Archive: First Stage Investor
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Portfolio Update: CodeCombat Grows Revenue, Expands Customer Base
By Early Investing on June 9, 2022
We recommended CodeCombat almost two years ago in July 2020. The company develops video games that teach middle schoolers and high schoolers how to code. Since we recommended CodeCombat, the company has navigated the COVID-19 storm and is now growing sustainably and profitably. We caught up with CEO Nick Winter recently to get more details on what the company has accomplished over the last two years. …
Startup Insider: When a Startup Is Worth the Hype
By Early Investing on June 6, 2022
Sometimes it can seem like every founder claims that their company is “revolutionary.” Startups love to highlight how innovative they are. They’re doing something no one else has managed to do. They’re changing the world. Of course, many of those startups aren’t nearly as…
New Pick: An Affordable Super Material With Hundreds of Potential Uses
By Andy Gordon on June 2, 2022
There will never be a “next” Facebook or Google or Airbnb. Companies are a product of a specific time, place, technology know-how and need. It’s as if the universe wills them into existence. Of course, founders play an important role. But there are a lot of…
New Pick: A Robust Ethereum Scaling Solution With VC Backing
By Vin Narayanan on May 26, 2022
Sometimes — and especially in bear markets — investors need to be opportunistic. That’s why Andreessen Horowitz just launched a $4.5 billion fund for crypto projects. A16z is going bargain hunting. And with good reason. “Bear markets…
Crypto Insider: How to Handle the Crypto Bear Market
By Early Investing on May 23, 2022
The crypto bear market has been rough. Bitcoin started the year trading at around $47,000 and is currently trading for around $30,000. Ethereum started the year around $3,800 and is now around $2,000. And downtrending crypto prices are just one aspect of a bear market. Investor…
New Pick: Invest in the Brilliant Minds Behind Billions of Dollars in Pharma Sales
By Andy Gordon on May 19, 2022
In a slightly less broken world, Enosi Life Sciences would not exist as is. Enosi is a tiny drug research and development company. And that is the only ordinary-sounding thing about it. Its technology is not ordinary. Its rockstar founders are far from ordinary. And its…
Startup Insider: The Evolution of Crowdfunding
By Early Investing on May 16, 2022
Break out the cake and champagne — it’s Regulation Crowdfunding’s sixth anniversary! On May 16, 2016, Regulation Crowdfunding — or Reg CF — went into effect and allowed startups to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding. Reg CF was first made possible by the JOBS Act,…
The Third Time Is Not the Charm for This Startup
By Andy Gordon on May 12, 2022
NowRx will complete its third crowdfunding raise on SeedInvest later this month. We’ve recommended it twice. And it has worked out incredibly well for our members who invested. But the third time is not…
Startup Insider: Winc Explores Sake, Non-Alcoholic Wines and More
By Early Investing on May 9, 2022
The wine market was worth $64 billion in 2021 — and that’s just in the U.S. Yet this gargantuan industry has been sorely lacking in innovation. Until Winc came along, that is. Winc is a wine club…
New Pick: A Cheap Robotics Play Boosting the Boba Tea Trend to New Heights
By Andy Gordon on May 5, 2022
Seattle in the early 1990s was booming. And no sector was growing faster than aerospace. But Seattle was also midwifing the birth of a new kind of coffeehouse. Starbucks reimagined the experience of a damn good cup of coffee. It struck a deep and broad chord. Starbucks stores…
Crypto Insider: A Closer Look at Our Ethereum Competitor Recommendation
By Early Investing on May 2, 2022
Ethereum is a crucial network within the crypto ecosystem. It’s the backbone for much of the decentralized finance world. It’s by far the most popular network for decentralized apps. And most NFTs — which reached a trading volume of more than $17 billion last year — trade on…
New Pick: The De-Risked Ethereum Competitor Your Crypto Portfolio Needs
By Vin Narayanan on April 28, 2022
Most of you know that I’m an Ethereum bull. I believe that Ethereum is one of the most important networks in the crypto space. It’s the backbone for much of crypto’s decentralized finance (DeFi) system. Most NFTs trade on the Ethereum network. And trading volume for NFTs alone…
Startup Insider: Exploring Equity Crowdfunding’s Explosive Growth
By Early Investing on April 25, 2022
Our friends at KingsCrowd have been tracking online startup investing since 2018. They gather data on deal volume, industry growth, investor check sizes, founder demographics and everything in between. So we were excited to learn about their…
New Pick: A Startup That’s Literally Reinventing the Wheel
By Andy Gordon on April 21, 2022
Startup disruptions are like earthquakes. The bigger the earthquake, the more widespread its impact. Likewise, major disruptions can upend entire industries. Major earthquakes can topple buildings. And big disruptions can expose the vulnerabilities of powerful legacy companies, diminishing their ability to compete. Airbnb disrupted the global…
Crypto Insider: The NFT Bubble Is Not a Death Knell
By Early Investing on April 18, 2022
What’s one word that will spook any investor in any market? Bubble. The word tends to stir up painful memories of the dot-com boom and bust of the late ‘90s, the financial crisis of 2008… and now, the NFT market. The NFT…
Bloomstack Pivots, Seems on Track to Survive and Thrive
By Andy Gordon on April 14, 2022
We recommended Bloomstack last June. We liked founder and CEO Eric Delisle’s idea of combining all the systems and platforms cannabis operators use into a single platform. Not only was it a great idea, but it also seemed to be working. Bloomstack was…