Archive: Pre-IPO Profits
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Investing in Indian Startups
Indian startups are booming. The country’s middle class is growing rapidly, the population is technologically savvy and the economy is doing well. Unfortunately, I have only one Indian startup in my portfolio. But it’s a banger. The company is ClearTax, and it is killing it. ClearTax is kind of like TurboTax for India, but it offers more financial services. The company has raised $65 million from top-tier investors, including Sequoia and notable Indian venture capitalists. …
The Perfect Environment for Startup Investing
By Adam Sharp on September 28, 2021
While you all know I’ve been a bit frustrated with the high valuations of startups today, there is a lot to be said for investing in this asset class in our current environment. Many bonds are yielding -5% after inflation is…
Startup Investing in 2014 vs. Startup Investing in 2021
By Adam Sharp on September 21, 2021
When I first started investing in startups in the summer of 2014, seed-stage deals were typically valued between $4 million and $5 million. I remember seeing a few deals at $1 million and a few more at $2 million and $3 million. Today I’d estimate the…
Online Startup Investing Is the Future
By Adam Sharp on September 14, 2021
One of the concerns people have about online startup investing is getting a read on founders over the internet. However, I don’t think this is a real problem. The best way to evaluate founders is to simply evaluate their business. How much progress have they made?…
The Gut Microbiome’s Connection to COVID-19
By Adam Sharp on September 7, 2021
There is growing evidence that COVID-19 severity is influenced by our gut microbiome. Those who have high levels of beneficial, symbiotic bacteria in their guts tend to have better outcomes than those who have “dysbiosis” (unhealthy gut microbiomes). A study in the prestigious…
Big Tech’s Disturbing Censorship Continues
By Adam Sharp on August 31, 2021
Big tech censorship continues to be a major concern. I first wrote about this issue almost a year ago. I’ve also written about how it creates investment opportunities. And this trend of censorship shows no signs…
The Immense Promise of Microbiome Medicine
By Adam Sharp on August 24, 2021
As many of you know, I’m very excited about the potential of the microbiome as both an investor and as a way to improve your health. Last month, I wrote to you about why startup investors should be excited about this sector. And…
A Public Venture Capital Fund Worth Investigating
By Adam Sharp on August 3, 2021
Draper Esprit — a publicly traded venture capital (VC) firm — is in the news again. TechCrunch just published a piece titled “Why Draper Esprit doubled down on its status as a publicly listed VC.” Here’s a snippet of what Draper…
Microbiome Startups Are the New Frontier for Investors
By Adam Sharp on July 27, 2021
The health area I’m most excited about for the next 10-plus years is microbiome medicine. A microbiome is the collection of microorganisms in a particular environment, like soil or the human body. One of the most important microbiomes in our body is our gut microbiome. It’s…
Alternative Investments to Consider
By Adam Sharp on July 20, 2021
Last week in Early Investing, I wrote a piece about how startup valuations are getting a little crazy. As I’ve discussed here recently, these rising prices have caused me to cut back…
What Investors Can Learn From Meb Faber
By Adam Sharp on July 6, 2021
My friend Meb Faber just put out a must-read document about online angel investing. It’s long — but it’s well worth the read. Meb reveals his biggest wins, his favorite AngelList syndicates and lessons he’s learned since he started.
Equity Crowdfunding Deals Just Keep Getting Better
By Adam Sharp on June 29, 2021
Regulation Crowdfunding deals (startup deals anyone can invest in) are getting a lot more interesting lately. Take a look at Calm Company Fund on Wefunder. I’ve been following this investment firm for more than a year. Calm…
Startup Valuations Aren’t Changing Anytime Soon
By Adam Sharp on June 22, 2021
Lately, I’ve written a lot about how expensive startup valuations have become. It’s gotten pretty silly in some cases. Now I’m wondering: Are they going to get cheaper anytime soon? Based on what I’m seeing, I’m leaning towards no.
Don’t Make These 6 Investing Mistakes
By Adam Sharp on June 15, 2021
One of my favorite startup investors, Jason Lemkin, tweeted something very insightful the other day. My top mistakes investing: Investing when not 90%+ sure within 20 mins Not doing pro-rata 100% time if great Investing in any founder don’t 100% trust Not investing just b/c don’t 100% understand it Investing…
How to Invest in an Overheated Market
By Adam Sharp on June 8, 2021
It’s been a fascinating last year and a half in the startup investing world. We went from a complete meltdown in March 2020 to one of the hottest venture capital markets I’ve ever seen. I’ve been quite selective throughout this time, preferring to stick to early-stage…
Startup Investments Can Be a Good Inflation Hedge
By Adam Sharp on May 25, 2021
Inflation appears to have arrived in the U.S. I say “appears to have arrived” because in my opinion, we’ve been dealing with at least 6% inflation for more than 5 years. The reason you haven’t heard about that is because the government manipulates the official consumer price index…