Archive: Early Investing
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Government Spending Means Investors Should Seek Hedges
By Adam Sharp on May 7, 2021
This week I came across a statistic that shocked me. It turns out that 34% of all US income currently comes from the government. Here’s a chart from an article on ZeroHedge showing the rise of government “transfer payments” to citizens. I just can’t believe that more than a third of the entire nation’s income is currently dependent on the federal government. That number…
Don’t Count On More Explosive Growth in Remote Work
By Andy Gordon on May 5, 2021
I just returned to the office this week. It was a strange thing. Before working at home during the past year, I spent most of my 40-year career in offices. And I’ve missed the water-cooler chats… the unstructured interaction with my fellow employees… going out to…
Four Assets to Hedge Against Inflation
By Adam Sharp on April 30, 2021
In April 2019, Bloomberg Businessweek magazine’s cover story asked “Is Inflation Dead?” The subtitle accompanying it was “Did Capitalism Kill Inflation?” I recall thinking at the time that this story was probably a contrarian indicator. It reminded me that nearly everyone in the financial world was…
Cultured Meat Startups Are the Trend to Watch
By Andy Gordon on April 28, 2021
Heads up, meat lovers. Biden’s climate plan isn’t the biggest threat to the beef and chicken products you love so much. Neither is plant-based “fake meat.” The biggest threat to traditional meat is the “meat” being developed by new technologies right now. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.)…
Startup Insider: Medical Testing’s Golden Age
By Early Investing on April 21, 2021
We have a special treat for you this week. Our First Stage Investor members (click here to sign up) regularly get to hear Andy Gordon and Vin Narayanan interview founders. This week, we’re releasing a very special interview…
Bitcoin is Finally Going Mainstream
By Adam Sharp on April 16, 2021
This week’s Coinbase initial public offering (IPO) is a major moment for crypto. That amazing $85 billion valuation is turning heads all over Wall Street. I imagine that for some old-school investors, this crypto thing suddenly looks more legit. We were already in the midst of…
The Convergence of Stocks and Cryptocurrency
By Vin Narayanan on April 14, 2021
In five or ten years, there might not be any difference between trading stocks and trading crypto. The two asset classes are converging in ways we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago. More than 9.5 million Robinhood customers traded crypto in…
Why Everyone Should Hedge Against Coming Inflation
By Adam Sharp on April 9, 2021
Mainstream media coverage of inflation — and the forces that drive it — tend to be superficial and limited. That’s why I want to highlight three recent stories. They all revolve around inflation in some way. And together they emphasize the need for every investor to have some…
Why SPACs are Good for Startup Investors
By Vin Narayanan on April 7, 2021
Have you ever been in a conversation or argument where you come up with the perfect response five minutes after the talk ends? It happens to me all the time. And I hate that empty feeling. You can’t return to the conversation to share your comeback or key…
Why Founders Refuse VC Money
By Andy Gordon on March 31, 2021
Venture capital (VC) investing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Last week I talked about the many things that crowdfunding does that appeal to founders and investors alike. Today, I’d like to focus more on the VC side of investing. And why…
Choose Startups for Tech Exposure
By Adam Sharp on March 26, 2021
Tech stocks are getting eye-wateringly expensive. Here are a few examples using their price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Tesla: 997x Square: 490x Netflix: 83x Amazon: 73x Zoom: 140x These are all very well-run companies which probably have bright…
What VC Gets Wrong About Crowdfunding
By Andy Gordon on March 24, 2021
A tech startup founder was bragging to me about his recent hires a couple of days ago. He found some outstanding people and said that the talent available in 2021 was off the charts. But it wasn’t just luck or happenstance. The highly experienced people he…
Venture Capital Is Facing Real Competition at Last
By Adam Sharp on March 19, 2021
On Monday, the SEC’s new startup investing rules went into effect. Startups can now raise $5 million annually through equity crowdfunding. That’s a 5x increase from the previous limit. I really can’t overstate how important this change is. It’s a monumental moment for startups — and…
Crowdfunding is the Next Evolution of Startup Investing
By Andy Gordon on March 17, 2021
The tech sector is under attack. Lawsuits. Politicians. Regulators. They’re all gunning for the tech industry. But what about the venture capital firms that financed the industry’s growth? These companies should also command our attention. Their money nurtured big tech companies in their early years. More…
Explaining Bitcoin’s Rise From $6k to $56k in a Single Year
By Adam Sharp on March 12, 2021
One year ago — on March 12th, 2020 — bitcoin was trading at $6,131 per coin. It had been valued at more than $12,000 in June 2019. But markets everywhere were in a bit of a panic last March, and stocks were trading…
The One Thing All Good Founders Have in Common
By Andy Gordon on March 10, 2021
Why do founders become founders? There are certainly easier paths to wealth. Like what I do. A good startup investor makes more than a great startup founder eight out of 10 times. I should know — I’ve done both. And I’ve made a lot more investing…