Archive: startup investing
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New Pick: A Life Preserver for a Planet Drowning in Plastic
By Andy Gordon on December 20, 2021
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 trying and failing for decades while following the same sad script. A new supposedly groundbreaking technology is announced. A big firm says it will build a plant and scale from…
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…
New Pick: Repairing the Broken Relationship Between Pharmaceutical Companies and Patients
By Andy Gordon on December 9, 2021
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…
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…
Top 10 Startup Valuations Both Online and Offline
By KingsCrowd on December 1, 2021
Note: Determining startup valuations is more of an art than a science. Lately, we’ve written about how startup valuations are reaching eye-popping highs. But how do online startup valuations and offline startup valuations compare? That’s the question that our friends at KingsCrowd address…
New Pick: A Legal Services Marketplace Brimming With Upside Potential
By Andy Gordon on November 22, 2021
Deal Details Startup: UpCounsel Security type: SAFE Valuation (cap): $28 million Minimum investment: $250 Where to invest: Wefunder Deadline: December 9,…
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…
Slow Governments Won’t Stop This Startup From Saving the Planet
By Andy Gordon on November 4, 2021
“We need decarbonization now, across every sector in every country,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres tweeted earlier this week. Don’t kill the messenger here, but he’s spitting in the wind. A plea for governments to pick up the pace of decarbonization will do little good. Not…
KingsCrowd Startup Investing Podcast: Elemeno Health Founder Dr. Arup Roy-Burman
By KingsCrowd on November 3, 2021
Note: Elemeno Health is a software-as-a-service platform that provides essential procedural information to doctors and nurses in real time. And it was recently rated a “Deal to Watch” by the KingsCrowd investment team. So we were curious to learn…
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…
KingsCrowd Is a Very Unique Investment Opportunity
By Andy Gordon on October 28, 2021
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve presented nearly 100 startup investment opportunities to First Stage Investors. All of these companies impressed the hell out of me. But there’s one startup that stands apart from all the rest. It’s the only one I’ve…
Strong Follow-On Deals Have These Features
By Adam Sharp on October 26, 2021
When I first got into startup investing, I was mostly investing in early-stage deals. Valuations usually fell between $3 million-to-$10 million (with a few exceptions of around $40 million). I was focused on trying to find the potential big winners as early as I could. And I definitely…
Crowdwise Founder Brian Belley Reveals His Investing Strategy
By KingsCrowd on October 20, 2021
Note: Startup investors spend a lot of time learning about founders. We want to know about their backgrounds, how much business experience they have, what they think the future will look like… But we don’t spend enough time learning about other investors.
Watch Out for This Serious Startup Investing Red Flag
By Adam Sharp on October 19, 2021
Oftentimes in seed rounds, companies explain that they need to raise money before really getting the business started. This can be a serious red flag, depending on the situation. If the company was founded months (or years) ago but has made little to no progress, that’s…
Why I Will Never Invest in a Scooter Startup
By Vin Narayanan on October 6, 2021
I love riding scooters. They’re ubiquitous in big cities and college towns. Everywhere you walk, there they are — just waiting to be used. Electric scooters are perfect for trips that are too far to walk, but too short to drive. It requires almost no effort…
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.