How Much Does it Cost?

Spoiler: Angel investing costs way less than you think.

The biggest myth about angel investing? That it’s only for people with 5-figure checks and 7-figure bank accounts.

Reality check: most Play Money deals start at just $500.
The average check across the platform is around $2,500.

Small checks. Big energy. Real impact.

It’s always free to lurk and learn on Play Money.

• No membership fees. No subscriptions.
• You only pay when you invest.

Our fees are similar to other private-market investing platforms.

• A 10% platform fee (capped at $1,500) comes out of your investment and covers compliance, state filings, and tax reporting for the life of the deal.
• Most investments also include a 20% carry, which means when there is a successful exit, you get 80% of the profit and the SPV lead keeps 20%.
• Sometimes founders even waive the carry or cover platform fees for colleagues or customers. You will always see those special deals clearly called out before you invest.

What’s “Carry,” Anyway?

Carry, short for carried interest, is the SPV lead’s success fee. It means they win when you win.

Here is how it works:

A company you invested in gets acquired. The SPV receives its payout, and each investor gets their original investment back first.

If there is profit left, it is split: 80% to you, 20% to the organizer.

That is standard in angel and private-equity investing. Sometimes the carry drops to 15 percent, usually if you have paid a membership fee or are writing a larger check.

TL;DR: Carry means alignment. Everyone’s incentives move in the same direction.