Archive: startup investing

First Mover Advantage Is Not as Important as You Think

By Vin Narayanan on January 25, 2023

I skipped out on Wordle-mania two years ago. The game (in which users get six chances to guess a five-letter word) launched in October 2021. And it took off.   People shared their Wordle successes and strategies on Twitter and Facebook. Companies started creating Slack channels for Wordle so it wouldn’t interfere with messages about actual work. It was almost impossible to make it through the day without seeing a Wordle post.
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According to PitchBook, 2023 is expected to be a record year for the private equity secondary market. Secondary transactions — where investors buy and sell existing shares in private companies or funds — reached new highs in 2022 and hit $57 billion in…
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Editor’s Note: This recommendation was co-authored by KingsCrowd Senior Investment Research Analyst Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau. My young colleague Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau is almost as well-traveled as I am (pretty remarkable since she’s about one-eighth my age). We love to…
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Editor’s Note: This recommendation was co-authored by KingsCrowd Investment Research Manager Francis Vu. Asaak — the company I’m introducing to you today —  immediately intrigued me. As a Uganda-based fintech company, it’s very different from other startups I’ve shared…
The private markets have a transparency problem. Current regulations don’t require private companies to provide the same amount of information to investors as public companies are required to provide. And this is doing some real harm to investors.  How did we get here? And can things…
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New Pick: Unifying a Divided Smart Home Market

By Andy Gordon on January 12, 2023

Note: This report was co-authored by KingsCrowd Investment Research Manager Francis Vu. I was wrong about the Internet of Things (IoT). I began touting the coming revolution in smart devices about eight years ago. I said it…
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Angel Insider: The Dangers of Disrupting the Auto Industry

By Early Investing on January 10, 2023

It’s a tough gig for electric automakers right now. Electric vehicle maker Rivian originally forecast it would produce 50,000 cars in 2022. Then it cut that production target in half to 25,000. And it still missed the target. Rivian produced 24,337 vehicles last year and…

The Early Investing Podcast: What We’d Like to See in 2023

By Early Investing on January 4, 2023

It’s a new year. And investors have a world of possibilities before them. We’re already facing some major challenges left over from 2022 — runaway inflation, a crypto bear market, and worsening climate change, to name a few. But that doesn’t mean 2023 will be a…
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Angel Insider: The Wisdom (and Worries) of Pivoting

By Early Investing on January 3, 2023

Pivoting — changing the core product, service, or fundamental direction of a business — is nothing new in the startup world. Startup founders pivot their companies all the time. Sometimes the pivot is straightforward, like switching from direct sales to a subscription-based revenue model. Other pivots can move…
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Note: This recommendation was co-authored by KingsCrowd Investment Research Analyst Teddy Lyons. I prefer to stay as far away from hospitals as possible.  Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate hospitals. But I also know that hospitals are…

The Early Investing Podcast: Our Favorite Products of 2022

By Early Investing on December 21, 2022

2022 is almost at an end. And as we get ready to enter a new year, the Early Investing team is reflecting on all of the great startups and products we learned about this year.  From botanical non-alcoholic spirits to coffee alternatives…
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A New Standard for Investment Portfolios

By Ahmad Takatkah on December 20, 2022

True innovation in finance is rare. In 1952, Nobel Prize Laureate Harry Markowitz created one such innovation as a long-term portfolio strategy: the 60/40 portfolio. This concept involves investing 60% of portfolio capital in stocks and 40% in bonds. It offers the potential for high returns from stocks…
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World Tree Steps Up Its Game

By Andy Gordon on December 19, 2022

World Tree is raising again — this time on StartEngine. This raise gives old and new investors alike a chance to grab a revenue share of the 2032 Empress Splendor harvest.  Raising every year is baked into World Tree’s…
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Note: This recommendation was co-authored by KingsCrowd Investment Research Analyst Teddy Lyons. Imagine if there was a material that was as strong as steel, but three times lighter.  Impossible, right? Well, the startup I’m going…
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Different Ways to Give Back to Your Startup Investments

By Early Investing on December 13, 2022

It takes a lot for a startup to succeed. At minimum, it needs a good idea, a stellar team to bring that idea to life and money to make it all happen. Most startup founders need help with all of this. Investors provide money, of course.
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What Went Wrong With NowRx

By Andy Gordon on December 12, 2022

Last Monday, I told you that NowRx was going out of business. Today, I’m going to share some more thoughts on why it happened.  The company says it was because of the deteriorating economy. But there’s a lot more to it…