Start-ups asked to pledge equity to charity He was "inspired" by a pledge made on the trip by Andy McLoughlin, co-founder of software business Huddle, to give up 1pc of his equity to Charity:Water. "I realised that I could start getting involved with charities in a meaningful way without giving away time or money, both of which are currently in short supply," Mr Kimmelman said. Mr Kimmelman said it is crucial to gain the support of the investment community for the scheme to succeed and to avoid complications when companies raise money. We need to get venture capitalists and angel investors to sign up so this is a tick box option on [funding contracts]. It's something you have to do early on - it has to be there from the get go. You can end up with complications when venture capital investors come along so it needs a concerted effort from everyone. By getting angel investors and as many venture capitalists as possible to agree to add the Founders Pledge option as a tick-box on their term sheets, I believe that more founders will eventually have the opportunity to give something meaningful to a charity they are passionate about. A website for the Founders Pledge will be launched in the "next few weeks," Mr Kimmelman said. His company, which provides free financial information on private businesses and company directors, recently raised $5m (£3.3m) from investors including Notion Capital, Oak Investment Partners, and Twitter backer Shakil Kahn. Mr Kimmelman said the funds will be used to expand into new markets and develop new products.