Archive: Early Investing

Secondary Markets Have Hidden Benefits

By Adam Sharp on October 2, 2020

This month, U.S. equity crowdfunding platform StartEngine plans to open a “secondary market” where investors can buy and sell investments in startups that have already raised money using Regulation Crowdfunding and Regulation A+. This new service is called StartEngine Secondary. Here’s an excerpt from StartEngine’s description of its new service: Traditionally, startup investors had to wait 5-10 years…

Economic Freedom Plan

By Vin Narayanan on September 30, 2020

I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom in the wake of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing. As Americans, freedom is in our DNA. It’s written into the Declaration of Independence. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created…

The 60/40 Portfolio Doesn’t Work Anymore

By Adam Sharp on September 25, 2020

It can be hard to see a bubble when you’re smack-dab in the middle of it. I think that describes our situation today. Let’s look at a few large tech stocks’ price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios.  Amazon: 115 Tesla:…

Keep An Eye On the U.S.-China Tech War

By Andy Gordon on September 23, 2020

The U.S. government doesn’t trust big Chinese tech companies. Their close ties to the Chinese government mean that they can be used as instruments of the Chinese state. Hence, Trump’s ultimatum to TikTok to transfer ownership to willing U.S. buyers.  The Chinese internet colossus…

The Real Lesson of the Snowflake IPO

By Adam Sharp on September 18, 2020

On Wednesday, Snowflake (SNOW) went public in one of the most highly anticipated IPOs ever.  Snowflake is a cloud data platform that helps companies efficiently organize and analyze huge databases. The company’s revenue is growing at a rapid 133%…

How Startups Can Help Protect Our Elections

By Andy Gordon on September 16, 2020

We’re in the midst of a presidential election. Along with the campaigning, speeches and crowds is the inevitable increase in disinformation. I hate it. It gets in the way of an honest national discussion on issues that engage us and divide us. …

Learn How the Top VCs Choose Startups

By Adam Sharp on September 11, 2020

This week top-tier venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners released the original deal memos from some of their best startup investments. These memos provide a fascinating look at how VCs operate, think and make investment decisions. Today we’re going to look…

The New Way to Generate Wealth

By John Fanning on September 9, 2020

Note: A few weeks ago, we welcomed John Fanning to the Early Investing family. Today, we’re pleased to bring you his second column. If you’re not familiar with John, he’s worth getting to know. He was the founding chairman and CEO of napster. He…

The Best Startups ‘Cheat’

By Andy Gordon on September 2, 2020

I love cheaters. In fact, I only invest in startups that “cheat.” I don’t mean companies that are running scams or lying about their services. No, I mean the startups that redefine — that cheat — the game of risk and reward. Companies that can lower…

Lessons Learned from More Than 100 Investments

By Adam Sharp on August 28, 2020

I’ve been investing in startups online for six years now. I’ve made small investments in more than 100 companies so far. I’ve also been part of three funds which invested in another 32 startups. Today I’m going to share some of the key lessons I’ve learned…

The Truth About Risk and Reward

By Andy Gordon on August 26, 2020

Whether you realize it or not, chances are you believe in the risk-reward trade-off. In its most basic form, it means the lower the risk, the lower the potential returns. And the higher the risk, the higher the potential returns. The basic idea sounds perfectly logical.

Tech Companies Flee California (Finally)

By Adam Sharp on August 21, 2020

For the last 50 years, California has been the home to a huge portion of America’s tech companies. Specifically, an oversized chunk of tech companies are headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA).  Here’s a list of just some of the major companies headquartered in…

The Number One Rule of Investing

By John Fanning on August 19, 2020

Note: We’re pleased to welcome John Fanning to the Early Investing family. John was the founding chairman and CEO of napster. He has an impressive track record as both a founder and startup investor. And he will be sharing his thoughts — and occasional startup recommendations — on…

Medicine’s Future is a Good Investment

By Adam Sharp on August 14, 2020

As humans, we all have trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies. The “germs” (bacteria, viruses, fungi) present in and on a person are collectively known as a microbiome.  Growing up, many of us were taught that bacteria and…

3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Invest

By Andy Gordon on August 12, 2020

The best startups make the world faster, safer, cheaper, more convenient, less dirty and more fun. Their innovative products meet old needs in new ways — or address new needs in any way they can.  Of course, a startup needs a lot more than just a…

The Fed Demands Higher Inflation

By Adam Sharp on August 7, 2020

For a while now, it’s been clear that the Fed wants higher inflation. Now it’s finally starting to admit it. Here’s an excerpt from CNBC’s article this week titled “The Fed is expected to make a major commitment…