Archive: First Stage Investor

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Lots of sectors are broken: banking, housing, education, day care and infrastructure. But none of these are as broken as the physical disability space. Fewer than one out of five arm amputees who need prosthetics actually use them. Available prosthetics are too heavy, clumsy and uncomfortable. They’re super expensive. And their functionality is shockingly limited.  It’s an inexcusable state of affairs… not only because limb-different people deserve better, but also because we can make far better…
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Crypto Insider: Six Major Crypto News Stories Explained

By Early Investing on January 24, 2022

The crypto markets have been in a downward trend lately. But long-term crypto investors have nothing to worry about.  That’s because there are big things happening in the crypto world. In fact, six major crypto news stories broke on the same day in the last week…
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Startup Insider: ESG Investing Makes an Impact

By Early Investing on January 20, 2022

A growing number of investors are focusing on companies with ESG initiatives — environmental, social and corporate governance. These non-financial factors are standards that measure the ethical impact and sustainability of an investment in a company. This is also known as impact investing or sustainable investing. …
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New Pick: Invest in the Uber of the Apparel Industry

By Andy Gordon on January 13, 2022

Passenger drones – AKA flying cars – are technological marvels. But science fiction has been promising flying cars for decades. So seeing them become reality now feels right. But apparel startup Sene feels like it’s been ripped from the future. It has made a commercially thriving…
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While many Americans across the country have pledged to take part in dry January, others still seek out alcohol as a way to relax and socialize.  If only there was a high-quality company that could provide for both types…
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Here’s the deal. I’ve just given you $100 million to start your own bank (you can thank me later) on your own private island. U.S. rules don’t apply there. You make your own rules. So what would they be? Here’s my fantasy list… I’m the only…
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Startup Update: Turning Misfortune Into Opportunity

By Andy Gordon on December 30, 2021

We first presented Amsterdam-based Tradefox in 2017 (back when it was called Scrap Connection). We presented the company again in 2019. It provides a business intelligence and trading platform for…
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12 Things We’re Grateful For

By Early Investing on December 23, 2021

It’s been a heck of a year. We saw Congress propose using crypto to fund a $1 trillion infrastructure bill… ProShares launch the first bitcoin ETF… and NFTs take the world by storm.
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We’re drowning in plastics. The problem is monumental and global. It’s threatening to slowly but surely kill the planet. It’s also getting worse. And what’s really worrisome is that the biggest companies in the world can’t figure out how to stop it.  They’ve been…
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Crypto Insider: Don’t Trust Visa

By Early Investing on December 16, 2021

Visa – which controls around 80% of the global card payments market – is moving into crypto consulting. The company plans to advise clients who want to navigate the world of crypto. And it already has a bank signed up – UMB Bank in Kansas City. Most bafflingly,…
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Startup Insider: The 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

By Early Investing on December 13, 2021

The holiday season is upon us. And that means it’s time to do some shopping.  If you’re in need of some quality gift ideas, look no further. In this episode of Startup Insider, Vin Narayanan and Andy Gordon provide gift recommendations from some of…
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Deal Details Startup: Responsum Health Security type: Crowd SAFE* Valuation (cap): $4.5 million Discount: 0% Minimum investment: $100 Where to invest: Republic Deadline: January 2, 2022…
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Crypto Insider: Explaining the NFT Explosion

By Early Investing on December 6, 2021

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have officially taken the world by storm. Collins Dictionary named “NFT” 2021’s word of the year. The use of the term increased 11,000% this year.  In basic terms, an NFT is a piece of digital content linked to the blockchain. NFTs are also…
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Aavrani Grows Sales and Sets Its Sights on Expansion

By Andy Gordon on December 2, 2021

I just got off the phone with Justin Silver, the co-founder and COO of Aavrani. He reported significant progress on several fronts.  We introduced Aavrani — a beauty company rooted in Indian tradition and rituals — to First Stage Investor…
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Grammarly is on a roll. The popular auto-editing software tool has raised $200 million from Baillie Gifford and other investors at a $13 billion valuation.  Grammarly is not a particularly exciting company. It helps delete unnecessary prepositional phrases and other grammatical errors — not exactly earth-shattering…
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Deal Details Startup: UpCounsel Security type: SAFE Valuation (cap): $28 million  Minimum investment: $250 Where to invest: Wefunder Deadline: December 9,…