1823 Ventures

29/04/2020

Reminder of some practical tips.

It is crucial that entrepreneurs get into the investor mindset if they are to increase their chances of success.

03/01/2020

Update on who's applied for Singapore's virtual banking licence. (updated 5 Jan 2020)

IN - Full Licence
1. Grab, Singtel
2. Razer, Sheng Siong Supermarket, FWD Insurance, LinkSure Global, Insignia Venture Partners
3. V3 Group, Heliconia Capital, EZ-Link, Far East Organization, Singapore Business Federation, MSIG

IN - Wholesale Licence
1. Ant Financial Services Group
2. Ifast Financial, Yillion Group, Hande Group
3. Funding Societies

To be confirmed:
1. ByteDance
2. Standard Chartered
3. OneConnect Financial Technology / Ping An
4. NTUC Enterprise
5. FOMO Pay

OUT
1. InstaReM
2. Validus Capital, OCBC Bank, Keppel, Vertex Ventures
3. Revolut

Source: News reports

List of Singapore Digital Bank applicants so far and their value proposition.

13/08/2019

Take a sort of starter $20 million seed fund with two general partners using the industry’s oft-quoted (but not really all that common) “2 & 20” compensation model. This hypothetical fund rakes in $400,000 a year in management fees (2% of $20 million) to cover all costs of the fund: office rent, staff costs, legal fees, tax preparation and accounting services in addition to the travel and entertainment costs of trying to woo founders. Whatever remains is split between those two GPs as their salaries. It’s not uncommon for new partners to make $50,000 — or even nothing.

We spend a lot of time talking about new funds, and new startup venture raises, but we spend little time talking about the cash flow challenges of running a venture fund. Let’s change that today. Starting a new venture fund is extremely challenging. In addition to just the monstrous task of fundra...

05/04/2019

Neither drew a salary for years, and new general partners at the firm took lower salaries than is typical. Instead, much of its fees, the traditional 2% of funds managed that covers all of a firm’s expenses, went into a fast-growing services team, including experts in marketing, business development, finance and recruiting.

Need to raise another funding round? Andreessen Horowitz specialists would give you “superpowers,” helping write your presentation, then coaching you through dozens of dry runs before scheduling the meets. Need a vice president of engineering? The firm’s talent team would identify and tap the best search firm, monitor its effectiveness and help choose the best candidate for the job. Human re­sources problem? Accounting crisis? “If something is going off the rails, you have the ‘Batphone,’ ”

In just a decade, Andreessen Horowitz has backed a bevy of startup blockbusters— Facebook, Instagram, Lyft, Slack—and made just as many Silicon Valley enemies. To stay ahead, it’s taking the unusual step of renouncing its venture capital status—and making even bigger, riskier bets.

27/03/2019

The Credit Suisse (Lux) Global Robotics Equity Fund, invests in companies with at least 50 percent of sales that can be attributed to robotics, automation, artificial intelligence or security.

The fund focuses on three high-growth sub-themes: companies working to improve productivity, improve quality of life and perform dangerous tasks.

There are untapped opportunities for investing in the robotics industry as barriers of entry are eased, says Angus Muirhead, senior portfolio manager for robotics at Credit Suisse.

07/03/2019

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2019/02/19/the-greatest-investor-youve-never-heard-of-an-optometrist-who-beat-the-odds-to-become-a-billionaire/

Part Peter Lynch and part Warren Buffett, Herbie Wertheim buys stocks he understands, doubles down if his high-conviction picks go against him, and holds through market booms and busts.

14/11/2018

WeWork

WeWork has gobbled up leases for so much space in so many cities, there’s a compelling case to be made that its landlords wouldn’t be able to afford for it to go under.

The company has said it is the largest real estate tenant in New York, London and Washington. It ranks in the top five in many other major cities. In New York alone, WeWork controls three million square feet of commercial real estate; it controls 15.5 million square feet globally with 335 locations in 24 countries.

WeWork projects to have about 400,000 individuals using its office space by the end of the year, which would put it ahead of the entire employee base of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway — one of the largest employers in the nation.

Another sign of just how large WeWork’s ecosystem has become: It employs 1,300 people in architecture, interior design, engineering and related activities — an employee roster that would make it one of the biggest architecture firms in the world.

Author: Andrew Ross Sorkin

Critics have derided WeWork as overvalued and vulnerable to the next downturn. But the company holds so many leases in so many cities, it might hold more power than its landlords.

27/10/2018

Excellent article published in Hacker Noon explaining tokenization by Albert Ho at Rate3.

Not everything will be tokenized, but those that can be will be.

23/09/2018

Quick read on the competition between Uber, Grab and Go-JEK.

Uber, Grab and Go-Jek embody emerging strategies in international platform competition.

22/08/2018

-> Mobile wallet use is on the rise with 64% of bank customers surveyed confirming use of at least one mobile wallet or payment app, higher than in Hong Kong (52% in 2018) and Australia (19% in 2017)

-> The most frequently used mobile wallets are DBS ! (28%); (13%); GrabPay (12%); and NETSPay (12%)

https://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/new-survey-reveals-mobile-banking-beats-branch-banking-singapore-2034653622