Football normally works backwards.
The wealthy arrive first.
They buy the asset.
They make the decisions.
Then the fans are asked to buy the shirts, the tickets, the beer and the dream.
We want to do it differently at Los Angeles Aztecs.
Fans first.
That is why we are limiting the founding allocation to $100,000.
Not $500,000.
Not $1 million.
$100,000.
Because this round has one job.
Get the Aztecs moving.
And the people who believe before everything is obvious should get the first opportunity.
Being Early Should Mean Something
Right now, the Los Angeles Aztecs are being rebuilt.
There is no finished stadium to photograph.
No opening-day attendance to boast about.
No league table to hide behind.
That is precisely why this stage matters.
The founding supporters are backing us before many of the biggest milestones have happened.
A home.
A team.
The first match.
Sponsors.
Commercial partners.
Media.
Thousands of supporters.
Revenue.
Every one of those things, if achieved, should make the business stronger.
If we make that progress, future investment terms should reflect the progress we have made.
Why should somebody arriving after the hard work automatically get the same opportunity as somebody who believed before the first ball was kicked?
They shouldn’t.
What Does $100,000 Actually Unlock?
This isn’t about raising money so we can say we raised money.
The Founding 100K is designed to move the Aztecs from concept towards operation.
That means putting capital behind the work that matters:
Venue and match development.
Football and operational planning.
Legal, corporate and regulatory costs.
League and competition discussions where appropriate.
Commercial partnerships and sponsorship.
Brand, supporter and media development.
Building towards the first LA Aztecs event.
It will not fund the finished dream.
It isn’t supposed to.
It funds the next set of proof points.
Then we go back to work and make those proof points valuable.
The Founding Terms
The first $100,000 is currently allocated through Wefunder on a SAFE — a Simple Agreement for Future Equity — with a $1.5 million valuation cap.
A SAFE is not the same thing as buying ordinary shares immediately. It provides rights to future equity if specified conversion events occur.
That matters.
So does the risk.
This is an early-stage venture. There is no guarantee that the Aztecs will increase in value, that the SAFE will produce a financial return, or that investors won’t lose their entire investment.
But there is also a reason we are drawing a line at $100,000.
We don’t want to keep selling the future at the founding-stage price.
Equity Is Precious
Once you sell part of a company, you cannot pretend you didn’t.
Football has seen plenty of owners deal with every new problem by selling another piece of the club.
Eventually there isn’t much club left.
We don’t want that.
The Founding 100K gives supporters the opportunity to participate at the earliest stage.
Then our responsibility is to create value.
Secure the home.
Build the football operation.
Grow the audience.
Create partnerships.
Put the Aztecs back on the pitch.
Generate revenue.
Prove people care.
Then, if larger amounts of capital are required later, we should be raising that money against the business we have built.
Not endlessly selling pieces of the business we had at the beginning.
Fans Shouldn’t Be Last Through the Door
I’ve never liked the way supporters are treated in modern football.
For most of the year they are customers.
Buy this shirt.
Pay this ticket price.
Subscribe to this channel.
Then, whenever football needs something from them, suddenly they’re called the lifeblood of the club.
Convenient.
If supporters really matter, give them the opportunity first.
That is what we are doing.
The founding allocation isn’t being hidden in a boardroom waiting for private equity.
It is being put in front of ordinary supporters.
The people who might one day stand behind the goal should have the opportunity to say:
I owned a piece of this before there was even a goal to stand behind.
That’s different.
What Happens After $100,000?
We stop.
That’s important.
If demand exists beyond the Founding 100K, brilliant.
That doesn’t mean we simply keep issuing ownership on the same terms.
We build.
Venue.
Team.
Match.
Supporters.
Sponsors.
Revenue.
Each one is another test.
Each one should reduce some of the uncertainty that exists today.
And if we succeed, the next financing should be based on the Aztecs at that point.
Not the Aztecs before Match One.
That’s how early backing should work.
The earliest supporters took the earliest risk.
Later capital shouldn’t automatically receive the same entry point after some of that risk has been removed.
This Isn’t Unlimited
Scarcity only means something when it is real.
So this isn’t a marketing trick.
The founding allocation is $100,000.
When that allocation is filled, this chapter closes.
There may be future fundraising.
There may be larger investors.
There may be strategic partners.
We hope there are.
But there will never be another moment when the Los Angeles Aztecs are exactly where they are today.
Before the first match.
Before the first home.
Before we know how far this can go.
The Founding 100K
That is what we are calling it.
The Founding 100K.
The first $100,000.
For the people prepared to back the idea while there is still plenty left to prove.
There will be other ways to become part of this club.
Matches to attend.
Scarves to wear.
Players to argue about.
Probably referees to swear at.
It is football, after all.
But there will only ever be one founding group.
And if we’re going to build a football club that genuinely puts supporters at the centre of ownership, there is only one logical place for those supporters to be.
First.
Not last.
Fans first. Always.
[Reserve your interest in the Los Angeles Aztecs on Wefunder.]
The Los Angeles Aztecs Wefunder campaign is currently testing the waters. Reservations are indications of interest and are non-binding. Investing in startups and early-stage businesses involves significant risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. Nothing above is a guarantee of future valuation, conversion, liquidity or investment return.