With the continued success of Wikipedia, there's some talk about whether there are opportunities to create popular niche wikis.
That's what Wikinvest is trying to do. And as the name implies, the site is focused primarily on individual investors.
In fact, this week the firm received $2.5 million in venture funding (the lead investor is DCM).
Basically, it's a bet on the "wisdom of the crowds." And, it's a model that has worked with discussion boards, such as with Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO).
Yet, there are risks.
After all, there are some companies – especially on markets like the Pink Sheets – that try to use online media to pump-up stocks. So might user-generated content be too tempting for investment schemes?
A wiki allows users to edit the content. In other words, so might the good content creators crowd out the bad ones?
Also, Wikinvest does have a minimum $100 million market cap requirement, which should help, but there are quite a few pump-and-dump companies with valuations above this limit.
So I think it will be a challenge -- what startup doesn't have challenges? But with a slug of capital, Wikinvest will have the resources to give it a shot.
And, if you want to check out other recent VC fundings, click here.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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