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.