Archive: Startup Insider
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Startup Insider: What Instacart’s Valuation Trim Means for the Startup Market
By Early Investing on April 11, 2022
Instacart got a haircut. The company sliced its valuation by nearly 40% from $39 billion to $24 billion — despite the fact that it saw 30% year-over-year growth last year. And Instacart is not the only high-tech company trimming its valuation. So what’s going on? In this episode of Startup Insider, Vin Narayanan and Andy Gordon discuss why Instacart trimmed its valuation, what this means for startup valuations in general, what trends investors can…
Startup Insider: Data Takes Over
By Early Investing on March 28, 2022
In 2011, Marc Andreessen — co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz — proclaimed that “software is eating the world.” It’s been a mantra of tech investors ever since. But today an even more powerful force is overtaking software: data. Data is a gold mine for…
Startup Insider: The Power of Luck
By Early Investing on March 17, 2022
When investors evaluate startups, they need to consider a wide range of factors. Some factors — like founder experience and financial performance — are straightforward. Others — like profit potential and scalability — are more speculative and difficult to measure. Then there’s luck. As…
Startup Insider: Ukraine’s Mighty Startup Scene
By Early Investing on March 7, 2022
When news broke that Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, people around the world responded with shock. Now headlines about the ongoing war describe civilians fleeing their homes, protesters resisting Russian forces and government officials discussing their next moves. But the mainstream headlines may not tell…
Startup Insider: Why You’re Analyzing Competition All Wrong
By Early Investing on March 3, 2022
Competition is an essential part of the startup world. When evaluating a startup, investors need to study its target industry and understand what its competition looks like. But this is where investors typically fall into a trap. If the startup has a lot of competitors, investors…
Startup Insider: Medtech Portfolio Company Changes Name
By Early Investing on February 7, 2022
Heart failure is a massive health problem in the U.S. More than 6 million Americans have it. And it’s one of the most expensive health problems for patients to manage. Early detection is the key for effective treatment. But no company has been able to provide…
Startup Insider: This Software Startup Is Making Drastic Changes for the Better
By Early Investing on January 31, 2022
Marketing is both an art and a science. Companies are constantly trying to better understand their customers’ innermost desires. And it’s up to marketers to come up with creative ways to tap into those desires. But marketers are working with very limited information. They don’t…
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. …
Startup Insider: A Conversation With Serial Entrepreneur Mark Lynn
By Early Investing on January 10, 2022
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…
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…
Startup Insider: Grammarly Raises $200 Million at a $13 Billion Valuation
By Early Investing on November 29, 2021
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…
Startup Insider: Why U.S. Venture Capitalists Are Targeting European Startups
By Early Investing on November 15, 2021
In the first three quarters of this year, U.S. venture capitalists (VCs) invested around $59 billion in European startups. And European VCs aren’t worried about it — as long as their startup ecosystem keeps growing. This has a lot of implications for startup investors in the…
Startup Insider: What Makes a Bad Founder
By Early Investing on November 1, 2021
At First Stage Investor, we spend a lot of time talking about founders. We usually focus on what makes a good founder — the qualities that investors should look for before they sink money into a startup. But since we just celebrated…
Startup Insider: The Most Promising Cannabis Companies
By Early Investing on October 25, 2021
Last week, one of the leading marijuana business conventions — MJBizCon — took place in Las Vegas. And First Stage Investor’s own Vin Narayanan was there to see firsthand what’s going on in the cannabis industry. Many people have been disappointed by…
Startup Insider: Investing Lessons From the Toast IPO
By Early Investing on October 4, 2021
Toast — a provider of hardware and software to restaurants — went public a week and a half ago at a roughly $30 billion valuation. But unlike most billion-dollar startups, Toast wasn’t on venture capitalists’ radar from the beginning.
Startup Insider: Mailchimp Proves There Are Many Ways for Startups to Succeed
By Early Investing on September 20, 2021
Last week, financial software giant Intuit confirmed it was buying Mailchimp — an email marketing/content tool — for a whopping $12 billion. The buyout proves there are lots of different ways for a startup to succeed. But it also raises a lot of questions — namely,…