have $1000 invested and so far it’s exceeding 8% annual return. I forget what the terms are for when you need to withdraw capital. Groundfloor.us