Archive: Early Investing

China May Lose Its Battle Against Crypto

By Vin Narayanan on November 17, 2021

I’m done with China. I’m done with it banning crypto transactions. I’m done with it pretending to protect the environment by banning bitcoin mining. I’m done with these silly little temper tantrums and fits impacting the crypto markets. (Environmental prattle about bitcoin mining likely triggered bitcoin’s most recent selloff). I’m done with it all. Here’s the only reason China wants to…

Explosive Returns Drive Record Crypto Investment

By Adam Sharp on November 12, 2021

Venture capitalists (VCs) invested a record $6.5 billion in crypto in the third quarter of 2021. Here are some highlights from a November 2 CoinDesk article. The U.S. continued to lead the world in VC funding into the crypto…

How to Avoid Crypto Scams

By Allison Brickell on November 10, 2021

You’ve heard of Dogecoin. Now get ready for Squid Game.  Or rather, don’t get ready for it. Because the Squid Game token is a scam. The token — based on the popular Netflix series Squid Game — experienced a wild…
Note: Elemeno Health is a software-as-a-service platform that provides essential procedural information to doctors and nurses in real time. And it was recently rated a “Deal to Watch” by the KingsCrowd investment team. So we were curious to learn…

The Metaverse Must Be Decentralized

By Adam Sharp on October 29, 2021

As soon as I saw the headline, I cringed. “Facebook changes its name to Meta.”  The new name is a not-so-subtle reference to the Metaverse. Facebook plans to invest $10 billion to build an immersive VR platform (demo here).

KingsCrowd Is a Very Unique Investment Opportunity

By Andy Gordon on October 28, 2021

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve presented nearly 100 startup investment opportunities to First Stage Investors.  All of these companies impressed the hell out of me. But there’s one startup that stands apart from all the rest. It’s the only one I’ve…
Full disclosure: I own a small amount of DWAC shares (.02 percent of portfolio investment). Note that this is a highly speculative investment and is already up a ridiculous amount. Do not construe this as financial advice.  On Thursday, former President Donald Trump launched a special…
Note: Startup investors spend a lot of time learning about founders. We want to know about their backgrounds, how much business experience they have, what they think the future will look like… But we don’t spend enough time learning about other investors.

Three Catalysts Could Launch Bitcoin to $200k

By Adam Sharp on October 15, 2021

As I write this, bitcoin is trading at around $60,000. That’s close to the previous all-time-high of $64,863 that it reached on April 14. And I believe we’re headed significantly higher over the next year and a half — maybe even to $200,000 before this bull market is…

Look Beyond Big Tech Investments

By Allison Brickell on October 13, 2021

Last Monday, Facebook experienced an outage that lasted for about six hours. Users couldn’t access Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp or OculusVR.  The effects were felt across the world. Suddenly, everyone who relied on Facebook or WhatsApp for communication was left in a lurch. Even…

Why You Should Avoid Crypto Trading

By Adam Sharp on October 8, 2021

Almost everyone I know in the crypto community considers themselves a “trader.” Not an investor, a trader. They try to time the market, often using leverage. A lot of people assume that trading is the path to riches.

Why I Will Never Invest in a Scooter Startup

By Vin Narayanan on October 6, 2021

I love riding scooters. They’re ubiquitous in big cities and college towns. Everywhere you walk, there they are — just waiting to be used.  Electric scooters are perfect for trips that are too far to walk, but too short to drive. It requires almost no effort…

Bitcoin ETFs Are Almost Here

By Adam Sharp on October 1, 2021

This week Coinbase sponsored an article in the prestigious Institutional Investor publication titled “Expect Growth in Crypto Funds and SEC-Approved ETF Soon.” Here’s an interesting excerpt from the article. …Confidence remains high among…

The Ideal Startup Portfolio Size

By Andy Gordon on September 29, 2021

Most meetings I attend aren’t very exciting. But yesterday’s was fascinating because we discussed one of the most important questions an early investor can ask.  What is the ideal number of companies for a successful startup portfolio?  Many opinions were put forward. So what…

Beware the Cardano Price Mirage

By Adam Sharp on September 24, 2021

This week I struck up a conversation with another parent at my kid’s tennis lesson. The topic of cryptocurrency came up. This gentleman — whom we’ll call Bill — told me that he likes Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) because they’re so much cheaper than bitcoin…
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everything from education to events to healthcare. So it makes sense that it’s impacted the investment landscape too. But while traditional venture capital firms have had to change some of their methods, investing online is nothing new for crowdfunders. So did 2020…