Dear Startup Investor,
I’ve always been keenly aware that we’re a startup living and investing in a startup world.
We monitor the progress of startups we like.
We also write about the changes taking place among our favorite startup portals and incubators.
But who tracks us? Who writes about us?
We don’t draw much attention from the media.
Really, that’s what we prefer. We love the fact that we’re operating under people’s radar.
It allows us to do our job without distraction.
And to focus on our mission – helping you construct the best startup portfolio possible.
Listen, I don’t believe in looking back.
But every now and then, it’s worth taking stock.
And as we approach our first annual Startup Investor Summit – taking place in San Francisco in a couple of weeks – it seems to me that this is one of those times.
As a startup, we’re 2 years old. Still young.
But, to tell you the truth, it doesn’t feel that way.
It feels like we’ve learned a lot and accomplished a lot.
Here are just a few of the things we’ve done…
- We have a portfolio of 24 recommended startup investments. In terms of number of startups, though, it’s more, because two of the 24 are funds made up of several startup companies.
- We recommended our first fund last September and our second fund this past March. Why did we do it? It’s a very cost-efficient way to diversify. Our funds have five to 10 startup companies each with a minimum stake of $10,000. There’s probably no cheaper or easier way to build a well-rounded and high-caliber startup portfolio. It’s why we’ve made the pledge to offer you a new fully vetted fund every quarter.
- Of course, quantity means nothing without quality. We pride ourselves on recommending the cream of the crop. How are we doing? We already have several companies valuated at multiple times more than the price we paid for their shares. Among the ones that stand out are Geekatoo, MST, Wefunder, Apploi, Dealflicks, Underground Cellar and SeedInvest.
- We depend on the cooperation of several startup portals, such as Wefunder, SeedInvest, OurCrowd, MicroVentures, Onevest and AngelList. And we have established strong working relationships with all of them.
- We haven’t co-hosted (along with Onevest) our live-streaming Shark Tank-like events just for the entertainment value. They provide an opportunity to listen and judge founders pitching their startups. We’ll be offering more of them.
- And now we’re about to hold our inaugural Startup Investor Summit event in the heart of Silicon Valley, San Francisco.
What’s Next?
More great startups and top fund recommendations, of course. Plus some new things you can expect…
- Our best fund yet? Well, that’s a high bar, in our opinion, but we’re very excited about our next fund. More details soon.
- We’ll be doing more Shark Tank-like events, but also expanding our repertoire to include educational topics such as how to invest in the best syndicates. We’re planning one right now with the outstanding portal OurCrowd.
- More feedback from you. Curious about something? Ask us. Comment on how you think our startup holdings are doing. Suggest an industry or market we should target. We’ll be adding new features to our Startup Investor website to make all of this possible.
- And we’ll be reaching out to those members who want to do more than just passively invest. If you have business or technical expertise you want to share… if you think you can help a founder succeed… if being a mentor or advisor to a startup you’ve invested in appeals to you, we’ll be asking you to step forward. Many startups welcome assistance and advice from their investors. We want to make sure they know whom they can tap from our membership to help them succeed.
These are just a few of the things coming up in the next year.
We want to be more responsive to our members and we want our members to become more of a community of investors. And we certainly want to continue to excel at the nuts and bolts of our service: vetting great startups for you to invest in.
We hope you’ve had a positive experience. And we’re certainly glad you’re with us.
Invest well and early,
Andy Gordon
Startup Investor Portfolio
