Archive: startup
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The Disadvantages of a SPAC Investment
By Andy Gordon on January 20, 2021
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are enjoying their moment in the sun. They’ve shot into prominence as a way for startups to make an initial public offering (IPO) and join public stock exchanges. They offer founders unprecedented speed. And for some investors — more on that later — they can provide unique advantages. There were double the number of SPAC IPOs in 2020 than there were in 2019. And for an extended…
Later Stage Startup Valuations are Rising
By Adam Sharp on January 19, 2021
Most of the deals I get invited to online are early-stage ones — pre-seed, seed, and Series A. But I do see a fair number of Series B and C deals as well. And I’ve noticed that the later the deal is, the higher the valuation tends to…
New Pick: Invest in Incredibly Accurate and Fast Food Safety Tests
By Andy Gordon on January 14, 2021
Deal Details Startup: SnapDNA Security type: Crowd SAFE Discount: 10% Valuation (cap): $28 million Minimum investment: $150 Where to invest: Republic Deadline: April 28, 2021…
Developing Battery Tech for the Future
By Andy Gordon on January 13, 2021
There are lithium batteries in your smartphones… your laptops… and hybrid vehicles. Lithium represents 70%-to-90% of the battery market — and that market is about to soar. The lithium battery market is worth $112 billion annually now. It’s projected to reach $546 billion in 15 years. And lithium…
A Unique Startup Investment Opportunity
By Vin Narayanan on January 12, 2021
As many of you know, the Early Investing team joined forces with KingCrowd last year. KingsCrowd is a startup whose goal is to provide all investors with institutional grade ratings and analytics for the startup space. In essence, it…
Startup Insider: Making Smart Biotech Investments
By Early Investing on January 11, 2021
Seed stage investing in pharma and biotech companies is a little different than seed stage investing in other sectors. When pharma and biotech companies approach crowdfunders, they’re usually pre-clinical — which means that human trials haven’t begun yet. And they’re raising amounts of money that can’t possibly sustain…
Long-Term Investing: Stable Returns, Fewer Risks
By Adam Sharp on January 8, 2021
“The single greatest edge an investor can have is a long-term orientation.” -Jesse Livermore I’ve been investing for 20 years now. The first few years were painful ones spent learning lessons the hard way. I tried day trading and picking…
WeWork Disaster Shows Crowdfunding’s Advantages
By Andy Gordon on January 6, 2021
Just this week, I came across an intriguing startup investment opportunity. A Philadelphia-based company was offering shared office space for physicians and related medical practices. Doctors — especially those just starting their practices — are often forced to accept expensive and long-term leases. It’s a real problem that…
The Strength of Early-Stage Companies
By Adam Sharp on January 5, 2021
We live in a remarkably disruptive time. New technologies are changing the way almost every industry operates. There’s a lot of opportunity for innovative companies to make a big impact. But we also live in a very unique time when it comes to finance and monetary…
Startup Insider: Crowdfunders Poised to Beat VCs
By Early Investing on January 4, 2021
2021 is here and the startup investing landscape is changing! This year, the limit on how much a startup can raise through crowdfunding increases from $1.07 million to $5 million. That’s great news for investors like us. And venture capitalists (VCs) don’t know…
Making the Most of 2021: New Year’s Resolutions
By Vin Narayanan on December 30, 2020
Traditionally, I haven’t been a big New Year’s resolutions guy. Which is weird — because I love life hacks. I’m always looking for the best fitness app, the best portfolio tracking tool, the best note taking tool… you get the picture. I used to view New…
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…
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.