Luis Pino

This part of my conversation with Joao Barbosa, co-founder at the world’s leading wellness platform Gympass (now Wellhub) valued at $2.4 is a testament to the fact that nothing big actually started big 👇 It took Gympass 5 pivots and 2 near death experiences to find the business model that works and is scalable across the globe What I found really interesting is the framework that the team had around pivots - the tripod approach towards creating value. This approach could benefit many founders especially in marketplace kinda businesses Head over to our channels on Spotify, Apple and YouTube to watch / listen to the full conversation link in comment 🔗 The J Curve #thejcurvepodcast #podcastrecommendation #gympass #pivot #entrepreneurship #founder #venturecapital

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Our revamped newsletter, The Angle by Angular Ventures, officially launched today! We hope this new format will make it easier to read, share, and subscribe. Back to it, in this week's column, Gil Dibner covered the spirit of risk-taking that inspired Angular to venture into unusual spaces. While, of course, we invest in AI and SaaS, as of late, we have been investing in more and more contrarian spaces - from quantum, to spacetech, to energy, etc. in search of the supposedly impossible - the truly contrarian. Read the full column via the link.

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Every day is a reminder that startups are unpredictable as hell. As alums of YCombinator's Summer 12 batch, we've long taken pride in being "the batch that broke YC" - as PG calls us. So it tickles me to no end to see this in the 2024 YC Top Companies list: "The S12 batch is the best represented, with 5 companies on the list: Benchling, Coinbase, Instacart, SmartAsset and Zapier" 🤣💪 #ycombinator #ycs12 #startups https://lnkd.in/gNDewZfn

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In our latest episode on the Practical Nerds podcast, Patric and I talk about our earned learnings on how founders (and other VCs) should choose the right (Co)Investors for their startup (Construction-tech or otherwise). Which of these do you agree with ? What did we miss ?

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Over the years, we at GFR Fund have solidified our investment thesis, which is that we invest in "emerging digitally native communities." These communities can be built around games, social media, and any consumer applications. Now, founders have many easy-to-use tools to build user communities, such as Discord, X/twitter, Instagram, etc, and we believe the founders should start building communities even before they launch a product. The communities can help founders: - reach PMF faster - acquire users cheaper - retain and engage users longer - build better UX/UI, and - hire early employees Below, you can see how RTFKT and Omeda Studios built the community and then worked with them to create a product the users really wanted. We would love to talk to the founders who think the community is essential in building a product!

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It was a real honor to interview Brad Burnham co-founder of Union Square Ventures and partner Placeholder on the history of hype cycles in technology and the value they bring to capital and market formation. Brad has had tremendous success across decades investing at the frontier - when it was the frontier/ before it was obvious. Crypto is still the underdog and his views on the opportunity and its nuances are prescient. Specifically it is both a technical and financial innovation which can lead to excess volatility and a unique muscle as it relates to being a venture manager. But the returns are real. And the innovation is real despite some of the the common narratives. No one debates the breakthrough applications in AI at M13 we have been very active. It is also very clear that incumbents have massive data and distribution advantages which can make it challenging to find the right pockets to invest. AI is on its own hype cycle and as always the best teams (typically with contrarian takes) win. Very exciting times to be a venture investor.

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‌I recently returned from spending a week in São Paulo, where I had the pleasure of visiting friends and loved ones. In addition to reconnecting, I engaged in productive discussions with founders, fellow venture capitalists, and other asset allocators. ✈ 👨‍💻 👊 The trip was filled with great meetings, offering valuable insights and market perspectives on early-stage venture capital and the fintech ecosystem in Brazil. 🎯 🌎 💡 #VCs #earlystage #investments #networking

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Wing Venture Capital's Founder Docs project is a unique collection of startup wisdom, by founders, for founders. The authors of the docs are talented founders themselves, sharing their experience on the topics they are most passionate about. I'd like to highlight the contributions of Edo Liberty, founder / CEO of Pinecone. Edo writes about the special opportunities for the scientist / founder (and he is one of the best of this breed!), as well as some of the risks and challenges they face. I got a lot out of reading Edo's stuff and I suspect you will too! https://lnkd.in/g_wyRMiE

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>>> How can SaaS companies future-proof their fundraising <<< I had the pleasure to speak with Adina Davis from BoxGroup, Nancy Chou from Asymmetric, Camila Key Saruhashi from Construct Capital and Philip Edmondson-Jones from Oxx during our panel on fundraising last Tuesday. A ton of great insights from the panelists after having been many years in the SaaS industry as investors, operators and advisors! We’ll be sharing some insights in the coming days, starting with: 🔷 Current Industry Trends 🔷 🔹In the US, SaaS companies are finally coming out of a two-year dip in funding and growth. Startups in the top quartile are still getting high valuations, but for growing companies, especially companies looking to secure series B funding, the bar is higher. Both equity and debt funding avenues look for stand-out efficiency, excellent product-market fit, and scalability. 🔹In Europe, upcoming funding rounds indicate a slightly more positive fundraising environment for growing SaaS companies. 🌏 Globally, many company metrics have taken a hit due to the macroeconomic environment, which can make it more difficult to meet the VC standards required to secure funding. 🔹That said, some of today’s most exciting and innovative startups received game-changing funding over the last couple years, and with more funding options entering the mainstream, companies have an opportunity to complement their capital stack through alternative means. #growthcapital #saasgrowth #venturecapital

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It was an absolute pleasure to sit down with Joao Barbosa, co-founder at the world's leading corporate wellness platform Gympass(now rebranded to Wellhub) for the most recent episode of The J Curve. Five big ideas from our convo 👇💡 1️⃣ Startup pivot is not an event, it’s a process Base your decision on data, customer feedback and other validated learnings. Establish clear KPIs that will guide decision-making and define what should success look like. Be prepared to test and iterate and test again. Flexibility, adaptability and sensitivity to feedback is key 2️⃣ Building a MOAT, or competitive advantage is essential for a startup to compete and sustain growth In Wellhub case the moat is network effect. It’s difficult and expensive to build (CAC was huge) but at scale it represents a huge barrier to exit for corporate clients 3️⃣ Put a lot of thought into pricing model, especially if you operate in a B2B segment Early-stage founders frequently under-price their offering. Once you land 1-2-year enterprise contracts, changing the price will be problematic 4️⃣ International expansion has to be carefully planned and executed post-product market fit Ideally once you have already significantly penetrated your domestic market and gained a clear understanding of how / why every dollar you spend internationally will deliver you more money than if you were to spend it domestically 5️⃣ Standardized processes are at the core of building teams at scale When you hire 100 people a month it’s not about keeping the bar high but about creating a clear set of rules to evaluate the performance and hire and fire fast You can listen to my full conversation with Joao by searching The J Curve Podcast on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Podcast For deeper insights into this conversation + some of my favorite listens and reads of this week check out our newsletter link in comment 🔗

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Big rounds are back. VC Funding is flowing. In April, there were 28 fundraising rounds announced with >$10M in funding. We've seen private market (pre-launch) deals valued >$3B recently. Private Markets are hot. Public Market comps (FDVs) are hot. But who will buy our multi-billion dollar bags? Deal Flow Digest April w/: - Recap of largest web3 funding rounds - Airtable with ALL the data - Hackathons & Demo Days - VC Fundraises Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g7V4KrAj

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Despite the headwinds many software companies (even public ones) are facing today, there are still those that are delivering great results. Check out how the top decile companies in our Beyond Benchmarks survey are performing. And don't forget to review the full report for many more insights on the state of private software businesses.

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Last month, Uncork Capital celebrated its 20th anniversary with a jubilant gathering attended by 420 guests, marking two decades of success in the venture capital realm. Over the years, the firm, alongside industry peers like First Round Capital and Felicis, has witnessed remarkable growth, now managing billions of dollars in assets. This expansion reflects the flourishing landscape of venture capital, with the industry experiencing exponential growth in investment. Moreover, positive shifts in VC norms, such as the evolving attitudes towards board seats, underscore a commitment to providing tailored support to startups, enhancing their growth prospects. Amidst discussions surrounding sectors like AI, optimism prevails, emphasizing a steadfast dedication to investing in innovative ventures with lasting impact. Read More Here: https://lnkd.in/efN6-Spd Branded Hospitality Ventures Jeff Clavier Susan Liu Ashley Cravens Tripp Jones Sarah Du Andy McLoughlin Amy Saper #innovation #technology #management #venturecapital #startup

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Reflecting on the current state of pre-seed from my perspective. Here are some key observations from recent weeks: 🏃‍♂️ Seed and Series A funds are showing increased activity in pre-seed. ⏮ Pre-emptive seed rounds are on the rise, as more funds at later stages aim to secure promising startups early on, preventing them from slipping away. 🛰 Series A rounds are picking up momentum, US funds are taking a more active approach to Europe (a consistent theme over the past few years). 🌶 Hot sectors in the UK pre-seed scene include Cybersecurity, Robotics, Energy, and Fintech, with AI remaining a prominent player despite its broad scope. Excited to see if anything changes next month. Am certainly seeing more activity and later-stage funds comfortable taking more risk earlier on for a cheaper and secured stake in said companies. ✌️

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Meta Q1 FY 24 Meta has two business segments: FoA: Family of Apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp). RL: Reality Labs (virtual reality hardware and supporting software). FoA Daily Active People grew +7% Y/Y to 3.24 billion. Zuck called out healthy growth in the US, on WhatsApp specifically. As expected, management stopped reporting Facebook standalone numbers. 📊 Ad impressions grew +20% Y/Y (vs. +21% Y/Y in Q4). Average price per ad grew +6% Y/Y (vs. +2% Y/Y in Q4). Growth was strongest in Europe and Rest of World. The average revenue per person grew +18% Y/Y to $11.20. Higher engagement met continued strong advertising demand. For context, 💰 Operating cash flow was $19.2 billion (53% margin, +4pp Y/Y). Free cash flow was $12.5 billion (34% margin, +10pp Y/Y). Balance sheet: Cash, cash equivalent, and marketable securities: $71.5 billion. Long-term debt: $18.4 billion. 👀 Q2 FY24 revenue was $37.7 billion in the mid-range ($38.3 billion expected). FY24 expenses $96-$99 billion (previously $94-$99 billion). FY24 Capex $35-40 billion (previously $30-$37 billion). So what to make of all this? User net additions were consistent with Q4 metrics. Meta still found a way to add another 50 million users to its Family of Apps. However, it was a slight slowdown after four consecutive quarters of accelerating growth. Revenue grew +27% Y/Y in constant currency. It was another acceleration from +23% Y/Y in Q4. The usual suspects were behind ad revenue growth: The online commerce vertical was the largest contributor to year-over-year growth, followed by gaming and entertainment & media. Growth was strongest in Rest of World (40%) and Europe (33%). 💻 Reality Labs revenue grew 30%, driven by Quest 3. The lower loss for this segment was primarily due to a favorable comp with restructuring costs last The operating margin improved following the “year of efficiency.” Meta incurred $3.5 billion in restructuring charges in FY23 (primarily facilities consolidation and employee severance costs). However, it was slightly down sequentially. 💰 Returning cash to shareholders: Stock buybacks were $15 billion in Q1, a huge increase compared to $9 billion in the prior year. Management still finds the stock attractive enough. They also paid $1.3 billion in dividends. Free cash flow hit a Q1 record, another manifestation of the year of efficiency. While Meta loses nearly $16 billion annually on Reality Labs, the company remains a cash-printing machine ($48 billion in free cash flow in the past 12 months). FY24 Capex and operating expenses were raised, primarily due to higher infrastructure investment to support the AI roadmap. #meta #ai #ads #growth

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Here’s a question investors are often asked: When evaluating early stage companies, how much time do you spend on due diligence around future exits? It’s not surprising we hear this question a lot. Also not surprising: it’s got a wide range of answers depending on the firm. Some don’t spend much time here at all. Others make it a point to put meaningful time in as part of their process. Our current thinking: take the time to do the work on public market comps. At Alpaca VC, we spend significant time understanding how public market investors will  realistically value a business based on margin profile, product, business model & TAM. In short, we want to know: how will this company be valued at scale when we get taken out? Yes, we can acknowledge that the journey toward exit is a windy road and that there may be pivots along the way, but there are still public market companies that have a business model similar to the early stage company you're evaluating. And you can always look at gross profit multiples if you think the margin profile will change over time. So we still do the work on the comps. Quantitative metrics we look at when making the comparison to public market comps include EBITDA multiple, revenue multiple, Gross Profit multiple or all of the above. As part of this process, it’s also important to factor in the public market company’s year-over-year revenue growth as this will also significantly impact the multiple it trades at. Simple example: if you have two public market companies with similar business models and similar margin profiles, but one's growing 100% year over year, and one's growing 50% year over year, then obviously the DCF (discounted cash flow) analysis is going to spit out a very different valuation for the one that's growing faster. Why this matters: When you take all of that information into account as you evaluate an early stage business, you can begin to create a realistic picture of how this company will be valued in the public markets at exit - or how an acquirer will value the company for an acquisition. Strategic acquirers may, of course, pay a premium, but we won’t underwrite for that. This allows us, for example, to form conviction around valuation based on revenue and gross profit predictions. If we think they can do $100M of revenue five years from now, we use this diligence process to form a thesis about whether the characteristics above (product, margin, business model, etc.) will cause the company to be valued at $200M vs. $500M vs. $1B at exit. Curious how other early stage investors think about underwriting an exit and how much time they’re spending on public market comps even though these companies are in their infancy.

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Super helpful article and accompanying doc with a #Startup #Equity Calculator to determine the equity for early hires, thanks to Pear VC head of talent Matt Birnbaum! Thanks for sharing Pejman Nozad! 🙏🏼 You can read more here How to structure startup equity for early hires: https://lnkd.in/ggmpT5-Y Google Doc: https://lnkd.in/gjsvths6

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Proud to be partnering with Sara Beykpour, Marcel Molina, and the Particle team as we announce today that Lightspeed is leading the $10.9M Series A financing! Particle's founding team helped build some of the internet's most innovative consumer products, including Twitter, Vine, Periscope, and Secret. At Twitter, they discovered the power of LLMs and became determined to reinvent news and media using these new AI superpowers 🦸 AI is reorganizing the way media is both created and consumed on the internet. Particle’s initial content focus is news – a category that is increasingly broken due to misaligned incentives between publishers and readers. But we believe AI can help to maximize value for both… 🗞️ The vision for Particle is to become the go-to destination people visit to be quickly yet deeply educated about any topic or story – with a highly personalized, efficient, and interactive experience, powered by amazing journalists ✍️ Michael Mignano & I are excited to be on this journey with the Particle team –and we can't wait to have you onboard as well! Head over and join the waitlist now ahead of our official launch ⬇️ particle.news

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