Archive: startup investing
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Closing Soon: Last Chance to Invest in Winc
By Vin Narayanan on December 28, 2020
About a month ago, the founders of Winc joined Andy and me on Startup Insider (click here to watch). They wanted to update the First Stage Investor members that invested in them on their progress. And they wanted to let people know that they were raising again (click here to invest). Winc has raised almost $4.5 million in this round. And Winc…
Naughty and Nice Lists for 2020
By Aryelle Young on December 23, 2020
Confession time. The #DogsofTwitter is one of my favorite Twitter communities. In this truly joyful corner of Twitter, dogs of all ages are trying extremely hard right now to be good boys and girls until Santa Paws arrives to give them treats and presents. Yes it’s totally corny.
Investing in Startups Without Traction
By Adam Sharp on December 22, 2020
As a general rule, I prefer to invest in companies that are growing quickly. That means startups with plenty of traction. However, sometimes I do break that rule — and doing so recently produced a great outcome. Back in 2016, I invested in a…
A Bright Future: Startups, Bitcoin and DeFi
By Vin Narayanan on December 21, 2020
I am hopeful. That’s not an easy sentence for me to write here at the end of 2020. Even as the new year approaches, there’s still plenty to be concerned about. A close friend’s dad has taken a turn for the worse (not COVID related —…
The Technical Founder Myth
By Vin Narayanan on December 16, 2020
There are a lot of investing myths floating around out there. Here are a few common ones: You need a lot of money to invest. Cheap stocks have more upside than expensive stocks. You can’t make money when the market is crashing.
Rolling Funds Transforming AngelList
By Adam Sharp on December 15, 2020
Rolling funds on AngelList are continuing to pick up steam. And I’ve been thinking about what the long-term impact of these funds could be for a while now. I believe that — like I said back in September…
New Pick: The Startup That’s Revolutionizing Visual Marketing
By Andy Gordon on December 14, 2020
DEAL DETAILS Startup: Cortex Security type: Preferred Stock Round size: Up to $1.07 million Valuation: $8.42 million Minimum investment: $250 Investment portal: Wefunder Deadline: February 15, 2021…
Beware Hot Tech Stocks
By Adam Sharp on December 11, 2020
As you might have heard, Airbnb had its long-awaited IPO (initial public offering) yesterday. Like a lot of hot public offerings this year, it was pure insanity. Airbnb’s IPO shares were initially priced at $68 — so that’s the price that a small group of well-connected…
Be Ready for Direct Listings
By Vin Narayanan on December 9, 2020
I’m starting to think IPOs — initial public offerings — are overrated. That’s a really weird thing for an early investor to say. Because for early investors, the IPO is the holy grail. It’s why you invest in startups. An IPO is one of the few moments in…
Look Beyond the Lockdowns for the Best Deals
By Adam Sharp on December 8, 2020
At the beginning of the pandemic, I thought startup investing volumes would drop dramatically throughout its duration. I was wrong. Venture capitalists and angel investors seem to be funding more companies than ever. And much of that funding is going to startups that are benefiting from…
New Pick: Invest in Food Robotics That Works
By Andy Gordon on December 7, 2020
DEAL DETAILS Startup: Blendid Security type: Crowd note Valuation (cap): $50 million Discount rate: 20% or 25% Minimum investment: $100 Where to invest: MicroVentures Deadline: June 7, 2021…
The Biggest Change to Venture Capital Since Crowdfunding
By Adam Sharp on December 4, 2020
Note: In May, I wrote an article titled “The New Work From Home Economy.” Then in August, I wrote a piece called “Tech Companies Flee California (Finally).” I recommend reading those first if you haven’t.
The Truth About Investment Sizes
By Adam Sharp on December 1, 2020
I’ve made well over 100 startup investments since 2014. Looking back, there are some mistakes I made early on that I wish I had avoided. One big one is I would get way too excited about some of the startups. I invested too much in my first 10…
Startup Insider: Post-Pandemic Trends
By Early Investing on November 30, 2020
We finally have some good news on the COVID-19 front! It looks like the FDA will approve two vaccines shortly. And that by May or June of next year, we will start getting back to “normal.” So what does normal mean for startup investors? Which consumer…
Startup Insider: An Update from Winc’s Founders
By Early Investing on November 23, 2020
Winc is one of our favorite startups in the First Stage Investor portfolio. Winc is combining big data and a really smart supply chain to disrupt the way wine is made and sold. And since we recommended them right…
2021 Forecast: How Biden Will Affect Startups
By Andy Gordon on November 19, 2020
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting ready for 2020 to be over. Between the prospect of a vaccine and the new $5 million crowdfunding limit, I think next year has a lot going for it. Of course, next year will see the Biden presidency begin too.