Archive: Early Investing

Why You Should Avoid Crypto Trading

By Adam Sharp on October 8, 2021

Almost everyone I know in the crypto community considers themselves a “trader.” Not an investor, a trader. They try to time the market, often using leverage. A lot of people assume that trading is the path to riches. We’ve all heard stories of traders who made 10,000% in a few weeks, often using leverage.  But at least in the stock market world, most traders lose money…

Why I Will Never Invest in a Scooter Startup

By Vin Narayanan on October 6, 2021

I love riding scooters. They’re ubiquitous in big cities and college towns. Everywhere you walk, there they are — just waiting to be used.  Electric scooters are perfect for trips that are too far to walk, but too short to drive. It requires almost no effort…

Bitcoin ETFs Are Almost Here

By Adam Sharp on October 1, 2021

This week Coinbase sponsored an article in the prestigious Institutional Investor publication titled “Expect Growth in Crypto Funds and SEC-Approved ETF Soon.” Here’s an interesting excerpt from the article. …Confidence remains high among…

The Ideal Startup Portfolio Size

By Andy Gordon on September 29, 2021

Most meetings I attend aren’t very exciting. But yesterday’s was fascinating because we discussed one of the most important questions an early investor can ask.  What is the ideal number of companies for a successful startup portfolio?  Many opinions were put forward. So what…

Beware the Cardano Price Mirage

By Adam Sharp on September 24, 2021

This week I struck up a conversation with another parent at my kid’s tennis lesson. The topic of cryptocurrency came up. This gentleman — whom we’ll call Bill — told me that he likes Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) because they’re so much cheaper than bitcoin…
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everything from education to events to healthcare. So it makes sense that it’s impacted the investment landscape too. But while traditional venture capital firms have had to change some of their methods, investing online is nothing new for crowdfunders. So did 2020…

The Dark Side of NFTs

By Adam Sharp on September 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about how NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are the perfect viral asset. NFTs have a lot of interesting characteristics. They’re speculative, subjectively valued and community-based. You could say they’re the perfect viral asset.

3 Qualities to Look for in a Startup Before You Invest

By Allison Brickell on September 15, 2021

If you’re at all new to startup investing, you might feel a little overwhelmed. I know I’ve felt that way. It’s one thing to invest in the stock market. At least there, you’re investing in a public company that has years of financial data…

Which Platforms Have the Most Successful Deals?

By KingsCrowd on September 8, 2021

Editor’s Note: At Early Investing, we research startups that are raising money on all sorts of crowdfunding platforms. Some of the most common platforms include Wefunder, Republic, StartEngine, Netcapital and SeedInvest. But with so many platforms out there, it can be overwhelming…

Institutional Bitcoin Investing Is Finally Happening

By Adam Sharp on September 3, 2021

Mike Alfred is one of the most influential players in the institutional bitcoin investment space. He founded a company called Digital Assets Data. His company — which sold institutional-grade crypto data feeds — was acquired by NYDIG, a leading…

How Early Investors Can Profit From the Unicorn Explosion

By Andy Gordon on September 1, 2021

Unicorns used to be a rare breed. Not anymore.  When Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures first coined the term “unicorn” — referring to startups worth $1 billion or more — in 2013, she identified 39 unicorns. The vast majority were valued below $5 billion. Apart from…

NFT Mania: The Perfect Viral Asset

By Adam Sharp on August 27, 2021

I’ve been following the non-fungible token (NFT) space closely over the last three months. NFTs are a form of digital collectible. They’re based on blockchain technology, which makes each one unique, indivisible and verifiable.  NFTs have gotten a lot of attention recently. But they’ve existed for…

How Crowdfunders Can Invest Better Than Venture Capitalists

By Allison Brickell on August 25, 2021

Drake Dukes, co-founder of startup data platform Gravity, shared some interesting data recently from his analysis of 992 unicorn founders. Now for our secret sauce… Here is the FounderDNA™ of every unicorn founder (992 analyzed): 53% are Serial Founders 35% are Technical…
Back in December 2020, I wrote the following in “Institutional Bitcoin Is Here to Stay:” Insurance giant MassMutual announced last week that it had purchased $100 million worth of BTC. It also took a $5 million equity stake in New York…

Why the “Friends and Family” Round Needs to Change

By Vin Narayanan on August 18, 2021

I am a true believer in the American Dream — the idea that anyone, regardless of race, social class or birthplace can find success in this great country. I believe because I’ve witnessed my family’s journey. My dad immigrated to the U.S. from India 50 years…

A Brutal Market for Shorting Stocks

By Adam Sharp on August 13, 2021

In 2008, I had a big short and put position on mall REITs (real estate investment trusts) and big bank stocks. It worked like a charm at first. My positions were up anywhere from 30% to more than 140%. These companies were leveraged to the hilt.