This past week, legendary investor Ray Dalio published a blog post detailing why paradigm shifts are important, which have impacted the past 100 years, and what current macroeconomic conditions imply for the future. Aside from being a great read, the article drives home a very important tenet of becoming a great investor: study the past, … Continue reading Paradigm Shifts and the Rise of a New Asset Class
Crypto-Native Business Models
A recent AVC post this past week got me thinking about the power of innovative business models to create massive value. We've all heard of the slew of unicorns applying tech to solve problems across virtually every industry. Many big winners of the web 2.0 era have been crowned and it is getting more and … Continue reading Crypto-Native Business Models
Intro to Chainlink
Chainlink caught my attention when Coinbase announced a couple of week ago that it will be available for trading soon. Given that it is the new kid on the block on one of crypto's most mainstream trading platforms, I was curious to learn more about what it is and what it's aiming to accomplish. Chainlink … Continue reading Intro to Chainlink
Tech Mafias
A quick look at successful companies in the startup ecosystem will uncover what looks like family trees of generations of entrepreneurs that supported the next generation and significantly stacked the odds in their favor. As tech and innovation become more widespread, it's important to consider just how powerful these "mafias" are as predictors of success … Continue reading Tech Mafias
Facebook’s Libra
This past Tuesday, Facebook on its long-rumored cryptocurrency project, Libra, unveiling details on how it will work and its push to decentralize it through the Libra Association. Things I Believe 1) This will be the single biggest boost toward mainstream crypto adoption Facebook's ability to roll out a product instantly to its 2.4 billion monthly … Continue reading Facebook’s Libra
The Latinx Opportunity
Latinx influence on American culture is fully on display in many aspects of everyday life. From the food we eat, the music we listen to, the language most of us study in primary school - Latinx culture has entered the mainstream in many ways. Recent examples and trends such as the smashing success of Oscar-winning … Continue reading The Latinx Opportunity
Kik’s Battle
Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against messaging platform Kik claiming that it illegally raised $100M through a token sale in 2017. This stems from the SEC's guidance that any token offering that checks all the boxes of the Howey Test qualifies as a security and cannot raise money from retail … Continue reading Kik’s Battle
Blockchain: Looking Ahead
Spencer Bogart recently released a great post on blockchain's history and where he thinks things are headed. The history section is a great overview for those new to the space but where I'll focus on for this post is the future of where it's going. Spencer mentions that we are headed from a period of … Continue reading Blockchain: Looking Ahead
The Growth Stage Investing Bubble
If you've been following the VC landscape closely the past couple of years, you've noticed the increasing amount of capital deployed. Nowhere has this been more evident than in growth rounds (defined here as Series B and beyond). According to the graphic below created by Pitchbook, you can see a clear trend since 2014 - … Continue reading The Growth Stage Investing Bubble
Business Models
The choice of a company's business model has huge implications for how well it can address the pain point it is focused on and what kind of competitive moats it can build. Below is a list of moats (as covered in a previous post) and a high-level list of business models that are being leveraged … Continue reading Business Models
