It’s been interesting to watch the sharing economy evolve, especially as we’ve added companies like Lyft, Misterbnb, and VaycayHero to the MicroVentures portfolio. We’ve watched old-fashioned carpools be replaced by for-profit ridesharing. Empty apartments and vacation homes have become lodging … Continue reading
For Investors
The beauty of online commerce is that new businesses can launch with very little capital, then use online marketing tools to expose their brands to potential customers across the country. But more and more online retailers are discovering the potential … Continue reading
Early-stage investing is always about striking a balance between risk and reward for both the founders and the investors. When it comes to early-stage convertible notes, valuation caps are an important part of that balancing act. A convertible note is a … Continue reading
Dropbox, Snapchat, Lyft, Pinterest, Bloom Energy, Instacart, Cloudera, Palantir, and Spotify. All nine of these companies are on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list for 2016, and all nine are MicroVentures portfolio companies. What does it mean to be a disruptor? CNBC … Continue reading
Two-time MicroVentures portfolio company Geekatoo recently announced that it is merging with a competitor – HelloTech, based in Los Angeles. Both companies provide in-home tech support as a user-friendly alternative to Best Buy’s Geek Squad. MicroVentures initially invested in Geekatoo … Continue reading
Many investors are diversifying their portfolios by adding private equity to their investment mix. Platforms like MicroVentures are facilitating this direction by providing investors access to a range of early- and late-stage private companies at low minimums. But what many … Continue reading
Title III of the JOBS Act – which is in effect as of today – is designed to open up private equity crowdfunding investments to non-accredited investors and to give startups another source for potential funding. Today is just the … Continue reading
If you follow financial news at all, you’ve probably seen stories on the “markups” and “markdowns” of the value of various private companies by different mutual funds that own positions in those companies. Nutanix, a MicroVentures portfolio company, for example, … Continue reading
In the course of our due diligence work here at MicroVentures, we see a lot of financials, and we know that individual components of a company’s historical financials cannot be evaluated in isolation. You have to look beyond the raw … Continue reading
Oru Kayak, a MicroVentures portfolio company, was featured yesterday on CNBC’s Power Pitch. What is an Oru Kayak? It’s an elegant and compact kayak that can be folded into a portable carrying case. Using the principles of origami, the team … Continue reading
