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By James McDowall, Founding Partner, Arcanum Capital In the world of traditional finance, private equity firms have long been known for their old-school approach to investing, characterized by large capital deployments into established companies with the aim of generating substantial returns over a relatively long period. However, as the financial landscape undergoes a seismic shift with the rise of Web3 technologies and decentralized finance (DeFi), there is a growing realization that private equity firms need to adapt their strategies to remain competitive in this new era. More than almost anything else, private equity firms – especially in nascent, hyper-growth tech spaces – can benefit from the approach, which involves selecting projects that are strong in most areas but may be missing one piece that can be supplied by the network and resources of the VC group. Y Combinator One of the key advantages of operating this way is the newfound ability to open up engagement and focus on early-stage investing in startups and nascent companies. In the Web3 era, where disruptive technologies such as blockchain, decentralized applications (dApps), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are reshaping industries, the Y Combinator approach provides firms with the foresight and tools to identify and ultimately invest in promising early-stage projects. By shifting focus towards early-stage investments, private equity firms can gain exposure to innovative technologies and business models that have the potential to deliver outsized returns in the long run. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that the Y Combinator has been wildly effective in the modern era, with Y Combinator itself being one of the most successful venture capital firms in the world. The firm’s success can be attributed to its unique approach to investing, which involves providing startups with a range of resources, including mentorship, funding, and access to a vast network of investors and entrepreneurs. approach This approach has helped Y Combinator identify and invest in some of the more marquee startups in the world, including Airbnb, Dropbox, and Reddit, to name just a few. In response to this success, venture capital firms are now applying a similar structure and mentality to their investment strategy, with their reach extending beyond capital commitments. By providing startups with the ancillary resources they need to succeed, VC firms can help ensure their investments are as successful as possible, generally leading to greater returns. They can also proliferate their own circular economic ecosystem, which grows more important every day. Within their self-created and sustaining network, VC firms are then able to get more creative, thoughtful, and forward-looking with their projects, considering companies that lack the already proven mature growth and revenue traditionally needed and still need a few gaps filled within their model; for example, investing in great groups that may have amazing vision, but have largely ignored marketing/pr strategy, or one that lacks an advisory board or a few particularly-focused developers, or even one that is still searching for another key piece of their GTM and/or infrastructure. This approach is especially effective in global blockchain startups, where a hands-on, activist approach is critical for investors dealing with brilliant, but sometimes less-than-organized teams who are flying the plane while it's being built, so to speak. Let’s get granular here with great examples from a couple of Arcanum Capital’s portfolio companies: Two Case Studies: Kandola and Cross The Ages Kandola Kandola’s value proposition hit us right where we live: Building a decentralized data-as-a-service platform that guarantees data security, data integrity, and data privacy while catering to the real-time storage and retrieval needs of applications, transcending today’s digital economy with new opportunities for innovation and growth across sectors. The challenges reside in being able to handle the sheer volume, variability, and velocity that general purpose data transactions are known for and delivering on the Web3 promises of greater security, transparency, and accountability. Their platform brings data closer to Web3 smart contracts and DApps by enabling real-time analytics and AI training and deployment on unified data views (data lakes) that span across application-generated data, blockchain data, and outside-world data. What they are building is not only applicable to Web3, but it also caters to the storage and retrieval needs of IoT, healthcare, social, and gaming. In their case, it was primarily infrastructure, on top of our usual hands-on guidance with things like branding, that has really propelled them forward: Siddharth Banerjee, Founder and CEO of Kandola, said, “We are incredibly fortunate to have Arcanum Capital as one of our key VCs and early investors. Their unwavering support has been instrumental in propelling our project to new heights. Beyond providing crucial liquidity and financial backing, Arcanum has been a pillar of guidance and a bridge to invaluable network connections. Notably, their and especially James's proactive involvement in linking us with the node provider network during our testnet phase exemplifies his commitment to our success. James and Lucia consistently dedicate time to understand the intricacies of our project, offering insightful feedback and strategic advice. Their extensive connections within the Web3 community have opened doors for us, establishing our project in a well-respected circle. Working with Arcanum has been more than a financial partnership; it's been a collaborative journey filled with mentorship and support. We're grateful for their ongoing commitment and consider ourselves fortunate to have such a seasoned and well-connected ally in our corner.” Cross The Ages Arcanum Capital met Founder Sami at a conference in Lisbon and knew almost immediately we needed to back Cross The Ages (CTA). The on-the-spot pitch was captivating and compelling, and we quickly formed a strong long-term vision for what we needed to do with CTA. We advised them to build on Polygon, which they ultimately chose to do, giving us the leverage to approach Polygon Studios with the recommendation they follow us in with investment. They initially said no, but we were so confident in the company and our vision for it that we managed to convince them to overturn their decision and join us in backing CTA. Other investors who have followed Arcanum into Cross The Ages now include major game publisher Ubisoft, game-focused blockchain investment firm Animoca Brands, and in more recent news, covered by Cointelegraph, multi-billion dollar Japanese gaming goliath Square Enix, who also joined as an investor and strategic partner. The funding is being put towards game and app development programs, talent retention, and go-to-market activities, and with such high-caliber backers and top writers and artists from franchises such as Star Wars and Game of Thrones, we expect a very bright future for this portfolio company. Cross The Ages has been topping the App Store charts across several categories and geographies for several months, and we expect a significant uplift in valuation when it lists. "I have had the pleasure of working with Arcanum as a VC partner, and I can confidently say that their approach to investing is refreshingly different. Unlike typical predatory VCs, Arcanum is dedicated to adding value and support beyond just writing a cheque. I highly recommend Arcanum for any founder looking for a true partner in their journey to success." Said Sami Chlagou, Founder & CEO of Cross The Ages. About James McDowall Following a career as a professional athlete, James has been researching, investing in, and advising early and growth-stage technology entities since 2017. He has played pivotal roles in creative and strategic direction and business development and is experienced in conveying technological solutions to governments, regulators, and financial institutions. He gained invaluable alternative asset management knowledge and portfolio management experience during his CAIA studies and tenure with Swiss asset manager Tavis Digital in Zürich and has sat on the advisory board of the Swiss Impact Investment Association. He then Founded Arcanum Capital in 2020 and successfully raised and deployed Arcanum Emerging Technologies Fund I and has managed this successfully over the past 4 years. James excels in leveraging his strong global network of investors, entrepreneurs, and capital markets professionals to help finance and scale cutting-edge technology ventures. About Arcanum Capital is a venture capital firm focused on supporting enterprising and forward-thinking teams that are establishing decentralized networks and applications for the global blockchain ecosystem. Arcanum Capital's team consists of experienced investment professionals who understand what it takes to evaluate, incubate, and scale promising teams and ideas. Arcanum Capital We have been on the ground as operators, investors, and incubators in frontier and emerging markets, including India, since 2013, and have worked with startups, decentralized networks, and publicly listed companies. During this time, we have cultivated powerful networks and partnerships that are invaluable in helping our portfolio entities transition from idea to market and scale on the global stage.

How Venture Capital Firms Can Thrive by Tapping the Y Combinator Approach

কীভাবে ভেঞ্চার ক্যাপিটাল সংস্থাগুলি Y কম্বিনেটর পদ্ধতিতে ট্যাপ করে উন্নতি করতে পারে৷

Wie Risikokapitalfirmen durch den Y-Combinator-Ansatz erfolgreich sein können

Cómo pueden prosperar las empresas de capital riesgo aprovechando el enfoque Y Combinator

Comment les sociétés de capital-risque peuvent prospérer en exploitant l'approche Y Combinator

वाई कॉम्बिनेटर दृष्टिकोण का उपयोग करके वेंचर कैपिटल फर्म कैसे आगे बढ़ सकती हैं

ベンチャーキャピタル企業が Y コンビネーターのアプローチを活用してどのように成長できるか

Y Combinator 접근 방식을 활용하여 벤처 캐피털 회사가 성공할 수 있는 방법

Como as empresas de capital de risco podem prosperar aproveitando a abordagem do Y Combinator

Как фирмы венчурного капитала могут процветать, используя подход Y Combinator

Risk Sermayesi Firmaları Y Kombinatör Yaklaşımından Yararlanarak Nasıl Başarılı Olabilir?

Làm thế nào các công ty đầu tư mạo hiểm có thể phát triển mạnh bằng cách khai thác phương pháp kết hợp Y

风险投资公司如何利用 Y Combinator 方法蓬勃发展

Metaverse Environments Built to Reward Participants Like its NFT and blockchain cohorts, the Metaverse industry moves at break-neck speed. The decentralized world of tomorrow — one which shifts network value to its users — is coming in hot. Three months is like three years in the land of blockchain. And it’s been even longer since this article landed on Hacker Noon: Top 3 VR Tokens Powering the Metaverse Today’s article aims to catch up with those three VR-powered projects’ forward progress while evaluating a couple of new contenders. Since CoinGecko’s Virtual Reality filter rode off into the sunset, we’ll re-evaluate January’s top 3, then use CTRL+F to find “VR” within the . (Sorry, ‘Ovr,’ but AR isn’t a complete Metaverse experience.) Metaverse category You can find deeper info on some top Metaverse frontrunners , featuring The Sandbox, Decentraland, and RFOX VALT, each a blockchain game in its own right. here However, only Decentraland and the VALT use VR in their immersive playgrounds. Plus, it’s great to research potentially underrated (for now) Metaverse environments. We’ll go through organizations ranked by reverse market capitalization as of late April 2022: Revomon ( ) $REVO VFOX Token ( ) $VFOX Netvrk ( ) $NETVRK Somnium Space ( ) $CUBE Victoria VR ( ) $VR Now, it’s doubtful that any of these organizations will take Meta’s greedy approach of stinging creators with a . GTFO of here, you crazy-ass mother Zuckers! highly 47.5% platform fee Ready to dive into organizations using experimental tech to create fairer, more balanced digital economies? The good news is that you don’t need VR goggles to gain new information about how to get in on the action … Revomon ($REVO) Resources: Revomon | Whitepaper Maximum Token Supply: 100M Blockchain Network: Ethereum Revomon was on January’s list and combines “revolution” and “monsters” to create its Pokémon inspiration. “Gotta catch ’em all!” The open-world RPG Metaverse environment contains islands where players battle, capture, and train NFT monsters bearing unique traits. Revomon is a play-to-earn VR-powered Metaverse experience mimicking Pokémon’s monster-training activities. New(ish) video content is out, and here’s where you can decide if this realm is worth exploring: If earning tokens to play video games is your jam, and you’re a fan of , visiting this Metaverse environment is your chance to earn $REVO. Pokémon GO The shows heaps of momentum on the development front. Still waiting to see how this one plays out. It’s very niche, but that niche has proven to be humongous. Revomon March 31 update VFOX Token ($VFOX) Resources: RFOX VALT | RFOX Ecosystem | RFOX Blackpaper Maximum Token Supply: 21M Blockchain Network: Binance Smart Chain VFOX token ties into rewards within the expansive RFOX ecosystem. After months and months of construction, RFOX VALT, a retail and entertainment Metaverse platform, launched its MVP to a select group of initial visitors on April 27, 2022. Inside that digital playground, visitors can enter large retail SHOPs represented by an NFT to purchase digital items. Whether it’s the primary or underlying payment method, all payments route through . $RFOX token The RFOX multiverse’s cryptoassets currently operate on the Ethereum network, BNB Chain, and the WAX blockchain, with other networks to follow. A small percentage goes into a pool each time there’s a purchase inside the VALT. And at periodic intervals — for roughly 90 days at a time — $VFOX holders can stake their tokens to earn $RFOX. VFOX is a semi-passive reward token entitling holders to a percentage of every transaction occurring inside the RFOX VALT retail and entertainment Metaverse platform. The unreal estate inside the RFOX VALT is exceptionally scarce compared to other Metaverse environments. Plots are known as SHOPs, and NFTs act as proof of ownership. RFOX only sells 25 SHOPs per quarter — Art, Games, Music, and Science+Tech — to the public. When VALT construction is complete, only 100 virtual real estate parcels will be outside the RFOX organization’s control. This virtual world also gives space to more prominent brands, including marquee clients and , which sold out an RFOX-assisted NFT drop in under five minutes. CoinGecko Reebok The Paul Barron Network recently had a chat with RFOX’s CEO to talk all things Metaverse while revealing insight into what makes the VALT tick: RFOX VALT is a serious endeavor. The RFOX organization began in 2018 as a small venture builder wielding blockchain tech. Only a handful of team members were on board. Fast-forward to today, and over 100 full-time staff work alongside a horde of contractors. The team’s experienced tremendous growth, but the crypto space has yet to catch on. Although it’s a game by nature, has plans for concerts, a VR roller coaster, and an educational planetarium inside the upcoming Science & Tech quarter. RFOX VALT The MVP launched. It's a bit rough around the edges but digital environments have to start somewhere. This has been brewing for years and it's fantastic to see it live. just Want a sneak peek? Here you go: Not to mention how the VALT links together RFOX’s independent , , and ventures. Products and services include play-to-earn blockchain gaming, DeFi staking and yield farming (the currently pays over 33% APR), a white-label NFT platform, plus video livestreaming with NFT mint-on-demand capabilities. gaming finance media RFOX-BNB farm Don’t sleep on the RFOX ecosystem because its economy is a sleeping giant. Netvrk ($NETVRK) Resources: Netvrk | Linktr.ee Maximum Token Supply: 100M Blockchain Network: Ethereum The Netvrk platform has seen development for more than five years, beginning with a VR prototype created by the project’s founder. Netvrk is a multichain Metaverse built on Unreal Engine, with powerful creation tools and infrastructure to create, share, experience, and monetize creations. Netvrk focuses on gaming, education, and e-commerce, all built around NFTs representing ownership of virtual land and assets. Netvrk’s inaugural metaverse is called Genesis Islands and consists of 15,000 NFT parcels located in one of five districts: Entertainment, Creative, Education, Business, and Adult. I wonder what goes on in that last one. Users can generate NFTs and use the $NETVRK token to buy virtual land, advertising space, and digital assets. Staking was available for a while, but that ship seems to have sailed. The project’s collab list is gigantic. Look at the partners/investors section on the Netvrk website to see logo after logo. The collection of so much VC money does make me question the level of control the Netvrk founders still have. After all, giving equity to 3rd parties allows them a voice in directing business decisions. Somnium Space ($CUBE) Resources: Somnium Space | Economy Paper Maximum Token Supply: 100M Blockchain Network: Ethereum Somnium Space is an open, social, persistent VR world featuring its own economy and digital currency, letting creators’ imaginations run wild on virtual plots of land. The platform’s virtual real estate NFTs, called CUBEs, freely trade on secondary markets. Owners are free to create their own experiences that click into the overall platform. Somnium Space rewards creative developers who enjoy building and monetizing their work. Somnium Space is currently collaborating with to deliver full-body haptic suits for use in VR. That is next-level immersion, indeed. Teslasuit Here’s a quick overview of what Somnium Space has to offer players and investors: Individuals and organizations have been snatching up property as of late. Property owners used 134,163 $CUBE tokens to buy 208 $ETH in virtual land. The recent 10-day Cube Extravaganza auction on OpenSea was a resounding success. With another $600K+ for development, Somnium Space should continue to blossom. Victoria VR ($VR) Resources: Victoria VR | Whitepaper Maximum Token Supply: 16.8B Blockchain Network: Ethereum Victoria VR bills itself as the world’s first realistic Metaverse. The game is a VR-powered MMORPG built on Unreal Engine and blockchain. An in-house NFT marketplace is where trading takes place, with players able to monetize their creations. In the project’s own words: Our vision is for you to be able to materialize your craziest ideas or most secret wishes and enable you to experience your greatest life desires. Here’s a recent trailer, and I’ll offer some thoughts on realism after you’ve seen it: Sure, it’s a mostly realistic rendition of a quasi-realistic environment. But there’s no denying you’re playing a video game. The website’s avatars are realistic-looking as well. That said, have you ever seen an animated character that didn’t give itself away as non-human by merely opening its mouth? Still waiting for avatar-speak to natural. We have a long way to go on that front. look But anything good takes time to build. Victoria VR has been going since 2018. That’s a solid testament to persistence —you may have been around long enough to remember that year was mostly a brutal bear market. Staking $VR tokens is available, with some nice perks attached. It’s not every project that awards airdrops for staking. Have a look at the team’s , and you can see how the rewards increase if you’re willing to lock up your tokens for more extended periods. staking calculator Wrapping Up There are plenty of opportunities for multiple Metaverse platforms to thrive. When interoperability becomes a reality, there’s no limit to where VR will take us. Hopping from one to another will become the norm. Like music and video games, who wants to play the same game and listen to the same song on repeat for eternity. The Metaverse is all about variety, and with some experimentation, you’ll find environments that you genuinely enjoy spending time in. Looking at supply vs. MarCap, $VFOX is the outlier here. The token’s one of the smallest in MarCap but coming in at about 1/5th of the average supply. Three of five on this list cap out at 100M tokens. When the VALT goes full-steam ahead and transactions begin to flow through, $VFOX holders should have reason to smile. Token speculation aside, which platforms are your favorite to use? Strap on your VR goggles if you want to discover the answer in our new digital frontier. *Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the author held BNB, ETH, RFOX, VFOX, and other digital assets.

Blockchain Pokémon and Monetized NFTs: 5 Tokens Enabling VR in the Metaverse

Pokémon Blockchain y NFT monetizados: 5 tokens que habilitan la realidad virtual en el metaverso

Pokémon Blockchain et NFT monétisés : 5 jetons permettant la réalité virtuelle dans le métaverse

ब्लॉकचैन पोकेमोन और मुद्रीकृत एनएफटी: मेटावर्स में वीआर को सक्षम करने वाले 5 टोकन

ブロックチェーン ポケモンと収益化された NFT: メタバースで VR を実現する 5 つのトークン

Pokémon Blockchain e NFTs Monetizados: 5 Tokens Habilitando VR no Metaverso

Blockchain Pokémon và NFT kiếm tiền: 5 Token cho phép VR trong Metaverse

区块链神奇宝贝和货币化 NFT：在元界中启用 VR 的 5 个代币

How you can profit from Facebook’s new coin (not by buying it!) [ Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: ] Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The Libra/Calibra project is going to work No — regulators won’t shut it down (I will explain) Huge volume is about to flow into digital assets Fancy a punt? Facebook stock and Crypto Exchange Tokens No one likes Facebook’s coin. Not crypto weirdos, not regulators, not banks. Facebook say it’s for financial inclusion and ‘banking the unbanked’. Bold, worthy goals everyone else thus far has failed to deliver. People are real mad a huge centralised company is about to do it (and the ‘worst one of all’). But none of that matters. Only this does: Will they do it? (Spoiler: YES) What’s likely to happen? And how can I profit? Reason 1: Regulators and competitors won’t stop them No …but expect lobbying from the banks, governments and everyone with an axe to grind. Lets go through their complaints. Critique #1: They’ll spy on our spending! In this bleak and nightmarish scenario Facebook has been bad, but gets badder. They use Libra to snoop on every detail of our personal finances and “they must be stopped”. But the company has seen this criticism a mile off. And it can defend itself a bunch of ways. They know there has to be a firewall between the payments system and the social network - and will make sure there is. Without it they are unable to defend accusations they are monetising confidential payments data. They’ll use encryption against themselves. Why? To deny themselves access to user data in a provable way. after the Snowden/NSA wiretapping fiasco. And they have a bunch of big companies validating the transactions so they can’t be blamed for snooping or fraud. Read the docs — their intention is to appear . Remember — they’ve been smacked before by regulators. Like WhatsApp did as clear as possible Facebook would love to spy on your money. But they won’t go there. Critique #2: Terrorists will use Libra to launder money! The best ways of getting Libra derailed are via the twin bogeymen of money laundering and terrorist financing. And this is where Facebook’s design gets clever. At the lowest (protocol) layer — Libra is pseudonymous, meaning you can conceal your identity but your transactions are visible. The big companies that will operate the network (Uber, Vodafone etc) will have some visibility into what’s going where but not who’s doing it. Need to find a launderer? No problem — Libra leaves a trail. The currencies design is a sweet spot with “good enough” privacy for users but allowing bad guys to be tracked down when necessary. Tony Montana predates mandatory KYC regulations. The second clever design element is separating the network from the wallet. This shifts Know Your Customer (KYC) responsibilities onto the wallet provider. Facebook can comply with local regulation 100% in its implementation of Calibra — but if other providers don’t comply, well… Libra Calibra Critique #3: Libra will get too big and overtake the financial system! No sooner was Libra out of the gate then calcified European bureaucrats were laying into it. Here’s the French Finance Minister: Mr Le Maire said it was “out of the question” that Libra be allowed to become a sovereign currency. “It can’t and it must not happen,” he said. Ah Putain! But Libra is not a sovereign currency. It’s a basket of existing sovereign currencies and doesn’t threaten any governments printing press. Libra only fluctuates in response to the monetary policy actions of its constituent currencies — actions it has no control over. There is no seignorage (=money creation). Now it possible Libra gets so big it starts having real economic impact. But this won’t happen immediately. And by the time it does the genie will be out of the bottle. is Libra: Best viewed as a serpentine water monster Facebook’s strategy with Libra is like the Hydra of Greek mythology. That is to say — a beast with many heads. Libra’s approach to regulators will be a many headed monster. Don’t like this head? Here’s another one — ‘Libras still going live! Take this tweet by Libra top brass : david marcus “ …full privacy on custodial wallets, and BTC-like privacy on chain. Enabling shielded transactions on layer 1 at this scale would be totally irresponsible” What is he saying here? means that Facebook can use cryptography to prove they know nothing about user’s business. means criminals and money launderers can’t hide because Libras blockchain leaves a trail for the FBI. It’s private but it’s not. There’s two heads right there. “Full privacy on custodial wallets” “BTC-like privacy on chain” If you’re a central banker: Libra = Facebook + Bitcoin. Except it isn’t — it’s just a bag of foreign exchange. Facebook can’t create money out of thin air and runs on the rails of a conventional, regulated financial system. Commercial banks are paranoid it’s going to be a banking competitor. But how do you make that argument? Libra is fully backed by assets and doesn’t extend loans. It’s a many headed conundrum. And if you stop it, who stops it and where? The most ‘Hydra like’ characteristic relates to regulation — different the world over. Facebook has been careful to reduce the legal attack surface of Libra by structuring the blockchain project as a Swiss based non profit, while requiring the wallet applications using real money to be compliant per jurisdiction. A Libra wallet could be OK in one country and be shut down in another. It doesn’t affect the fact the overall system will go live — irrespective of how many heads it has to grow. Reason 2: The tech is not a problem Most crypto projects start with copying someone else’s code (called a fork). Not the Facebook boffins: — “Of all the things with Libra, what an absolute disaster this is for Hyperledger & IBM… not a single consensus module was relevant enough for Facebook to continue building on.” Eric Wall No, they do it themselves at Facebook. Most conspicuously with the invention of a called Move. new programming language What’s going on with my money here? No idea — but it’s written in “Move” They borrowed concepts. From Ethereum they’ve used a similar accounting model and gas based transaction costs. The governance model is sufficiently clever . have some company claimed they stole it But there’s no better positioned company to build a new global payments system at massive scale. Chance of executional failure is not zero. But it’s close. OK — they probably won’t stop it. What’s likely to happen? The answer is huge usage of the Libra currency — and soon. Here’s why: 1/ The remittance market Money transfer from workers in 3rd work countries sending funds home is a marquee use case for Libra. It’s a business overdue for disruption (terrible term, I know). The competition is slow, lazy and expensive — and it’s a juicy half a trillion dollar market. Facebook have the moral high ground as it’s the worlds poorest who are currently getting screwed over. If they can execute (and they will) it will be a winner take all proposition. 2/ Crypto exchange stablecoin Libra will offer an alternative to Tether. Tether is the unloved and biggest stablecoin. It’s used by big crypto exchanges to change their crypto into USD and has a $20bn-30bn daily volume. Say you’re an exchange and currently use Tether for hedging. If you could replace it with Libra, you would. Tether is not ideal. It has sketchy banking arrangements. It trades in a regulatory fog. It has a very high velocity of circulation, meaning people can’t wait to get rid of it. Libra will offer a lower volatility alternative (it’s a basket). It’s going to be super liquid with paper thin spreads. And the banking relationships will be 100% solid. Tether might well get dumped. 3/ Partner payment funnels Uber, Lyft and Ebay are partners in the Libra consortium. It makes zero sense they would not offer the new coin as a payment option. These companies have gross revenues of $50bn, $8bn and $37bn. This is close to $100bn p.a. available to flow into the ecosystem. Uber, Lyft & Ebay support? Filthy lucre coming Libra’s way! By the way — ever wonder why they never created an Uber coin? The answer is the “velocity of circulation” I mentioned above. The minute the driver got it they would redeem it for local currency, making “UberCoin” pointless. Libra will be different. Drivers (and Ebay vendors) will hang on to Libra as they will be able to use them in all sorts of places. There are lots of ways Facebook can incentivise users to hold onto these coins. One is by paying interest. Currently they have no plans to offer interest payments on the collateral backing the stablecoin, but if rates rise and it affects peoples motivation to hold Libra in the wallet — they can pivot strategy. 4/ 3rd world usage If you live in a country with exchange controls and high inflation you suffer. Your savings erode and you can’t shift it into stable alternative currencies. Venezuela, Turkey, Iran and Zimbabwe are examples. Their citizens try to use Bitcoin to get around these laws but it’s difficult and often illegal. Facebook already has large user bases in these countries. It will want to stay on the side of its users — not an oppressive government. Depriving 3rd world citizens of access would be terrible PR. Expect Facebook to obey local banking laws in respect of wallet access but keep its platform (Libra) open. It’s easy to imagine a strong incentive for local commerce in Libra. For the same reasons people will want to hold their savings in it. If this happens Libra could begin to trade as a proxy sovereign currency in countries with exchange controls and high inflation rates. 5/ Use as a trading currency Libra will be a lower cost, more convenient international trading currency. A basket of currencies will be typically more stable than any of its constituents. It’s possible this stability makes Libra attractive for small/medium scale international trade. Buyers and sellers can price goods and shipping in $Libra. The coin will have low volatility against the local currencies of both buyer and seller. What about fraud and chargeback insurance? This is what makes Credit Card and PayPal transactions so expensive. Expect low cost payment protection, either from Facebook or a marketplace of parties competing to provide it. 6/ The WeChat Pay template (WhatsApp + Libra = $22 trillion?) There is a precedent for Facebook’s move into digital currency: China. WeChat Pay and AliPay are the twin leaders in mobile payment. What happened in China when the dominant messaging platform could make payments? Meteoric growth. Third-party mobile payment transaction volume in Mainland China is $22 trillion. WeChat has a user base of 1bn. Facebook is enabling payments on both Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. They have a combined user base of 3bn. Oops — I’ve forgotten their plans to add it to Instagram. Another billion users. 7/ More coins are on the way if this works Libra is a mix of currencies — designed as a “world digital currency”. It’s good marketing and good politics to start the ball rolling. It’s trivial though for Facebook to roll out local currency versions backed by US, GBP, Euro, JPY. It starts innocently enough. Global use cases (remittance, trade) and good deeds (financial inclusion of the unbanked). But they can choose to shift gears at any time — enabling the WeChat Pay use case to play out. And it’s one where we know the outcome. In Asia even salaries are paid in the coin and money never leaves the digital sandbox. Will they do this? “Eventually, yes”. 8/ Facebook is the Facebook killer Social networks have accumulated massive value because of network effects. This value has been locked up in the silos of Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. And regulators and public opinion are pushing back. The goal eventually is decentralised social networks. A model where users can unlock their own value. Be paid for tweets, likes and compensated for exposing personal information. Crypto micropayments are what enable this endgame. The ideas here are not new — has had some traction. But collectively Facebook, WhatsApp & Instagram control content and distribution at massive scale. Brave’s Basic Attention Token (BAT) Facebook know they need to allow user monetisation before a competitor does. Or regulators force their hand. How can I make money from this? Facebook Stock (FB) The huge Libra opportunity is currently not understood by analysts, who are fixated on the risks of the legacy ad model and user data privacy regulation. Facebook’s stock is currently priced at a compound annual growth rate of 20% and a conservative price earnings multiple ~25x (S&P trades at ~20x). If Libra/Calibra were a standalone company with access to trillions of dollars in payment flow and a monopoly over the Facebook brand family it would be a multi billion dollar startup. The Libra rollout however has not moved the dial with respect to Facebook’s stock. This implies it is priced as if Libra has a zero possibility of success or completely discounts any value it will add. This will not last as analysts begin to price the project as an option on huge upside in user engagement and revenue. Crypto exchange tokens BNB, LEO Cryptocurrency exchanges will serve as an off ramp for Libra and an on ramp to all other digital assets. As such, total crypto market cap will rise dramatically. Profitability of major crypto exchanges will spike as transaction volumes surge. Binance and Bitfinex are large crypto exchanges which offer access to this profitability through “exchange tokens”. These tokens are tradeable cryptocurrencies that offer direct and indirect exposure to the revenue stream of the exchange, and have a diminishing supply due to a token burn process similar to equity buybacks. Exchange tokens BNB, LEO are currently the most effective way to gain exposure to increasing digital asset volumes TLDR; Facebook are going to succeed with Libra. Huge volume is incoming and likely growing monthly at high rates. Libra to be a top 5 token within months of launch. Likely to exceed entire crypto market cap within a 18 months. Assets likely to rise as a result? Facebook Stock and Crypto Exchange Tokens BNB, LEO. Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and nothing in this article should be construed as personal financial advice

How you can profit from Facebook’s new coin (not by buying it!)

ICO’s Have All But Completely Exited Stage Left. Enter The Security Token? As the great cryptocurrency winter of 2018 extends its grip by yet another month, at various blockchain conferences worldwide has been rife that a is on the cusp of forming. This new breed of digital assets is one that seeks to comply with existing regulators, rather than to subvert. Security tokens are are programmatically designed to be compliant with relevant regulations. In the words of influential crypto podcaster and fund manager : anecdotal evidence security token wave Anthony Pompliano If cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are considered “programmable money” then you can consider Security Tokens a version of “programmable ownership.” With recent examples of assets being tokenized ranging from the , to a , to a Picasso painting (facilitated by a certain ), to private shares of startups from and , momentum is clearly favouring this nascent development. Whisper it, but we may even be witnessing the first shoots of a transition from the wild west that was ICO-mania making way for a ‘Security Token Offering (STO) spring’. St. Regis Aspen Resort New York real estate fund John McAfee Germany Brazil Setting The Scene Before I proceed any deeper — and without suggesting that STOs will necessarily step in to fuel yet another market-wide bull run (out of scope for this piece), I would highly recommend that you revisit this great introductory piece on tokenization: _Not everything will be tokenized, but those that can be will be._hackernoon.com How does tokenization work, anyway? Followed by this other persuasive piece which lays out the full transformative potential for the security token space: _Last summer I wrote Traditional Asset Tokenization, in which I hypothesized that a broad array of assets will move to…_hackernoon.com The Security Token Thesis In short, there are a whole host of benefits driving the security token thesis for mainstream adoption, including 24/7 markets, fractional ownership, rapid settlement, automated compliance and asset interoperability. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an understanding of what we define as the — think of it as a series of production line steps which are necessary to create and trade a security token — and an overview on how the ecosystem is shaping up around these layers, especially in markets with more developed regulatory frameworks relevant to STOs such as the United States. security token value chain The Security Token Value Chain (aka Yet Another Stack) The following provides a layered structure of how we’ve classified the various security token ecosystem players today (from bottom to top): hamburger Deal Flow Origination Issuance Platforms Services Secondary Market Trading Defining The Security Token ‘Ecosystem Stack’ Today While the above provides some form of general structure around the process, do note that some of the activities (e.g. auxiliary services) may overlap across multiple other layers, and/or differ entirely in various other flavours as designed by the platform stakeholders. Deal-flow Origination We begin with the very bottom of the security token hamburger stack. Simply put, deal-flow origination refers to the process of matching the demand and supply of capital for investments. The degree of customer accessibility to these investments vary along a spectrum. On one end there are more open platforms such as Kickstarter where the average retail investor Joe may participate in funding the development of cool product ideas; while on the other end there are platforms such as where only accredited investors are able to join in on equity investments in Silicon Valley-based technology startups. AngeList As a rule of thumb, the general requirements for an aspiring investor to partake becomes more onerous as factors such as deal exclusivity, target capital raise, average cheque size and financing complexity increases. Said requirements usually entail attaining investor accreditation status, more disclosure requirements and sometimes higher fees. Current notable deal-flow origination platforms involved in the STO space include , and . Indiegogo — most notable among the examples for having been in the traditional crowdfunding space for about a decade — lent its credible reputation to back the ambitious by being the platform through which investors could participate in the initial STO. Most platforms have side-stepped requirements to file for traditional securities offerings by allowing only accredited investors to participate, while some such as Republic allows for regular retail participation via relying on an alphabet soup of ( ). Republic Crypto SeriesOne Indiegogo St. Regis Aspen Resort tokenization project SEC regulatory exemptions more on that later Fancy purchasing a fraction of a fancy ski resort? Issuance Platforms and Core & Auxiliary Services Moving along to the meat within the security token stack, we come to the issuance platforms. These players specialize in providing the technical smart contract know-how necessary for the primary issuance of programmable security tokens. They provide solutions that handle for things like investor accreditation, KYC/AML requirements, capital raising taxation, as well as the myriad of other more specific shareholder provisions (e.g. first rights to refusal, residency requirements, shareholder ownership concentration rules, etc.). They aim to address as far as possible the common needs of the majority of asset issuers. The goal for these solutions would be to automate compliance while maintaining immutability and process transparency. Implemented well, such solutions will ensure that situations such as the — whereby human error during various ledger reconciliation processes resulted in duplicate shares of Dole Foods being issued on various ledgers — does not wastefully occur. Dole Foods case Most issuance platforms come bundled with services aimed at meeting the common requirements of potential STO issuers in a bid to make up a full-service solution. This would include dashboards for token issuers, and functionalities to allow for them to easily conduct corporate actions such as shareholder voting, rights issue, dividends, interest payments, revenue share distribution and ESOPs, with the aid of document signature tools for token-holders. Examples include , which enabled the tokenization of the Aspen project on Indiegogo, as well as Coinbase-backed startup , which had facilitated the tokenization of two blockchain investment funds, and . Templum Securitize Blockchain Capital SPiCE VC Rounding off the list of services necessary are trust companies and custodians — a category of companies that are absolutely integral to making tokenization tick, especially in the case of most assets that are not (i.e. today’s “ ” assets such as stocks, real estate and art). Their jobs as custodians are to ensure that these assets — be it the stock certificate, property title deed, physical painting — are being held in a secure location, with token-holder ownership rights being clearly defined and legally upheld, and that the tokens in issue that represent them are always counter-balanced in a 1:1 ratio by the underlying asset. Key players to have established this niche for themselves are and . natively-digital real-world PrimeTrust BitGo Secondary Market Trading Finally at the very top, secondary market trading is the layer which provides security tokens with their much-heralded benefits of liquidity and 24/7 trading & settlement. An intuitive, easy-to-use trading interface constitutes table stakes for any form of digital asset exchange product these days. For any STO exchange to materially value-add to the user experience, they will have to be cognisant of the rules of the legal jurisdiction that they operate in, as well as that of its customer clientele. For instance, they may automatically facilitate reporting on capital gains taxes applicable for American users who have profited through trading on the secondary market, but not for Singaporean users (where capital gains taxes do not apply for retail investments). Other differentiating factors relate to the user experience journey. Exchanges can be set up such that they give users the option of self-custody of their own digital assets, or — for those who are less savvy technically with managing private keys — provide them with just a simple, user account plus password system. Exchanges can also help reduce the time taken for trade settlements on their platforms through the use of . Stablecoins will allow for such trades to happen atomically, which implies that I receive my sales proceeds the moment that my sell order gets paired with an interested buyer, with my security token going the other way in one single, simultaneous action. This is an exponential improvement over the settlement speed for securities trading in existence today, where T+2 represents the gold standard (cross-border stock trading settlement sometimes require T+5 days even!). stablecoins A couple of juggernauts have already made their mark. has raced ahead on the partnerships front, forming a to list the tokens issued by an assortment of niche issuance platforms. , a blockchain subsidiary of NASDAQ-listed company Overstock, has built up a sizeable war chest after the conclusion of its own US$134M in August. Purchasers of their tokens are promised regular dividend payouts tied to the profits generated by their exchange business. OpenFinance Network whole slew of collaborations tZERO STO round The Land Grab Race Is On Calling the space fragmented would be an understatement at this point in time; slide not an exhaustive representation of all notable players The current landscape remains largely fragmented with players finding their niches and gradually establishing partnerships. While there are unique cases of projects such as that are seeking to provide a complete end-to-end solution for potential STO issuers — or rather ETO (equity token offering) issuers, as they have chosen to term it, most are specializing within a certain layer within the stack , before partnering with other projects that complement them. For example, — a tokenized fund specializing in investing in blockchain startups (deal-flow) has partnered with Securitize for the issuance of their tokens, and also with OpenFinance Network to enable the of their tokens. Neufund SPiCE VC future subsequent trading Another observation to make would be that the structure of most of these blockchain startups are rather akin to that of a “traditional” tech startup, operating on a service revenue-based business model. Exceptions include those which have made use of STOs to coordinate platform incentives and/or raise capital (e.g. Neufund, SPiCE and tZero) from investors in exchange for the promise of future dividends, along with several others which have done ICOs (e.g. Polymath, Rate3 and TrustToken) or have distributed their tokens via mining incentives (e.g. Ravencoin). Finally, it is also noteworthy to mention that the large majority of these players are based in the United States, highlighting the immaturity — as well as the consequent potential — of the asset tokenization space in other markets. Still Early Days On The Regulatory Front While acknowledging that there have been several forward-thinking, tokenization projects that have made news headlines recently, one cannot stress enough on the infancy of the entire security token space as a whole. Most of the marquee, flag-bearing tokenization proof-of-concept projects so far are just that — PoCs that are being sold to a small, of investors only, in order to stay on the right side of regulators. Mass retail adoption are still some significant way off. ‘real-world’ select group accredited Having said that, it is apparent — and heartening — that the clarity of regulatory exemptions available within the United States has resulted in many security token ecosystem projects and partnerships flourishing there. Ken Nguyen, founder and CEO of Republic was recently interviewed in a great podcast, in the process demystifying the various US regulatory exemptions which STO projects could seek: It does not appear long before other Asian ‘pro-crypto’ jurisdictions such as Singapore and Japan start embracing STO innovations on their shores as well, allowing for the retail investor masses — — portfolio exposure to security tokens serving as proxies for investments which they may never have got the access to otherwise. not just accredited investors This is a thought which truly excites me; imagine the multi-fold returns of having been able to invest in one of the early rounds of equity fundraising for startups such as Grab or Gojek. Think of the whole new design space which issuers could work with to increase customer engagement and loyalty, such as, for example, allowing for priority booking for token-holders. With jurisdictions like the United States laying the groundwork for others to observe and adapt, what was once solely the domain of the rich and connected may soon become within touching distance of the masses within the near future. Disclosure: I work at Rate3 Network , a protocol that handles asset-tokenization and identity management across both Ethereum and Stellar blockchains.

Why You Need To Know The Security Token Value Chain (aka Yet Another Stack)

_San Francisco, CA_ By John Wu Table of Contents Introduction: Raising from Sand Hill VC’s Enter: The Problem with Venture Capital Enter: The Rise of Crowdfunding Platforms Enter: The Rise of the Initial Coin Offering Enter: Munchee and the SEC’s Cease and Desist Orders Enter: The Howey Test Enter: The Birth of the Security Token Offering Enter: The Marketplaces That List Security Tokens Enter: The Rise of Security Tokens Enter: When Security Tokens Look More Like Traditional Investments Introduction: Raising from Sand Hill VC’s Sand Hill has long been legendary for having the smartest “value-add” investors that will help any entrepreneur make the right hires and secure their first couple of marquee customers. With the likes of the legendary John Doerr and Mary Meeker, investors at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers and Steve Jurvetson of DFJ, every entrepreneur who wanted to “make it” knew the pecking order in the world of venture capital and sought to obtain investments from the brand name funds. Enter: The Problem with Venture Capital With the growth of the VC industry as well as the establishment of well-known firms which raised larger and larger funds, the size of unicorn companies that venture capital liked to fund became larger and larger and many repeat “serial” entrepreneurs already familiar to these reputable VC firms became the same likely recipients of a majority of checks from venture firms. With a growing number of studies and statistics around those who received funding, the conclusions seemed to be that venture capital was not able to properly allocate funds to underrepresented minorities such as females or new entrepreneurs that were not part of the existing “in-crowd.” Ultimately the personality-driven industry of venture capital and the ability of investors to allocate capital may not have been the most meritocratic way to allocate capital to the best and brightest projects without personal bias that would allow minorities, females, and first-time entrepreneurs to start companies. Darlings of Silicon Valley such as Juicero and Luxe, backed by the legendary firms on Sand Hill, also simultaneously laid off scores of employees as these companies failed to break even and achieve profitability. News outlets mused — had Silicon Valley lost its touch? How did these companies obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Sand Hill VC’s for selling $400 juicers and on-demand parking valet services which would never be practical or affordable to the average middle-class consumer? Had Silicon Valley VC’s lost touch with the wants and needs of the average consumer and instead, decided to fund projects that they and their peers, the top 1%, would find valuable or had popular “celebrity” CEO’s at the helm? Enter: The Rise of Crowdfunding Platforms Hardware companies, infamous for their required upfront capital expenditures and high failure rates, had long been able to circumvent the VC route by using crowdfunding as a strategy. The great thing about crowdfunding was that your backers were also your initial customers who were pledging to pre-order the product that you were trying to build — a great way to prove out demand and the existence of product market fit. It was easier for those who did not fit the Silicon Valley entrepreneur stereotype to appeal to a wider audience on the Internet using advertising and social media. Not necessarily constrained to appealing to the select few VC’s who invested in hardware in Silicon Valley, a cottage industry sprouted up of agencies that helped these companies make sleek marketing videos and viral social media posts to promote their crowdfunding campaigns. Enter: The Rise of the Initial Coin Offering With the launch of the idea of “Bitcoin” and alternatively “Ethereum,” blockchain technology platforms with ecosystems where tokens were a means of payment or other utility were created from what seemed to be thin air, with early backers of projects showing their support by buying tokens that were native to their respective platform. In the same way that crowdfunding platforms allowed aspiring entrepreneurs to raise money from potential users of their product, simultaneously achieving “product market fit,” these Initial Coin Offerings allowed companies to engage with token buyer participants who would also be potential users of their products. Blockchain technology and smart contracts allowed for the token buyers to claim ownership to these digital assets / virtual currencies without the involvement of a third party doing the accounting to prevent double spending. Initially, companies were able to raise millions overnight with a theoretical “white paper” and little to no progress on an actual product with little need for investment banks or private placement agents and no need to make the rounds on Sand Hill. In this unregulated industry, the cost of capital from raising money using utility tokens was significantly cheaper than raising money via the traditional equity route. With any profit opportunity in an industry that lacks regulation, unscrupulous characters can target the amateur consumer. With the increasing frequency of “scam” coins that did not deliver the product detailed in their white papers, the CFTC and SEC took a more active stance and increased oversight of the industry. Enter: Munchee and the SEC’s Cease and Desist Orders The SEC was destined to make an example of someone, so when a company called Munchee (an Instagram meets Yelp) on the blockchain stated that it would guarantee listings on exchanges in order to provide investors liquidity and also stated that the price of the Munchee token would grow as a result of the company’s hard work (as opposed to any actions taken by the token holder), the SEC deemed the token to be a security rather than a utility token. The executives of the company were given a cease and desist order by the SEC and were ordered to halt their token sale and refund the funds that they had raised so far. Enter: The Howey Test After Munchee’s demise, companies placed even more emphasis on consulting with law firms such as Cooley, the creator of the Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (“SAFT”) that was piloted with the debut of Protocol Lab’s Filecoin ICO. The SAFT itself was a security that had to be marketed to accredited investors, however, once the tokens were minted in the ecosystem and the product was mature, the tokens would gain “utility” and would be able to be sold to the public in a crowdsale. The utility of the token was crucial, especially since most cryptocurrency exchanges did not have the proper broker-dealer and ATS registrations to list security tokens and trade these unregistered digital securities. After doing an initial coin offering, purchasers of tokens that were not utility tokens would not be able to recognize any “profits” or capital appreciations if their tokens were not listed on exchanges. Enter: The Birth of the Security Token Offering Early investment firms such as Science Blockchain were able to raise money by “tokenizing” their funds or raising money from investors through tokens in order to use these funds to invest. With the success of the initial coin offerings invested in by Science, Science token holders would be entitled to the tokens of each of Science’s portfolio companies, similar to being entitled to a dividend. The only piece missing was the fact that token holders were not able to recognize any capital appreciation by selling their security tokens to other buyers on a secondary market, due to the lack of exchanges with the proper registrations to trade security tokens. Enter: The Marketplaces That List Security Tokens In 2018, companies such as Templum, T-Zero, Coinbase and Sharespost announced their progress in being closer to listing security tokens on their respective exchanges. Companies such as Sharespost were uniquely positioned to take advantage of this opportunity with an existing broker dealer and ATS registration and the ability to offer the opportunity for any exchange to compliantly settle security token transactions in the U.S. through Sharespost’s GLASS Settlement Network. Enter: The Rise of Security Tokens With the rise of security token liquidity, companies are now considering raising funds using security tokens. These assets are “securities” and are only legally marketable to accredited investors ($1M+ net worth or $200K+ annual salary for two years). Therefore, the pool of security token buyers is much smaller than utility token buyers. These security token offerings must have their primary issuance conducted by those who are registered as broker-dealers. With this higher barrier to entry and increased “professionalism” for those who wish to facilitate security token offerings, the competitive landscape of vendors is less crowded than for utility token offerings and vendors can charge more, charging from 3–10% on average for all funds raised for their clients plus monthly retainers, success fees, etc. Enter: When Security Tokens Look More Like Traditional Investments Although mentions of blockchain or cryptocurrency may elicit doubt and skepticism in many circles on Main Street due to the scams that have plagued the Initial Coin Offering ecosystem, once security token offerings start to look more like stocks, bonds and alternative investments, the security token may become the next new asset class that rounds out a well-diversified portfolio. I predict that security tokens will usher in the participation of hedge funds, wealth management platforms, and many traditional institutional investors and in the process, make blockchain-related technologies more mainstream. It will behoove exchanges or virtual currency platforms to adopt the same kind of user interface that Robinhood has by allowing users to trade digital assets and regular stocks easily in one place and also integrate the appropriate digital asset wallets into one easy-to-use platform. I am very bullish on the blockchain-enabled ecosystem and believe that “security tokens” will help cryptocurrency lose the stigma currently associated with the term that has prompted popular thought leaders such as Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon to issue statements indicating skepticism toward cryptocurrencies. The answer to many of the struggles of blockchain-related digital assets is to gain mainstream adoption and acceptance. This is the first of many blog posts where I will write about the security token ecosystem, and I hope we will be able to continue our dialogue around the topic — please do not hesitate to comment on this post or any subsequent posts on my or . Medium Twitter ___ Thank you kind reader for taking the time to read through my blog! If we haven’t met yet, it’s an honor to make your acquaintance. My name is John Wu and I am currently CEO of Sharespost’s Digital Assets Group. My primary aim is to bridge the gap between professional “institution-grade” asset management and cryptocurrency/blockchain investing. As a tech investor and entrepreneur, I have always strived to identify disruptive trends before they are well-discovered and well-understood. In the last three years, I have focused on digital assets and blockchain technology. I have invested in cryptocurrencies, and tokens — as well as VC equity of startups building the financial system of the future using blockchain and distributed ledger. I started my investing career at Tiger Management. Later, at Kingdon Capital, I invested in companies across Technology, Media, Telecom, FinTech, and Services. I founded Sureview Capital in 2010 with a strategic investment from Blackstone and raised approximately $400M in AUM. If you’d like to connect, please drop me a line on LinkedIn . here

A Brief History of Security Token Offerings: How Did We Get Here?

7 tips to avoid getting in trouble with hawkish investors Photo credit: via / Kingray Foter.com CC BY-NC-SA In the past year at , I have closely witnessed a few instances of fundraises where key investors behaved un-admirably, by failing to honor their commitment or trying to re-negotiate previously agreed terms of investment at the last minute. Mostly this happened at the round closure stage, i.e. post term sheet/ due diligence & during paper-work/ money transfer, despite the investors being well aware of the limited runway & options available to the startup. At worst, they possibly happened specifically because of this knowledge! Globevestor startup [ : This post is in continuation of a recent tweet storm. I did the tweet storm , so don’t have a single tweet link to share, but here they are: , , , , , , , , , .] Note wrong 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 End For , having a funding round fall apart is a very difficult situation and brings immense stress. They may feel trapped and helpless when key investors threaten to walk, and may end up agreeing to the new draconian terms on offer to avoid a fundraise collapse. While it is true that most investors act responsibly and don’t want bad press turning away good deal flow, there are some bad fish out in the world. founders Remarkably, all the startups I saw whose lead investor walked are alive and well today. They used different ways to wriggle out of the tough spot — internal round using convertible, smaller angel round, going profitable or reformulating the round. Of course, this is anecdotal data and may represent only exceptions. But the big takeaway is that founders of well-known startups have faced this and prevailed. Learning from those examples, here are 7 tips for founders to avoid getting in a tangle with hawkish investors and, if unavoidable, navigate through it. 1. Have enough runway when fundraising The primary reason investors are able to squeeze founders right at the end is because they know you have only a few weeks of runway left. And if the investor walks when you’ve already assumed money is in the bank, you’re as good as dead. So most probably, you’ll agree to worse terms. Best way to avoid this is to not be vulnerable due to an empty bank account. Now, unless you’re a serial entrepreneur with a past successful exit, have good rapport with senior management at VC funds, or have a large HNI friends & family network, your fundraise will take time. Usually, from the day VCs start getting really interested (3–4 quick follow ups or them specifically mentioning it), it will easily take 4–6 months for money to hit the bank. For an angel round, it’ll usually be 2–4 months. Lots of times, founders plan a seed round to last only 9–12 months. This is harakiri! It gives you only 3–6 months to move your traction to a point where VCs start getting seriously interested, providing no room for any failed experiments or hiccups. And things never go as per plan. So always raise for 18–24 months, as even in the best of times the fastest Seed-to-Series A in India . And hopefully within an year, you’ll get enough traction to excite VCs, yet have no runway blues. took 14 months 2. Don’t celebrate early (Keep creating options) Another point of vulnerability is when the investor knows that your conversations with other investors are not as advanced. This means if the investor walks, you wouldn’t have the time to get others in to replace them. And hence, again, you might agree to worse terms. This can be avoided if they know that other investors are in the fray (or you just manage that perception well). Therefore, always keep talking to everyone. Don’t start banking on one investor too early and lose interest with others. Keep conversations going so that more than one investor is interested at the same time. An extreme version of this is FOMO among investors, but those days are well behind us. Of course, institutional investors will mostly have exclusivity clause in term sheets. But you could push back to ensure it is time bound, say 1.5–2 months, and drop hints that you’d rather close it early with others than drag it out with them. A ploy founders use (which investors hate) is to not counter-sign the term sheet (hence, avoid exclusivity) for a few days while shopping around for better offers. This has its own demerits as it impacts relationships for future rounds. 3. Value all investors in the round Even if your round has multiple investors along with the lead, do value the minority investors equally and be fair to them in shareholder rights. Keep regular communication going with them and do not make them feel neglected due to the size of their cheque. This allows you to lean on them when the lead acts funny. If they’re in the round due to you, and not because of the lead, there’s a very high chance they’ll help out to put a revised round together. In one instance, after the lead demanded unfairly preferential rights over other investors, we’ve seen the angels/ smaller funds get into overdrive mode to get newer investors in and kick the lead out ( ). It resulted in a much better marquee set of investors in the round than before. 3 4. Keep your existing investors engaged Similar to the previous tip, even if a new big name investor is leading the new round, ensure that the existing investors remain your confidantes. Keep them engaged and again, be fair to them in shareholder rights. Existing investors can most times put together a bridge round if you’re doing well. Usually, existing investors will also be able to do the internal round with speed and bring in additional minority investors even when running against time ( ). 2 In reality, you should keep all your existing investors engaged on a continuous basis and not just during a fundraise. Apart from valuable advice/ connections, you would also get a good sense of which existing investor is still bullish on you and hence, will help you out. 5. Be prepared for a smaller round Instead of agreeing to draconian terms by the lead, it is better to revise your plan and raise lesser from friendly investors. However, instead of scrambling to make a plan B after the fundraise falls apart and when you’re under tremendous stress, it’s better to plan ahead. Ask yourself how would you keep running the business for another 18 months even if you raise much lower than the target. And accordingly, keep the budget, hiring plan and revised business targets ready. If things go really wrong with a lead investor, and you have no replacement lead, consider getting the minority investors to still invest a smaller round on your revised plan ( ). Of course, the revised plan would still need to be exciting enough for someone to invest in you. 4 6. Take control of your own destiny (Turn profitable) This is true regardless of the day in your startup life — you’re in control if you’re making money, and dependent on others till you’re losing money. However, if you’re not yet profitable, your fundraise blows out and you have no other option, consider becoming a startup ( ). Cut as many expenses as you can, get to the smallest possible team, explore alternate revenue streams, and turn . cockroach 5 ramen profitable This in my opinion, is much better than going down with a bang, as opportunities you don’t see today open up when you spend considerable time mulling over a problem. Pivots become possible. You might not immediately see how you’ll scale as a cockroach, but you’ll never know if you could have if you don’t try. 7. Challenge your understanding of investment terms As an anti-thesis, consider if the new terms proposed are really draconian or if you’re unaware of standard terms. It may be possible that the fault lies in your understanding and personal expectation management. To ensure this is not the case, speak to your advisors to find out standard industry terms of investment. We’ve seen founders get worked up even regarding standard equity vesting schedules, so it’s not unimaginable that the new terms investor demands might actually be fair. Going into a fundraising mode with the above tips in mind might hopefully protect you from being at the receiving end of draconian investors. Or have you already lived to tell the tale? [Originally published at blog.ankurshrivastava.com .] [Previous post: ] 5 Thumb Rules of Angel Investing

Dealing With Draconian Investors

In one word? Yes Having seen a few ventures ground upwards, I can vouch for statutory compliance's and requirements not featuring into the top five agendas of startup managements. Typically, Indian startups somehow have a tendency to push anything they perceive to not be of immediate importance to the back burner. By contrast, their peers in the west see the larger picture and realise the need for a solid foundation on which to build a business. Think of it as building a house, where the legal eagle you hire is your foundation and what you build from the surface level upwards is your business. A. Can you compromise? A lot of folks tend to compromise on engaging with a at the earliest stages of their ventures, and rely on available resources and handymen who are able to incorporate a company and somewhat operationalise an entity. Unfortunately, there is more to the law than merely setting up shop and commencing work. The nature of the entity you choose for your business, how you structure its legal form, how conducive you make it to receive funding, compliance with statutes from the outset, are all vital parameters that a good lawyer can lend you his experience with. For example, in a time when some of the industry’s marquee businesses are “externalised”, it might be useful for you to understand and explore the nuances of what that means, whether you should adopt that route, what the government’s future policy is likely to be, the pros and cons and fall-back solutions. lawyer B. What should you be looking for? I wish I could say — find yourself someone with “experience”. That’s a no-brainer! Sure, experience is of paramount importance, but it isn’t the only thing you should be looking for in a lawyer. You might not know it just yet, but what you’re doing is in fact selecting a Partner for your business. In the same way that your chartered accountant and family doctors are keepers, a good lawyer will serve you well in time to come. Use your network, talk to people, go through LinkedIn profiles, run a Google search and see if you can whittle it down to a select list. Once you’re here, you’re looking for some of the following filters to aid you in funnelling the flow further: Long after the individual is gone, the firm remains. You may hire a great independent lawyer today only to discover he’s gone tomorrow. You always want to be able to call upon someone to carry that baton forward without a hitch. Of course, you could always jump ship with the lawyer when he moves on to his next firm, but then you’re doing the same thing really. But what if he moves abroad, or quits the practice, or goes in-house, or worse, drops you like a hot brick because he doesn’t fancy your business anymore? Pick a law firm. You’ll be happier for it. Pick a Firm: Someone who talks the talk should also walk the walk, correct? Do you connect with the guy? Is he someone who understands your business and the fact that you’ve taken a leap of faith towards producing a new born? Is he an understanding guide or a condescending one? Attitude: It might all seem very intimidating at first, but pick the right lawyer for the right field of law you need him for. A lawyer will not have domain expertise on who may not have expertise on deals who might not know anything about representing you in court as a , who in turn might not know much about . It’s a bit like going to the right doctor for an ailment. Sure, you could sometimes get by with a general practitioner, but invariably you need a specialist. Domain Experts: General Corporate/M&A Intellectual Property Private Equity/VC Litigator General Corporate/M&A NOBODY works for free. The first few times are all hunky dory with conceptual level advice, but come time to hit the ground running, you will need to pay up. And because this is a big deal, figuratively and sometimes quite literally, I’ve tried to put down a few parameters you could use in money matters with your counsel. Money matters: Talking the 3 letter word Lawyers usually have ‘targets’ (per-determined revenue/billing goals set by the firm they work at) to attain in a year. So don’t hold it against your lawyer if he brings up the subject in your conversations. That said, if you feel it is something that is coming up a little too frequently, you might well have a situation coming up where you’re worrying more about how to pay him than what you’re getting from him. So how do you tackle this? Here are a few pointers: : by agreeing on a fixed fee instead of hourly billing (where you’re effectively billed by the hour), you will be hedging uncapped legal bills. It’s best to have a conversation with your lawyer and ask him if it makes sense to go in for a fixed fee structure or if he envisages a discounted hourly billing rate might work out cheaper. If you have a genuine partner at hand, not only will he advise you correctly, you might be able to structure the fee in a manner that could be a hybrid of lump sum fixed fee and hourly billing with hard caps/soft caps. Fee structure : today, there is a breed of lawyers who understand that startups often have a cash crunch/liquidity issue at the outset, and are willing to defer payments. Have a word with your lawyer and ask him if you can make payments in tranches. You could pay a percentage of his fee today and pay him the balance after you’ve raised capital, whether through external funding, revenues or otherwise. Deferred Compensation : ever thought of proposing equity to your lawyer? It’s a long shot, especially since you’re a startup, but there are some folks out there who understand the nature of disproportionate returns that can be made. The additional advantage is that you will probably appreciate your lawyer’s skin in the game and by default have a domain expert on board. This might even be a shrewd way to virtually ensure you’re insulated from legal issues in the long run. Nature of compensation To Conclude Suggestions I’ve made are from personal experience only. While they might not be cast in stone, they could be used judiciously to first identify and then extract the best relationship you can with a prospective partner for your business. is how hackers start their afternoons. We’re a part of the family. We are now and happy to opportunities. Hacker Noon @AMI accepting submissions discuss advertising &sponsorship To learn more, , , or simply, read our about page like/message us on Facebook tweet/DM @HackerNoon. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend reading our and . Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted! latest tech stories trending tech stories

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by Jeff Garzik and Ralph Benko We agree with the recently published Techno-Optimist Manifesto We agree with the recently published , hailing, among other things, the importance to civilization of energy and, thus, of good, practical energy policy. Abundant, reliable, readily affordable power is what unlocks a nation's dynamism, builds factories, creates jobs, enhances national security, and reduces poverty and famine. Techno-Optimist Manifesto A specter is now haunting those of us (including us) who believe that equitable prosperity is a great thing for people and the planet both. This specter is the shade of those who are anti-technology and anti-prosperity. Pro-prosperity goes under the rubric of e/acc, shorthand for “ .” As an aside, that might be a coinage derived from “ .” The latter had its day, although now is tarnished by the spectacular fall of its most enthusiastic and flamboyant promoter, . effective accelerationism effective altruism Sam Bankman-Fried The opponents of tech, and of its attendant general prosperity, have been dubbed the “decels.” Possibly a sly allusion to “incels.” e/acc also goes by the term “techno-optimism.” Many prominent center-leftists are at least as enthusiastic about the promise of technology to improve the lives of people and the planet as are the card-carrying members of the vast right-wing conspiracy. Techno-optimists tend to lean libertarian, whether left or right. Prominent among the leading proponents are masters of the universe , , , (with stated reservations about AI), and . Also notable are economist, blogger, and journalist ( ), public intellectual Peter Zeihan, who refers to the process of deindustrialization now underway as “decivilization,” and , who presents at a16z with exceptional clarity on matters such as . Marc Andreessen Ben Horowitz Bill Gates Vitalik Buterin Peter Thiel Noah Smith an incisive self-professed political southpaw Ryan McEntush how to scale nuclear power The villains in this drama are those who committed to “degrowth,” or shrinking the economy, perhaps by the “spectre of degrowth communism” of “Kohei Saito, the rising star of contemporary Marxist thought….” best exemplified Marxists Never Cease To Delight in Spectral Haunting Marxists just never cease to delight in spectral haunting. Some people just have to learn the hard way. We’ve written about the tussle between us techno-optimists and the luddites at ; ; at ; and at . Let’s up the ante. Toward a Pragmatic American Energy Policy To Build or Not to Build Washington? Just Face Facts Yankee Ingenuity The sweet spot of Washington Power and Light, our policy institute, is good energy policy, the foundation of equitable prosperity. In that, we are not alone. Marc Andreessen recently, in his . wrote: The Techno-Optimist Manifesto “Energy is life. We take it for granted, but without it, we have darkness, starvation, and pain. With it, we have light, safety, and warmth. We believe energy in an upward spiral. Energy is the foundational engine of our civilization. … We believe we should place intelligence and energy in a positive feedback loop, and drive them both to infinity. We believe we should use the feedback loop of intelligence and energy to make everything we want and need abundant.” should be And as Noah Smith observes in : Don’t be a Decel “Energy technology is arguably the most important kind of technology that humans create, since everything else we do is downstream of our ability to harness energy.” It isn’t very romantic of us, but … our mission is to encourage policy based on real-world data to produce great results, rather than relying on faith-based dreams we call “hopium.” We consider ourselves proud pragmatists. Pretty much everyone, including the innumerate, has heard of Einstein’s E = mc2, energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. the world’s most famous equation. PBS calls it While it is profound to prove that energy and matter are interchangeable, in day-to-day terms it’s not the most important equation around. We nominate, instead, e2/acc: effective energy accelerationism. Capitalism’s monster Those advocating economic “shrinkage” (to steal ) are an odd lot. Consider the frailty of the romantics, like Saito. He was critiqued by Thomas Fazi at , as “capitalism’s monster.” a phrase from Seinfeld Unherd To wit: “It is no coincidence that Saito comes from Japan, which enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world. But for most people on the planet, especially those living in poorer countries, climate change among the lowest policy priorities — well below more pressing material concerns such as hunger and poverty, access to water and sanitation, and education. systematically ranks “To the billions of people who still live in extreme poverty, and the millions who don’t even have access to electricity, Saito’s vision of degrowth communism, and his plea to scale back production and consumption, is unlikely to be very appealing. In fact, Saito’s insistence that countries in the Global South should refrain from pursuing growth — even ‘green growth’ — might very well be seen as a form of Western eco-imperialism. … “In this sense, degrowth communism suffers from the same drawback of old-school communism: it’s an intrinsically universalist worldview, one that purports to offer a one-size-fits-all solution for all human societies, regardless of local cultural and civilisational specificities. This globalist outlook is typical of post-Nineties leftism, which Saito harks back to in several respects. This is also evident in his rejection of the nation-state, viewed as a reactionary, quasi-fascist construct, rather than the framework through which virtually all the major social, economic and political advancements of the past centuries were achieved. “It’s a view that is completely at odds with global realities. Capitalism’s monster? At odds with reality? Yeah, that’s our poster child villain, all right! Curtis Yarvin: the greatest living Hobbesian philosopher, formidable poet, and classic antihero, declares Trotsky at Burning Man Among others in the techno-pessimistic camp is the always interesting contrarian Curtis Yarvin – the greatest living Hobbesian philosopher and poet, a classic antihero rather than villain, and possibly simply being arch – recently published “ .” Therein, he wrote: a techno-pessimist manifesto “Where did this ideology come from? While the connection is obviously a coincidence, techno-optimism is a curious historical match for another deeply American ideology from the 20th century: Trotskyism. “In (1924), Trotsky wrote: Literature and Revolution “Through the machine, man in Socialist society will command nature in its entirety, with its grouse and its sturgeons. He will change the course of the rivers, and he will lay down rules for the oceans. This does not mean that the entire globe will be marked off into boxes, that the forests will be turned into parks and gardens. Thickets and forests and grouse and tigers will remain, but only where man commands them to remain. And man will do it so well that the tiger won’t even notice the machine, or feel the change, but will live as he lived in primeval times. The machine is not in opposition to the earth. The machine is the instrument of modern man in every field of life… “Man, who will learn how to move rivers and mountains, how to build people’s palaces on the peaks of the Mont Blanc and at the bottom of the Atlantic, will not only be able to add to his own life richness, brilliancy and intensity, but also a dynamic quality of the highest degree. The shell of life will hardly have time to form before it will burst open again under the pressure of new technical and cultural inventions and achievements. Life in the future will not be monotonous! “Narrator: nor was it. “More than that. Man at last will begin to harmonize himself in earnest. He will make it his business to achieve beauty by giving the movement of his own limbs the utmost precision, purposefulness and economy in his work, his walk and his play. He will try to master first the semiconscious and then the subconscious processes in his own organism, such as breathing, the circulation of the blood, digestion, reproduction, and, within necessary limits, he will try to subordinate them to the control of reason and will. Even purely physiologic life will become subject to collective experiments. The human species, the coagulated Homo sapiens, will once more enter into a state of radical transformation, and, in his own hands, will become an object of the most complicated methods of artificial selection and psycho-physical training. “One can easily see Trotsky at Burning Man…. “Here again the ‘scientists, technologists, artists, and visionaries beyond our wildest dreams.’ Was Trotsky the first ‘effective accelerationist?’ Life takes you funny places.” “Life takes you funny places.” True! Washington Power and Light Last year, we constituted a new, tech-savvy think tank in Metro DC, Washington Power and Light, to advocate for, to quote Bastiat (see below), a “real, serious and pragmatic” energy policy, a policy rooted in technological reality rather than “pretty to think so” romantic dreams. Thus, we heartily welcome a recent big reveal at Ben Horowitz’s blog, “ ,” that a16z has desired to engage politically, seriously, to conduct a savvy “revenge of the nerds” political crusade to make the pro-techno worldview stick: Politics and the Future “We believe that advancing technology is critical for humanity’s future, so we will, for the first time, get involved with politics by supporting candidates who align with our vision and values specifically for technology. “While “Big Tech” is well represented in Washington D.C., their interests are often at odds with a positive technological future as they are more interested in regulatory capture and preserving their monopolies. As a result, technology startups need a voice. “We are non-partisan, one issue voters: If a candidate supports an optimistic technology-enabled future, we are for them. If they want to choke off important technologies, we are against them.” Badly needed! Politicians have mostly taken their eye off the ball and turned Congress mostly into a slapstick pie-fight over mostly trivial matters. Consider the daily political news. Much of it covers the struggle between the Democrats (the Donks) and the GOP (Pachyderms, thank you, Thomas Nast!). And, implicit therein, the forever war between the left and right. And much of the news now is devoted to the internecine intraparty struggles, such as within the administration, between the privileged progressives and the rank-and-file workers of the labor-and-ethnic left. And the marquee battles between the MAGAs (“the Chaos Caucus”) and the Regular Republicans in the House. “A full phase-out of fossil fuels would take the world back into caves.” Meanwhile, note the recently convened and concluded CAP28, whose presiding officer rocked the world by observing candidly, as reported by : Reason “ Al Jaber also that a full phase-out of fossil fuels would ‘take the world back into caves.’ Into the caves we go: said Some scientists and activists have not welcomed Al Jaber's blunt realism, but have said his are ‘verging on climate denial.’ comments “To be sure, Al Jaber has been properly criticized for a possible conflict of interest, as he is also the CEO of the Emirati state-owned oil and gas company, ADNOC. But he's correct to weigh tradeoffs and to point to the fact that world leaders need a more concrete plan, since toothless U.N. agreements don't really cut it.” “What Is Seen and What is Not Seen” We confidently submit that, in the spirit of Bastiat’s final work, – “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen” – that which is invisible is often more consequential than what is visible. CE QUON VOIT ET CE QUON NE VOIT PAS And the previously almost invisible war between the techno-optimists (“the squares”) and the techno-pessimists (“the hippies”) is, we believe, the truly important political, social, and cultural battle now going on. As the fox confided to the , “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Thus, let us look with our hearts. Little Prince Why is the war between the techno-optimists and the techno-pessimists of existential importance? Bastiat, courtesy of : Mises.org In the department of economy, an act, a habit, an institution, a law, gives birth not only to an effect, but to a series of effects. Of these effects, the first only is immediate; it manifests itself simultaneously with its cause — . The others unfold in succession — : it is well for us if they are . Between a good and a bad economist this constitutes the whole difference — the one takes account of the effect; the other takes account both of the effects which are and also of those which it is necessary to . Now this difference is enormous, for it almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the ultimate consequences are fatal, . Hence it follows that the bad economist pursues a small present good, which will be followed by a great evil to come, while the true economist pursues a great good to come, at the risk of a small present evil. it is seen they are not seen foreseen visible seen foresee and the converse “In fact, it is the same in the science of health, arts, and in that of morals. If often happens, that the sweeter the first fruit of a habit is, the more bitter are the consequences. Take, for example, debauchery, idleness, prodigality. When, therefore, a man, absorbed in the effect which , has not yet learned to discern those which are not seen, he gives way to fatal habits, not only by inclination, but by calculation. is seen “This explains the fatally grievous condition of mankind. Ignorance surrounds its cradle: then its actions are determined by their first consequences, the only ones which, in its first stage, it can see. It is only in the long run that it learns to take account of the others. It has to learn this lesson from two very different masters — experience and foresight. Experience teaches effectually, but brutally. It makes us acquainted with all the effects of an action, by causing us to feel them; and we cannot fail to finish by knowing that fire burns, if we have burned ourselves. For this rough teacher, I should like, if possible, to substitute a more gentle one. I mean Foresight. For this purpose I shall examine the consequences of certain economical phenomena, by placing in opposition to each other those , and those .” which are seen which are not seen The struggle over tech is crucial because it is, at base, a struggle between prosperity and austerity. Prosperity affords us agency. Poverty is a vice, not a virtue. The Soviet bloc, exponentially poorer than the capitalist running dogs of the West, experienced far worse environmental degradation than did the capitalist world. It is better that we fight over what to do with our discretionary income than scrap for subsistence. Shall we use our surplus wealth to clean up our rivers and air? Plant forests? Invent new tech? Buy more aircraft carriers? Pay down the national debt? These are much worthier fights to have than those available while struggling for survival in a condition of great scarcity. Sorry, Luddites. Few indeed wish to return to the caves. Bad policy.  Bad politics. As Churchill, on the floor of the House of Commons, , ‘The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.’ observed Misery loves company. That said, misery makes for bad policy. So, let’s accelerate our technology and, with it, our prosperity. Then… watch the Congress. Those fights will be merry indeed but much more productive than what we are now witnessing. Bravo to the : “We believe we should place intelligence and energy in a positive feedback loop and drive them both to infinity. We believe we should use the feedback loop of intelligence and energy to make everything we want and need abundant.” Techno-Optimist Manifesto To remain great or regain greatness, America can and must have abundant, reliable, readily affordable energy from practical, reality-driven sources. Abundant, reliable, affordable power unlocks a nation's dynamism, builds factories, creates jobs, enhances national security, and reduces poverty and famine. Accept no substitutes. Jeff Garzik serves as the founder and chairman of the policy institute Washington Power and Light.  Before co-founding Bloq, he spent five years as a Bitcoin core developer and ten years at Red Hat. His work with the Linux kernel is now found in every Android phone and data center running Linux today. Ralph Benko serves as co-founder and general counsel to Washington Power and Light. He is also the co-founder and general counsel for F1R3FLY.io and has worked in or with 3 White Houses, two executive branch agencies, and the Congress, as well as many political and policy institutes. He is an award-winning columnist.

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