Archive: startup investing

How to Evaluate Deep Tech Startups

By Andy Gordon on June 23, 2021

When you’re vetting tech startups, it’s not enough to simply note their sectors. Identifying a startup’s sector is merely the first step.  You need to ask yourself what kind of tech has you intrigued.  Is it a frontier technology company? Frontier technology has been described as the intersection where radical forward thinking and real-world implementation meet. And yes, that’s open to wide interpretation. My take is that these technologies are…
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Startup Valuations Aren’t Changing Anytime Soon

By Adam Sharp on June 22, 2021

Lately, I’ve written a lot about how expensive startup valuations have become. It’s gotten pretty silly in some cases.  Now I’m wondering: Are they going to get cheaper anytime soon?  Based on what I’m seeing, I’m leaning towards no.
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Startup Insider: Why Startups Shouldn’t Fear Amazon

By Early Investing on June 21, 2021

It’s Amazon Prime Day, which means millions of people across the world are scanning Amazon’s marketplace for deals on everything from portable ice makers to dog DNA tests. This shopping holiday has historically generated massive sales. On Prime Day in 2020, third-party sellers on Amazon made more than…
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Cannabis use has been exploding across the country. But it’s a disjointed market.  Cannabis operators rely on software programs for their team communications, distribution, compliance documentation and more. And these programs are a tangled mess with no cross-communication. Operators typically spend $5,000-to-$7,000 a month…

E-Commerce Startups Have a Massive Opportunity

By Vin Narayanan on June 16, 2021

E-commerce feels like it’s everywhere. But the truth is that even during a pandemic, e-commerce accounted for less than 15% of total retail sales in the U.S. According to the United Nations,…
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Don’t Make These 6 Investing Mistakes

By Adam Sharp on June 15, 2021

One of my favorite startup investors, Jason Lemkin, tweeted something very insightful the other day. My top mistakes investing: Investing when not 90%+ sure within 20 mins Not doing pro-rata 100% time if great Investing in any founder don’t 100% trust Not investing just b/c don’t 100% understand it Investing…
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Don’t Look Backwards In Startup Investing

By Andy Gordon on June 10, 2021

Over the past five years, the top 25 venture capital (VC) firms invested in around 1,600 early-stage startups.  According to CB Insights, the sectors with the biggest increase in investments from VCs are fintech, enterprise software, enterprise analytics, pharmaceuticals,…
Great technology means a great investment, right? It’s never that easy for investors interested in an early-stage tech company. And for investors like me who are enamored with the medtech startup scene, it’s even more complicated. That’s why I conducted an experiment with my primary physician last year. I wanted…
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How to Invest in an Overheated Market

By Adam Sharp on June 8, 2021

It’s been a fascinating last year and a half in the startup investing world. We went from a complete meltdown in March 2020 to one of the hottest venture capital markets I’ve ever seen. I’ve been quite selective throughout this time, preferring to stick to early-stage…
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One of the most popular investing myths is that a good technical startup needs a co-founder who can handle all of the technology or software development. And the lack of a Silicon Valley tech wizard spells failure or doom. But that’s really outdated thinking. As Vin…
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There’s an ancient adage I have leaned upon at certain times in my life: What doesn’t destroy you makes you stronger. It certainly applies to AlphaFlow, the startup I’m showing you today.  2020 was the ultimate stress test for AlphaFlow. And it survived. …
Every investor has preferences and biases that influence which startups they choose to invest in. And some sectors play to an investor’s values more than others. Whenever anybody asks me which sectors I prefer, I say it doesn’t matter to me. And I mean it. …
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I recently spoke to Chris Yerbey, the founder and CEO of Amsterdam-based Tradefox. We recommended TradeFox in 2017 (back when it was called Scrap Connection) and again in 2019. It provides a business intelligence and trading…

The Real Problem with SPACs

By Andy Gordon on May 26, 2021

I’ve never hidden my disdain of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). As a refresher, SPACs are shell companies that attract investors and then go public in order to merge with a specific startup, thereby taking the startup public. I laid into them back in January in…
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Inflation appears to have arrived in the U.S. I say “appears to have arrived” because in my opinion, we’ve been dealing with at least 6% inflation for more than 5 years. The reason you haven’t heard about that is because the government manipulates the official consumer price index…
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Digital Brands Group (DBG) had its initial public offering (IPO) recently. And it generated some confusion and many questions from our members. So I’m taking the opportunity today to address some of the issues you’ve raised. To refresh your memory, DBG’s IPO incorporated a “reverse stock…