Archive: startups
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Startup Insider: (Don’t) Follow Your Passion
By Early Investing on July 8, 2021
Venture capital legend Marc Andreessen — founder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of the earliest architects of the internet — has some advice for young people. Don’t follow your passion. “Your passion is likely more dumb and useless than anything else. Your passion should be your hobby, not your work. Do it in your spare time,” he told blogger Noah Smith. It sounds pessimistic. But in the same interview, Andreessen goes on to say this: It can sometimes feel that…
How Startups Are Joining the Battle Against Addiction
By Andy Gordon on July 7, 2021
Many Americans prepared for their July 4th festivities last week. But for thousands of Americans, celebrating was the furthest thing from their minds. Instead, it would be another weekend of coping with opioid addiction. As COVID-19 finally shows signs of winding down, America’s other pandemic —…
Startup Insider: The Inside Track on Startup Accelerators
By Early Investing on June 28, 2021
When researching investment opportunities, investors need to review revenue numbers, market size, founder experience and other criteria. But what about accelerators? Some startups list their membership in a startup accelerator as a badge of honor. But what is an accelerator? And should investors take them into account when vetting startups?…
Startup Valuations Aren’t Changing Anytime Soon
By Adam Sharp on June 22, 2021
Lately, I’ve written a lot about how expensive startup valuations have become. It’s gotten pretty silly in some cases. Now I’m wondering: Are they going to get cheaper anytime soon? Based on what I’m seeing, I’m leaning towards no.
Startup Insider: Why Startups Shouldn’t Fear Amazon
By Early Investing on June 21, 2021
It’s Amazon Prime Day, which means millions of people across the world are scanning Amazon’s marketplace for deals on everything from portable ice makers to dog DNA tests. This shopping holiday has historically generated massive sales. On Prime Day in 2020, third-party sellers on Amazon made more than…
Medtech Startups Need to Overcome Cautious Doctors
By Andy Gordon on June 9, 2021
Great technology means a great investment, right? It’s never that easy for investors interested in an early-stage tech company. And for investors like me who are enamored with the medtech startup scene, it’s even more complicated. That’s why I conducted an experiment with my primary physician last year. I wanted…
The Most Interesting Person in Startups: Buck Jordan
By Early Investing on March 22, 2021
Some of you may remember the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World TV commercials. Buck Jordan, the CEO and founder of Wavemaker Labs, is the startup equivalent of the Most Interesting Man in the World. And Andy Gordon and Vin Narayanan interviewed him Friday for this…
How To Invest in Complex Concepts
By Adam Sharp on October 20, 2020
I sometimes get invited to participate in deals in areas I don’t understand well — like biotechnology. In almost all these cases, the science is over my head. So I generally don’t invest in startups that are in complex areas (for me). However, there are certain investors who I respect…
Portfolio Update: Winc Making Rapid Progress
By Andy Gordon on October 19, 2020
We have good news on Winc, which we recommended last December. Winc is thriving. We recommended Winc because we loved its business model and traction. Winc collects data from its hundreds of thousands of customers and uses that data to make wines its customers love. Of…
Startup Insider: Assessing Founder Risk
By Early Investing on September 21, 2020
Last week, StockX cofounder Josh Luber left the company he started in 2016. Luber helped build StockX into a $1 billion startup. It hasn’t gone public yet. StockX is probably in good hands. But Luber’s departure illustrates a problem that faces…
TradeFox’s COVID-19 Pivot May Change Industry
By Andy Gordon on June 1, 2020
COVID-19 has hit TradeFox harder than most companies in our First Stage Investor portfolio. As a trade analytics company (primarily in scrap metal and recyclables), TradeFox provides business reports on more than 110,000 companies worldwide. It was doing great…
Raise Your Personal Investment Bar
By Adam Sharp on May 19, 2020
As I mentioned last week, there’s been a significant decrease in the number of startup deals coming across my desk lately. On the bright side, though, the quality of deals on accredited sites like AngelList is much higher (on average) than I’ve ever seen. This is a common trend during…
NowRx Facing “Unprecedented” Demand
By Andy Gordon on May 18, 2020
When we first recommended NowRx to you in July 2018, its valuation was $20 million. Last November, we recommended you invest in the company again at a $65 million valuation — a more than 3X increase on your original investment price. We were impressed by its execution and…
Not All Hot Sectors Have Staying Power
By Adam Sharp on May 15, 2020
In today’s world of quarantines and lockdowns, there’s a huge divide between winners and losers. Brick-and-mortar retail, travel, and construction are all getting hammered. But some sectors are still thriving. Today we’re going to take a look at a few of them — and discuss whether they’re worth investing in…
New Crowdfunding Rules Bring New Opportunities
By Andy Gordon on May 13, 2020
Economic crises can reveal a lot about established companies. Are they nimble enough to pivot? Can they come up with creative solutions to adapt to a new environment? Was the company prepared for an emergency? Apple and Google were sitting on a pile of cash. They were definitely prepared for…
Startup Deal Flow Changing
By Adam Sharp on May 12, 2020
One of my favorite AngelList syndicate leaders recently wrote a note to all the members of his syndicate. He told us the volume of new deals he’s seeing is down about 90%. Many of the startup deals we’re seeing right now were arranged before the COVID-19 quarantines started. These deals…