Archive: Uber

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We first recommended Smart Soda in November 2020. The company makes healthy, vitamin-infused sodas that it sells through two business lines — ready-to-drink bottles and proprietary soda dispensing machines. And in the nearly two years since our recommendation, the company has achieved remarkable success. Smart Soda has grown into a 15 employee outfit operating out of a spacious office in Cleveland. The company has raised fresh financing, and CEO Lior Shafir told us…
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Market Inefficiencies Are an Investor’s Best Friend

By Vin Narayanan on July 19, 2022

There are many different ways to think about which startups to invest in. Some prefer investing in highly disruptive technologies or businesses — like Uber, Tesla or Impossible Foods. Others prefer startups with large or rapidly growing markets. Others like to focus on strong…

New Crypto Legislation to Be Optimistic About

By Vin Narayanan on June 10, 2022

Market Musings Bitcoin has been trading in a narrow range between $29,311 and $31,630 over the last seven days. Ethereum has been trading between $1,911 and $1,731. The trading range for both coins over the last 30 days has been a little wider, with bitcoin trading between $32,000…
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The amount of venture capital flowing into startups dipped below $40 billion last month, according to a Crunchbase report. That’s the lowest monthly investment rate in more than a year and well below the $70 billion invested in November, according to…
In the wake of yet another mass shooting, many Americans are outraged and terrified. While lawmakers continue to argue over gun control legislation, the effects of gun violence are being felt across the country.  That includes businesses too. The May 24 shooting in Uvalde, Texas —…
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Our Five Criteria for Evaluating Startups

By Vin Narayanan on May 10, 2022

Hopefully you’ve noticed the changes at Pre-IPO Profits recently. We emailed you an interesting startup investment opportunity last month. This month, we’re bringing you an exclusive webinar about investing in the KingsCrowd Capital Fund. In June, we’ll…

Data Is Eating the World

By Vin Narayanan on March 23, 2022

For more than 10 years, “software is eating the world” has been an article of faith among startup investors. Marc Andreessen — co-founder of both Netscape and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) — wrote these famous words in a blog post in…
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New Pick: Invest in the Uber of the Apparel Industry

By Andy Gordon on January 13, 2022

Passenger drones – AKA flying cars – are technological marvels. But science fiction has been promising flying cars for decades. So seeing them become reality now feels right. But apparel startup Sene feels like it’s been ripped from the future. It has made a commercially thriving…

SoftBank Is No Longer Getting a Pass

By Andy Gordon on January 8, 2020

SoftBank has a history of writing big checks for flawed startups. And it doesn’t seem to have learned its lesson.
Early investors have few metrics to go by when evaluating potential startup investments. Here are five metrics, in particular, that investors often misconstrue.
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Why Startups Should Be in Every Portfolio

By Adam Sharp on December 3, 2019

We’re headed for a long-overdue recession. So it’s a great time to invest in startups.
In this week’s Mailbag, the Early Investing team addresses startup funding rounds and whether Uber and Lyft are good buys.

Why Big Budgets Can Lead to Low Returns

By Andy Gordon on October 16, 2019

The most successful IPOs over the past decade all have one thing in common. And it’s not revenue growth.

Mailbag: Don’t Dismiss Sectors or Cannabis Stocks

By Early Investing on October 13, 2019

In this week’s Mailbag, the Early Investing team tackles cannabis stocks and startup sectors.
The IPO process is broken. And Silicon Valley isn’t owning up to its role in that dysfunction.
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Pre-IPO Investors Don’t Need to Worry About WeWork

By Adam Sharp on October 1, 2019

WeWork has been a disaster, especially for SoftBank. But fortunately for pre-IPO investors, it’s not really impacting the private startup markets.