Selling 2% of Future Earnings to Fund a Startup

Young founders often face a difficult dilemma: they possess the energy and ambition to build the future, but lack the financial resources to get started. Conversely, older entrepreneurs have capital but often lack the risk tolerance or stamina of their younger counterparts. Kirill Avery bridged this gap with a radical solution.

At just 21 years old, Avery secured $500,000 in funding not by selling equity in a single company, but by selling a percentage of his personal future earnings. This innovative approach allowed him to fund his ventures, including Alien and Human, while retaining full ownership of his businesses.

The core of Avery's strategy is borrowing resources from his future self to build value in the present. He structured the deal using a SAFE agreement (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), a standard instrument in Silicon Valley, but with a unique twist. Instead of tying the investment to a specific startup, he created a holding company called Kirill Co.

This structure meant that investors didn't get equity in one business; they received a claim on a portion of everything Avery builds over the next 15 years. He capped the total percentage of his future earnings available for sale at 2%. As Avery explained, the concept addresses a fundamental timing issue in entrepreneurship.

When you're young, you have energy, ambition, and ideas, but little capital. When you're older, you may have resources, but less stamina or willingness to take risks. That gap led me to an idea: what if you could borrow resources from your future self and build something right now?

Avery's confidence in his future earnings is rooted in a history of early success. Growing up in St. Petersburg, Russia, he was largely self-taught, writing his first code at age 10 to build computer games. His technical skills quickly translated into professional opportunities.

By age 15, he dropped out of high school to work as an engineer at VK, Russia's largest social network. Two years later, he launched a livestream trivia app that became one of the country's most-downloaded games in 2018. This success landed him on Forbes Russia's 30 Under 30 list, but Avery knew his ambitions required a move to Silicon Valley.

• Self-taught coder at age 10
• Engineer at VK (Russia's Facebook) at 15
• Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree at 17
• O-1 visa recipient for 'extraordinary ability'

After moving to the United States and joining Y Combinator in 2021, Avery realized that standard startup paths didn't suit his goals. While he built a live-stream shopping app called Lalabox, he felt drawn to more unconventional, high-impact projects. However, these projects were often too risky for traditional venture capital.

The holding company structure solved this by providing a pool of capital that wasn't tied to the success or failure of a single venture. It gave him the freedom to experiment. While the agreement lacks strict guardrails—there is technically nothing stopping him from spending the money on personal vacations—Avery notes that his investors trust his drive.

They know that I don't give myself time to switch off.

Currently, his focus is on Human and Alien, startups tackling the complex problem of verifying human identity in an era dominated by artificial intelligence.

Avery's funding model relies heavily on trust and an immense belief in his own potential. He aligns his philosophy with that of Sam Altman, noting that the best founders possess a level of self-belief that borders on delusion. Avery is certain that within the 15-year term of the agreement, he will achieve extreme success.

He believes this method is advantageous for both founders and investors, offering a middle ground between bootstrapping and selling company equity. He intends to democratize this access by releasing documents that will allow other young founders to replicate his strategy.

By betting on himself, Avery has turned his future potential into present-day liquidity, proving that for the right entrepreneur, the future is a valuable asset to leverage today.