Search results for: Reg a+
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The Deep, Dark Hole of Drug Addiction
By the time my dad retired, he had accumulated an impressive resumé… decorated World War II Marine, entrepreneur, founder, successful real estate developer, and loving husband and father. But here’s the one thing he was that you couldn’t find on his resumé: addict. One day, some 30 years before he passed away, he went to the doctor’s office seeking help…
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Investing Outside of the Bay Area
For decades, the venture capital (VC) market has been centered around the San Francisco Bay Area. As I pointed out in my fourth Angel Investing Master Class, the Bay Area captures 46% of all U.S. venture money invested. But I am beginning to see signs that the Bay Area is losing its edge. Startups in San Francisco are more expensive…
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Get Wealthy AND Healthy on a Slam-Dunk Opportunity
Deal Details Startup: NowRx Security type: Preferred equity Round size: Up to $20 million Valuation: $65 million Share price: $3.4477 Minimum investment: $1,000 Raise: Series B Of all the things that you can order for free same-day delivery – from meals to mattresses – what’s amazing to me is the one thing you can’t… Medicine. Okay, CVS and Walgreens are providing home delivery service. But they…
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Buy Pot Stocks While Prices Are Low
Everybody’s down on cannabis companies these days. Marijuana stocks have taken a big hit across the board. Part of the problem is that there’s too much cannabis being grown in places like Canada and Oregon. As a result, prices are taking a hit. A lot of companies in those places may not survive the winter. But the ones that do…
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Learning to Wait
When I started making online angel investments in 2014, I quickly became convinced this was an incredible and unique opportunity. Almost instantly, I was investing alongside some of the best angel investors in the world: Naval Ravikant, Gil Penchina, Brad Feld and others. I went a little overboard in the beginning. After six months, I already had around 20 investments.…
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Startup Investing Master Class: How to Evaluate Cannabis Startups
Cannabis is a brand-new industry filled with promising startups attacking all angles of the market. New products are hitting the shelves and attracting customers. And the U.S. cannabis market is already worth billions of dollars. But a brand-new market also comes with difficulties. Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, which makes it impossible for companies and consumers to…
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Four States Gobble Up 80% of Venture Capital Dollars
When I was in San Francisco evaluating startups at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this month, I took the time to attend a few conference sessions about the startup ecosystem. And two factoids I heard during those sessions really stuck with me: 80% of all venture capital (VC) money raised ends up in four states – California, New York, Massachusetts and Texas.…
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Mailbag: Defining Reasonable Revenue Growth
Q: What kind of revenue growth is reasonable for a startup to demonstrate at the early stages? A: As revenue grows, the absolute numbers get bigger but the percentages get smaller. Adding $200,000 onto $100,000 in revenue translates to a 200% increase. Adding $500,000 onto $1 million in revenue yields just a 50% increase. As the numbers get bigger, growth…
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Crypto Monitor: SEC Offers Constructive Feedback, Crypto Adoption Builds Momentum
Summary The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected yet another Bitwise bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal. This is exactly what we expected to happen. But this time, the SEC did something we didn’t expect: It actually gave constructive feedback in the form of a detailed 112-page response. Adam Sharp and Andy Gordon discuss the SEC’s history of hesitation and…
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Don’t Invest Based on Sector
One of the most common mistakes I see new startup investors make is that they tend to go for deals in “hot” industries. The attraction is understandable. Startups focusing on things like artificial intelligence, drones, cannabis, blockchain or SaaS (software as a service) can be tempting. But unless they have serious traction and growth, my advice is to steer clear.…
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Recreational Marijuana Legalization Would Create Seven Times More Cannabis Jobs in Florida
A new study from New Frontier Data shows legalized recreational marijuana would septuple Florida’s current cannabis jobs. Medical marijuana is legal in Florida, but recreational marijuana isn’t. But if marijuana were fully legalized at the federal level, the study predicts that cannabis jobs could number 128,587 by 2025 – a 666% increase from the current 16,792. Aside from the devilishly…
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News Fix: Former CFTC Chair Suggests a Digital Dollar Will Uphold U.S. Dominance in Global Finance
This week, the Fix is thinking about change. And we’re inspired by the people across the world who are working to create it. Before the United Nations Climate Summit on September 23, 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg led kids and adults from 150 countries in a massive strike to demand action be taken to address climate change. Around 7 million…
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SEC Gives More Constructive Feedback on Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Proposal
To the surprise of no one, the SEC has once again rejected a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal. This ETF was proposed by Bitwise. But unlike the last rejections, in this one the SEC cited specific, addressable issues. From CoinDesk’s reporting: The SEC suggested that a surveillance-sharing agreement between a regulated exchange and a bitcoin market of “significant” size might…
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Cannabis Report: Uncertainty Should Be Baked Into the Market
The cannabis industry seems to have a pessimistic mantra these days: Bad news for one company is bad news for the entire industry. The canceled MedMen-PharmaCann merger is a prime example of this. But the reality is, cannabis is still a brand-new industry. Conflicting regulations in the U.S. and slow-moving regulations in Canada have a big impact on these burgeoning…
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Dollar Reserves Dip
Today’s chart explores how foreign exchange reserves of the world’s most powerful currencies have changed over the years – particularly the dollar. First, some background. In July 1944, delegates from 44 countries negotiated the Bretton Woods System. The system pegged the U.S. dollar to gold and other currencies to the U.S. dollar. It was designed to stabilize currency values to…
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News Fix: Cannabis Companies Roll With the Changes
In the last issue of the First Stage Investor newsletter, Early Investing Co-Founder Andy Gordon made the argument that it was time for startups to shift their focus from baby boomers to millennials. But the Fix is here to say not so fast, Andy. Startups addressing the changing needs of boomers are more interesting than ever (and we’re going to…