Archive: startup

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Portfolio Update: Aavrani Has a New Look

By Andy Gordon on August 17, 2020

Aavrani keeps rolling on. I recommended the skincare company last October. Since then, the company has increased sales, added a couple of key hires and brought on hundreds of new influencers. And, to top things off, Aavrani recently finished a complete rebranding — from website to logos, labels and packaging.  Aavrani is continuing the trend of First Stage Investor companies doing surprisingly well during these difficult times. …

Medicine’s Future is a Good Investment

By Adam Sharp on August 14, 2020

As humans, we all have trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies. The “germs” (bacteria, viruses, fungi) present in and on a person are collectively known as a microbiome.  Growing up, many of us were taught that bacteria and…
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Invest in Award-Winning Tequila

By Andy Gordon on August 13, 2020

DEAL DETAILS Startup: AsomBroso Tequila Security type: Common stock Valuation (cap): $32.2 million Price per share: $3.95 Discount: Eligible for the StartEngine Owner’s 10% Bonus Minimum investment: $355…

3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Invest

By Andy Gordon on August 12, 2020

The best startups make the world faster, safer, cheaper, more convenient, less dirty and more fun. Their innovative products meet old needs in new ways — or address new needs in any way they can.  Of course, a startup needs a lot more than just a…
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AngelList’s New Rolling Funds Worth the Look

By Adam Sharp on August 11, 2020

Back in February, AngelList introduced a new feature called “rolling funds.” It’s a new type of fund that invests in startups.  To understand what’s unique about rolling funds, we first need to know how traditional venture funds work. Traditional funds typically…
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Startup Insider: Private Markets Surge

By Early Investing on August 10, 2020

Restaurants are struggling. Retailers are declaring bankruptcy. But startups? They’re doing quite well, thank you very much. Many startups have seen increased demand. Their valuations are holding steady. And raising money hasn’t been a problem at all. So why are the private markets surging when everyone predicted doom…
Last week, Republic founder and CEO Kendrick Nguyen joined us for an exclusive live webinar. As many of you know, Republic is one of the most innovative equity crowdfunding platforms. In addition to helping everyday investors like you and me invest in startups, they also provide access to…

The Power of the Private Market

By Adam Sharp on July 31, 2020

Two amazing American companies went public (IPO’d) in 2004 — Google (GOOG) and Domino’s Pizza (DPZ).  Since then, Google (now Alphabet) has become one of the largest companies in the world. Today it’s worth more than $1 trillion. Domino’s is currently valued…
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Invest in Connecting With Customers

By Andy Gordon on July 30, 2020

DEAL DETAILS Startup: goDeskless Security type: Crowd note Valuation (cap): $7 million Discount rate: 20%  Minimum investment: $100 Where to invest: MicroVentures Deadline: August 17, 2020 Conversion provisions:…

Republic CEO on Four Years of Equity Crowdfunding

By Early Investing on July 29, 2020

Note: Equity crowdfunding and Republic both turned four this year! To mark the occasion, our friends at KingsCrowd reached out to Republic CEO and co-founder Kendrick Nguyen to hear his thoughts on the future of startup investing. We wanted to share their piece…
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Finding the Best AngelList Syndicate Leaders

By Adam Sharp on July 28, 2020

Chris Sacca is a legend in the angel/VC world. His first VC fund — Lowercase Fund I — has been called the best-performing fund of all time.  Here’s how Fortune described it back in 2015. Can you name…
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Webinar Reminder: Meet Republic’s CEO

By Vin Narayanan on July 27, 2020

Editor’s Note: In case you missed it, we’re hosting a special webinar with Republic founder and CEO Kendrick Nguyen on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT. The invitation is below. We hope you join us. Andy Gordon will be back on Thursday with…

Upcoming Webinar: Meet Republic’s CEO

By Vin Narayanan on July 22, 2020

In the past few weeks, we’ve written extensively about the Republic Note. In early July, Andy Gordon first reported on the Note — calling it an opportunity unlike any other. And on Monday, Andy recommended that our First Stage Investor…
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The Importance of Co-Investors

By Adam Sharp on July 21, 2020

As online angel investors, there’s an easy metric we can use when judging possible investments. If we pay attention to who else is investing in a startup’s round (also known as co-investors), we can learn a lot about the quality of the deal.  For example, if…
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Invest in the Next Generation of Coders

By Andy Gordon on July 16, 2020

Deal Details Startup: CodeCombat Security type: Preferred equity Valuation: $25 million Share price: $1.71 Stage: Series A Minimum investment: $500 Where to invest: SeedInvest Deadline: August 7. (But campaign may end earlier if maximum target is reached.)   CodeCombat…

Grading the SEC’s Proposed Crowdfunding Changes

By Andy Gordon on July 15, 2020

The SEC is about to make a series of modifications to equity crowdfunding regulations. These updates come a little more than four years after it first enabled regular investors like you and me to crowdfund startups.  Back then, the SEC was mostly concerned with protecting investors.