Archive: Pre-IPO Profits Update
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Use Your Personal Network for Deal Flow
By Adam Sharp on April 27, 2021
Lately I’ve been spending more time looking for offline angel investments. I want to make sure that I’m not missing out on prime opportunities by focusing exclusively on online deal flow. So I’ve been reaching out to colleagues, friends and companies I’m familiar with to let them know I’m looking for great startups to invest in. And it’s yielding positive results. I’ve only been doing this for a few weeks, but I’ve got a lead on…
Later-Stage Valuations Are Getting Out of Control
By Adam Sharp on April 20, 2021
I’ve been invited to a few deals lately with mind-blowing valuations. I was being asked to invest in SaaS (software as a service) businesses with $1 million of revenue. They were showing about 150% growth rates. Yet they were being valued at nearly $250 million. This…
Three AngelList Syndicates Worth A Look
By Adam Sharp on March 30, 2021
I’m an AngelList superfan. It’s a beautiful marketplace for early-stage investors. The site has grown incredibly since I started investing in 2014, and today there are more than 100 syndicates to choose from. Here are some of my favorites. Jenny Rooke – Biotech …
New $5 Million Limit Enables Attractive Crowdfunding Deals
By Adam Sharp on March 23, 2021
Last week, the SEC’s new rules around equity crowdfunding went into effect. Now companies can raise up to $5 million per year from the crowd. On the first day, we got a good idea of the potential of this new medium. Gumroad — an online platform…
Patience Pays in Startup Investing
By Adam Sharp on February 9, 2021
I recently had my first startup investment go public. But don’t get too excited yet. The company, Plurilock Security, just listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange at quite a tiny valuation — around $15 million. I took the opportunity to add to my position. I really…
Robert Downey Jr. Starts an AngelList Fund
By Adam Sharp on February 2, 2021
Well, this is somewhat unexpected — actor Robert Downey Jr. just launched an AngelList rolling fund. The fund — called Footprint Coalition Ventures — will invest in sustainability and environmentally-focused startups. Here’s an excerpt from…
Pay Attention to Reg CF Deals
By Adam Sharp on January 26, 2021
On March 15th, the fundraising limit on Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) campaigns will go from $1.07 million to $5 million. Startups that raise capital using Reg CF are the deals that non-accredited investors can access. With the $1 million limit, Reg CF just wasn’t worth it…
Later Stage Startup Valuations are Rising
By Adam Sharp on January 19, 2021
Most of the deals I get invited to online are early-stage ones — pre-seed, seed, and Series A. But I do see a fair number of Series B and C deals as well. And I’ve noticed that the later the deal is, the higher the valuation tends to…
The Strength of Early-Stage Companies
By Adam Sharp on January 5, 2021
We live in a remarkably disruptive time. New technologies are changing the way almost every industry operates. There’s a lot of opportunity for innovative companies to make a big impact. But we also live in a very unique time when it comes to finance and monetary…
Investing in Startups Without Traction
By Adam Sharp on December 22, 2020
As a general rule, I prefer to invest in companies that are growing quickly. That means startups with plenty of traction. However, sometimes I do break that rule — and doing so recently produced a great outcome. Back in 2016, I invested in a…
Rolling Funds Transforming AngelList
By Adam Sharp on December 15, 2020
Rolling funds on AngelList are continuing to pick up steam. And I’ve been thinking about what the long-term impact of these funds could be for a while now. I believe that — like I said back in September…
The Truth About Investment Sizes
By Adam Sharp on December 1, 2020
I’ve made well over 100 startup investments since 2014. Looking back, there are some mistakes I made early on that I wish I had avoided. One big one is I would get way too excited about some of the startups. I invested too much in my first 10…
The Trick to Evaluating Market Size
By Adam Sharp on November 17, 2020
One of the most important (and trickiest) factors to evaluate in startup investing is the size of the opportunity. How big can a startup become? How big is the market it sells into — and how fast is it growing? Before investing in any startup, you…
Big Changes for Non-Accredited Investors
By Adam Sharp on November 10, 2020
Last week the SEC announced that it was increasing the limit on Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) deals from $1.07 million to $5 million. In case you weren’t aware, anyone can invest in Reg CF deals. You don’t have to be an accredited investor like you do…
How To Invest in Complex Concepts
By Adam Sharp on October 20, 2020
I sometimes get invited to participate in deals in areas I don’t understand well — like biotechnology. In almost all these cases, the science is over my head. So I generally don’t invest in startups that are in complex areas (for me). However, there are certain investors who I respect…
Investing in Indian Startups
By Adam Sharp on October 13, 2020
India has a very intriguing startup scene (and overall economy) — lots of innovation, high economic growth, a good and improving education and good demographics. It can be hard to find good investment opportunities unless you live in India. But those opportunities do exist. And I believe they’re worth the…