Archive: First Stage Investor
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Crypto Insider: Explaining the NFT Explosion
By Early Investing on December 6, 2021
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have officially taken the world by storm. Collins Dictionary named “NFT” 2021’s word of the year. The use of the term increased 11,000% this year. In basic terms, an NFT is a piece of digital content linked to the blockchain. NFTs are also used to represent ownership of unique items, like pieces of art, collectibles and more. So NFTs can serve as certificates of authenticity for a piece of art. And they can…
Aavrani Grows Sales and Sets Its Sights on Expansion
By Andy Gordon on December 2, 2021
I just got off the phone with Justin Silver, the co-founder and COO of Aavrani. He reported significant progress on several fronts. We introduced Aavrani — a beauty company rooted in Indian tradition and rituals — to First Stage Investor…
Startup Insider: Grammarly Raises $200 Million at a $13 Billion Valuation
By Early Investing on November 29, 2021
Grammarly is on a roll. The popular auto-editing software tool has raised $200 million from Baillie Gifford and other investors at a $13 billion valuation. Grammarly is not a particularly exciting company. It helps delete unnecessary prepositional phrases and other grammatical errors — not exactly earth-shattering…
New Pick: A Legal Services Marketplace Brimming With Upside Potential
By Andy Gordon on November 22, 2021
Deal Details Startup: UpCounsel Security type: SAFE Valuation (cap): $28 million Minimum investment: $250 Where to invest: Wefunder Deadline: December 9,…
Crypto Insider: A New Crypto Investor’s Perspective
By Early Investing on November 18, 2021
If you’re new to crypto investing, you’re not alone. Crypto adoption is growing steadily, but it’s far from being a mainstream asset class. Crypto is still a nascent industry that has a lot of maturing ahead of it. Some investors still see crypto as an exciting…
Startup Insider: Why U.S. Venture Capitalists Are Targeting European Startups
By Early Investing on November 15, 2021
In the first three quarters of this year, U.S. venture capitalists (VCs) invested around $59 billion in European startups. And European VCs aren’t worried about it — as long as their startup ecosystem keeps growing. This has a lot of implications for startup investors in the…
New Pick: Connecting Student Athletes and Brands for a Win-Win Video Ad Experience
By Andy Gordon on November 11, 2021
Deal Details Startup: Curastory Security type: Crowd SAFE* Discount: 0% Valuation (cap): $9 million Minimum investment: $250 Where to invest: Republic Deadline: January 28, 2022…
Crypto Insider: Regulators Set Their Sights on DeFi
By Early Investing on November 8, 2021
DeFi — or decentralized finance — is a hot topic in the crypto world these days. And regulators have their sights set on DeFi. In part, regulators are worried about potential fraud and scams. But, interestingly enough, they’re also focusing on what they think are centralized…
Slow Governments Won’t Stop This Startup From Saving the Planet
By Andy Gordon on November 4, 2021
“We need decarbonization now, across every sector in every country,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres tweeted earlier this week. Don’t kill the messenger here, but he’s spitting in the wind. A plea for governments to pick up the pace of decarbonization will do little good. Not…
Startup Insider: What Makes a Bad Founder
By Early Investing on November 1, 2021
At First Stage Investor, we spend a lot of time talking about founders. We usually focus on what makes a good founder — the qualities that investors should look for before they sink money into a startup. But since we just celebrated…
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…
Startup Insider: The Most Promising Cannabis Companies
By Early Investing on October 25, 2021
Last week, one of the leading marijuana business conventions — MJBizCon — took place in Las Vegas. And First Stage Investor’s own Vin Narayanan was there to see firsthand what’s going on in the cannabis industry. Many people have been disappointed by…
Yahyn Develops a Brilliant Method for Foreign Wineries to Reach U.S. Customers
By Andy Gordon on October 21, 2021
Pierre Rogers, the founder and CEO of First Stage Investor holding Yahyn, thinks he’s on to something very big and immensely disruptive. He thinks it will upend America’s incredibly convoluted alcoholic beverage industry. It should make life much better for…
Crypto Insider: ProShares Launches a Futures-Based Bitcoin ETF
By Early Investing on October 18, 2021
It’s an exciting week to be a crypto investor. After years of waiting, we finally have a bitcoin ETF! At least… as close as we can get to a bitcoin ETF right now. ProShares will launch its Bitcoin Strategy ETF tomorrow. The ETF is…
New Pick: The Startup That’s Cleaning Up Space
By Andy Gordon on October 14, 2021
Deal Details Startup: Launchspace Technologies Corporation Security type: Common stock Round size: Up to $1.07 million Share price: $100.26 Valuation: $48,999,970 Minimum investment: $100.26 Investment portal:…
Crypto News Roundup: Bank of America Can’t Ignore Bitcoin
By Vin Narayanan on October 7, 2021
Much has happened in the crypto world since we spoke to you just last week! As I write this, bitcoin is trading for more than $51,000. Big banks are pushing hard to release crypto products. And the SEC is doing SEC things. Let’s take a look at the…