Sukrim:
Many of the kind of companies I want to invest into don't exist today, but some do.  I think the key to higher than BTC growth lies in investing in businesses which do business in BTC.  An example would be a company that sells computer hardware online for BTC.  Provided they had a drop-ship agreement which kept them from having inventory on hand, they could turn the BTC payment around immediately and pay .8 BTC for 1.2 BTC worth of goods.  I, personally, think people are currently making some bad investments that could turn profitable if bought for actual values.  I'll use SkepsiDyne (SIP) as an example.  They bought $8000 worth of hardware.  For that they burned about 1,000 BTC.  Obviously those shareholders have potential BTC rolling in, but the value of the company is now closer to 500 BTC, and dropping because the revenue still isn't rolling in like it should.  I would look to buy into that company around the time the shareholders realize the value they have and look to sell a share for .4 BTC than the .75 BTC they originally paid.  And that is assuming I trusted the operator of that company.  So, the key to beating BTC growth in a company is keeping the investments in BTC, or making the turn-around in USD as quick as possible.

Atlas:
I haven't provided any documentation, nor an official charter though I will if the interest exists.  As for the ability to invest, I ran a small investment club of 5 guys for 3 years.  We annualized about 47% growth (yeah, we got lucky).  Around the same time, 1 guy lost his job and 2 more relocated away, so we decided to dissolve the club.  I've been pulling about 15-20% the last few years from my own investments, despite the "down economy".  I'm not counting 401K as I don't directly invest that, but use my employers funds.  Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future performance, blah, blah, blah.

Fair enough.  However, I do think Bitcoin makes an interesting contribution to humanity.  Still, I suppose my belief was that most of the promotion money would go to projects such as bounties raised to convince charities to start taking Bitcoin.  When and if bitcoin reaches critical mass, the fund probably would switch to pure philanthropy.  However, as I haven't created a charter, I'm open to suggestions such as 3% to Bitcoin promotion, 5% to non-profits that accept Bitcoin.

This placeholder reserved for a future list of fund holdings.

Everyone,
I'd like to gauge the interest in a Mutual Fund, designed to invest only in Bitcoin stocks.  It would, of course, reside on the GLBSE.com.  Like all funds, it would be designed to spread risk and allow a manager (me) to do the legwork on vetting the investment opportunities.  I'd also like for this to not just benefit Bitcoin ventures and Fund shareholders, but also those organizations / bounties that make Bitcoin better for everyone.  So, here is my plan:

500 initial shares at 5 BTC each.  If you are only wanting to invest less, you probably shouldn't go with a fund, anyway. 

Initially I'll pay out any earnings weekly (to build confidence), but it would benefit the fund if that moved to monthly and possibly quarterly, eventually.  The fund would have no load, and the management fee would be 2% off the top of the earnings for an earning period.  Nothing made, nothing paid.  Further, 40% of the earnings would go back into the fund for further investments.  50% would be paid out to shareholders, and 8% would go to Bitcoin causes (Bitcoin Fountain would be an example).  In the event there were no earnings, or a loss was incurred for the period, nothing would be paid out.

Again here is the breakdown of how earnings would be handled:
50% - immediate dividends
40% - reinvested
8%  -  Bitcoin promotion
2%  - Fund Management

I'm gauging interest right now, so let me know.

I can't quite go with your logic.  I didn't invest.  By the same logic, I have doubled my money by not investing.  As long as the trade, and the reward/dividends are in BTC, the USD values are irrelevant, except when investors finally cash out.  And until they receive BTC in dividends, all they've done is incur risk with no reward.  In fact, since the value of the purchased equipment vs. BTC has decreased, without revenue generation occurring, I'd go so far as to say the existing shareholders have lost money.

OK, I'll quit being a Debbie Downer now.  I really would like to see this project succeed.  However, if things do fail hopefully the community will learn valuable lessons in trust and anonymity.

Yes, it's all psychological.  The system as designed now (with the possible excpetion of transaction fees) is set to to scale technically, but people(non-technical people, and even some technical ones) will have a hard time wrapping their head around buying .01 bitcoins for $10 to pay .001 bitcoins for the song they want.  It is much easier to sell them 10 bit cents for $10, and let them spend 1 bitcent for the song.  Even 100 UBC for $10 followed by spending 10 UBC on a song works easier.  The FAQs refer to this change being technically feasible, my real point, is that unless things slow down it might be psychologically needed.  I realize the point has been made before, but I think there is a point at which bitcoin will stall unless the move is made, and I think that point is approaching at an exponential pace.

It occurs to me that at the current rate of BTC to US $ growth, it could feasibly be 1 BTC = $1,000 USD in 6-7 months time.  I don't know that that will happen, but if it does, wouldn't the sticker shock of paying so much really push people away from joining the bitcoin community?  In the stock market world, a few elite stocks are happy trading in the $1,000+ range, but most try to keep below $100, so the "common man" can choose to buy in.  I realize that "all that has to happen is to move the decimal", but does that need to happen now rather than later?  Perhaps a mechanism to scale terminology automatically based on the number of connected clients?

It seems that we are already at a place were 1 bit-dime (.1 BTC) is perfect for a $1.50 USD micro-transaction, but if things keep up, we will quickly be going out 3 or 4 decimal places for a single small transaction.

In short, it seems like bitcoin's biggest lack(though in some ways a strength) is denominations, so people can more easily trade/spend them until the value stabilizes.

If there are changes in the works, apologies from the newbie .  If not, it seemed like a topic worth discussing.

Does that mean we can look to see 7 rigs online by Tuesday?  That would be VERY encouraging.  Also, Are you going to stick with your plans of sending out 55% profit as dividends, keeping 45% for growth, or will you not do that until all shares are sold?  I ask because, I think by sowing the pool statistics of the rigs generating coins, and showing your intention to pay out dividends, while still allowing room for growth, will REALLY get people motivated to buy your remaining shares, possibly letting you sell them at the intended 1 BTC.

Stock wasn't selling at 1 BTC because potential buyers, like me, are waiting to see more than 2 systems on-line at once.  You seem to be suffering from a number of set backs which, while not necessarily your fault, make me wary.  In fact, dropping the price made me more wary.  Hopefully you really will be bringing 7+ systems up, but right now, it could just be a pig in a poke.  I'm not micromanaging your business, which I haven't invested in, but I do believe you are misreading the market.