Today we say goodbye to @JoshHecht, who is leaving Blizzard to pursue new opportunities. Grateful for his stewardship of Blizzard, which has invested in 150+ companies since inception, helping to spur innovation in the Avalanche Ecosystem. Wishing Josh well in his next endeavor!
M&A
As NFT project funding and resources dry up—whether due to crypto winter, mismanagement, or failure to compete—communities will strategically unite to pool capital, access, and tooling to combine resources and member benefits.
From PFP mergers to holding DAOs.
Increasingly becoming convinced that now is a great time to tackle a meaningful problem with 2-3 people, raise $500k - $1.5M at a fair valuation, and do some heads down building. Seed funds are open for business, talent is looking for work, and no shortage of problems to solve.
At times like the present, when people are nervous, be careful of people who spread misinformation. They want to make a quick profit by separating you from your coins.
Some quick observations.
I was at Amzn early '00s when we lost 95% of our market cap. Later at FB I negotiated a down-round in '09, and then in '12 our stock dropped 50% post-IPO. I was on the board of a public company that went bankrupt (Borders) and a start-up that went under (Hello). Some lessons:
Buying crypto isn’t a taxable event.
Selling crypto for fiat (e.g., USD) is a taxable event.
Trading one coin for another is a taxable event.
Using crypto to purchase goods or services is a taxable event.
A cautionary tale for casual startup investors... Venture capital returns are driven by a few big winners. Two-thirds of investments fail. Putting lots of good-looking eggs in your basket is key. https://t.co/AIfhu0Nhvq
Founders: your round is NOT closed until the ink is dry and the money is in the bank from ALL committed investors. Don’t assume anything.
Here’s what to do: understand the end-to-end close process, set strict close dates, push your lawyers and over communicate with all parties.
Hey Silicon Valley, it's time to start betting on older entrepreneurs.
New study: 40-year-olds are 2.1x as likely as 25-year-olds to found a successful startup, and 1.3x as likely to found a startup in the top 0.1%.
https://t.co/xBTm0wel2V
Great news alert! @PrimaryVC has a fresh $100M fund to invest in NYC founders.
We are:
-Lead investors who don't spray and pray
-Deeply committed to being great partners
-100% focused on NYC + Seed (Pre-Seed, Seed, Seed+)
-Sector agnostic (Consumer/B2B)
https://t.co/8pFuZSVlfi
For the millionth time: Founders, please take time to research investors you send emails/decks to. You want to fit their portfolio constructions: stage, size, geography, sectors, specialty. And not have the cos you list on your competition slides in their portfolio. FFS.