Archive: Articles

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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 be lately. Some of that naturally results from the company being slightly more mature. But the jump in valuations that I’m seeing goes beyond just maturity. Deals that…
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Nano, Decred Looking Up

By Adam Sharp on January 15, 2021

Long-time members know that I’ve always been wary of more centralized cryptocurrencies such as Ripple.  As you probably know by now, the SEC is going after Ripple in a big way. Here’s a brief summary from legal news site JDSupra,.

Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: A Lopsided Battle

By Adam Sharp on January 15, 2021

Investors often ask me why I focus so much on bitcoin instead of altcoins. I get why people ask this question. Bitcoin is already huge. And many investors assume they’ve already missed the boat, so they want to find the next bitcoin. …
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Crypto Monitor: Crypto Market Forecast

By Early Investing on January 8, 2021

Crypto is rolling. Bitcoin cracked the $40,000 mark yesterday. Ethereum is up more than 800% in the last 365 days and nearing its all-time high. And Haven Protocol is up 144% since we first recommended it. So what’s driving the market? Where does the crypto market go next?…
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Bitcoin’s Surge: Supply and Demand in Action

By Vin Narayanan on January 7, 2021

As I write this, bitcoin is trading around $38,300. That means investors that bought bitcoin at the previous market peak in late 2017/early 2018 are up 100%. And people that bought bitcoin at the beginning of 2020 are up about 432%. So why is bitcoin surging…

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…
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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…
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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…
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2020 Turned Into a Great Year for Crypto

By Adam Sharp on December 31, 2020

It’s been an amazing year in crypto! We had a nasty dip in the spring — followed by a roaring comeback once people realized crypto was created for these economic times (massive money printing and even lower interest rates).  Things are truly starting to get interesting…

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…
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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…