Vrishank R.’s Post

Back in 2004, Peter Thiel decided to put $500,000 into Facebook, a move that proved to be incredibly smart. When Facebook went public in 2012, Thiel sold shares worth over $1 billion. This represents a Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) of 2000 and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of approximately 158.60% per year. As of 2024, his net worth from Facebook is estimated to be around $7.2 billion. This significant return on investment is a testament to Thiel’s vision and strategic decision-making in backing Facebook early on. 🧠 Follow A2D Ventures for angel investing knowledge. 🚀 Discover high-potential early-stage startups at a2dventures.com/register #Facebook #Startup #Angellnvestor #AngelInvesting

Forget about @elonmusk and in 5 minutes I'll share with you what I learned on: . . Venture Capital 101. This is one of the most complex areas in finance that I have come across yet. And many brilliant minds in this field like Vusi Thembekwayo, Steve Barlett, and the like. Well. That has nothing to do with what I want to share with you today. Venture capital is a baby of private equity that focuses on investing in new companies with the potential to succeed. It's just like a man who's happy that his wife will finally give birth to a boy after being barren for 15 years. These venture capitalists assess the risk and potential of these companies with the hope that they will get a return worth more than they invested through equity gains as the company grows. Imagine when you are feeding a cow hoping she'll give birth to other calves (say 20 of them) and you sell them and make more money than it costs you to buy that cow. Also, from what I learned, venture capitalists love to invest in technology and bio-technology a lot. HARD TERMS IN THE VENTURE CAPITAL JOURNEY: - EQUITY: This is the amount of money that will be returned to a company's shareholders if all the assets were liquidated and all of the company's debt is paid off in the case of liquidation (Investopedia). Imagine Meta Facebook gets liquidated today and is being sold off, those who invested in it all have a certain percentage of the money in Facebook that belongs to them. That's the end of today's lessons. Credit: Visible takes the credit for teaching me about the meaning of venture capital today. Share this with someone else if you love it. #venturecapital #equity

If you were an investor with capital, what would you want in return for your investment? Every investor, whether it’s a venture capitalist, angel investor, or even a family member, has their own unique “sweet spot.” These are the specific things they care about most, and it’s crucial to tailor your pitch to match their interests. Take this example: an entrepreneur once raised $20 million by meeting with around 100 investors, one-on-one, in various settings. Each investor had a different sweet spot. Some cared about healthy profit margins, while others were more interested in intellectual property protection. You might think, “Who wouldn’t want profit margins?” Well, when Mark Zuckerberg was raising funds for Facebook, he didn’t have profits or even sales to show. What he had was a clear path to customer acquisition. When Facebook had about a million users, the famous Peter Thiel, said, “I’ll give you $5 million if you can show me how you’ll get to ten million users.” Mark did exactly that, and Peter got 10% of Facebook for his $5 million investment. In 2012, Peter cashed out for $1 billion. Not a bad return!!! So, when pitching to investors, focus on their sweet spot: - SHOW A REAL PROBLEM that needs solving. - CONVINCE THEM that NO ONE ELSE is solving it quite like you. - Look for a MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION, for example, something in your product or service that will make a significant, visual, and lasting IMPACT on people’s lives. The clearer and more aligned your pitch is with what your investor cares about, the more likely you are to secure the funding you need. --- If you're currently raising funds, especially seed funding, for your startup, let's connect. I help tech startup CEOs refine their pitch, target the right investors, and secure the capital they need to grow and scale. #raisingfunds #startups #seedfunding #techceos

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐙𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠👇 In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg was not very sure about running Facebook forever. He had another startup called Wirehog. Zuckerberg was trying to find venture investors for his startup when he was approached by Sequoia Capital, but Mark didn't want to raise from Sequoia because his friend Sean Parker had earlier raised capital from Sequoia but it didn't go well. So Mark, at his end, was very sure that he didn't want to raise capital from Sequoia, so he decided to play a prank on them. The meeting with Sequoia partners was scheduled for 8 am, but Mark intentionally arrived late while wearing pajamas. He then presented a PowerPoint deck titled 'Top 10 Reasons You Should Not Invest in Our Startup.' He pointed out reasons such as 'We have no revenue,' 'We might get sued,' and 'We showed up at your office late in our pajamas.' Sequoia obviously didn't invest in Wirehog, nor did it get a chance to invest in Facebook. The partners at Sequoia were not very happy with this incident. However, Sequoia soon got revenge on Mark. Exactly 10 years after this incident, in 2014, WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for a whopping 19 billion dollars. And guess which venture capital firm was the sole investor in WhatsApp? None other than Sequoia Capital. Sequoia had invested around 61 million dollars in WhatsApp in exchange for around an 18 percent stake in the company. Sequoia made around 3 billion dollars from this deal, which is a 50x return on investment. Not just WhatsApp, but Sequoia also got a little revenge when Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012. Sequoia was also an investor in Instagram and made millions of dollars in this deal. Finally, Sequoia Capital had the last laugh in this entire saga. 😄 Follow Vrishank R. for more such interesting content revolving around the Venture capital ecosystem. #facebook #venturecapital #sequoia #investments #markzuckerberg

It puts a smile on my face when I hear investors say that this product or service idea makes no sense because other companies in the past tried it and failed. When Facebook was starting, there were tons of social networks out there, and they all were failing investors. Friendster was one of them, and it was actually the one Peter Thiel compared to Facebook during his investment analysis. And guess what? He wrote a check for $500,000, which turned into over $1 billion just eight years later! So, past failures of others are NOT a good measure of the chances of success for newcomers. #VC #startups #investors

Some of the most successful angel investments ever 🔥 👇 1. Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin): - Angel Investor: Andy Bechtolsheim - Investment: $100,000 in 1998 - Return: Bechtolsheim’s $100,000 investment was worth approximately $1.7 billion when Google went public in 2004. 2. Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg): - Angel Investor: Peter Thiel - Investment: $500,000 in 2004 - Return: Thiel’s $500,000 investment grew to about $1 billion after Facebook’s IPO in 2012. 3. Uber (Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp): - Angel Investor: Chris Sacca - Investment: $300,000 in early 2010 - Return: Sacca’s $300,000 investment was worth approximately $1.2 billion when Uber went public in 2019. 4. Airbnb (Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk): - Angel Investor: Greg McAdoo - Investment: Early personal investment - Return: McAdoo’s early investment saw valuations multiply, with Airbnb valued at over $100 billion during its 2020 IPO, translating to significant returns for early backers. 5. WhatsApp (Jan Koum and Brian Acton): - Angel Investor: Jim Goetz - Investment: Early personal investment - Return: WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, making Goetz’s early investment worth approximately $3 billion. 6. Instagram (Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger): - Angel Investors: Steve Anderson and others - Investment: Early angel investments - Return: Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, yielding substantial returns for early investors like Anderson, turning his $250,000 investment into an estimated $78 million 7. Twitter (Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams): - Angel Investor: Chris Sacca - Investment: $25,000 in early rounds - Return: Sacca’s $25,000 investment grew to an estimated $1.2 billion when Twitter went public in 2013. Learn more about Startups and Venture Capital at my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/d_zxqrr6

Investing early in startups is a high-risk, high-reward game that often feels like betting on unpredictable outcomes. While successful investors often claim to have spotted the right signs early on, it’s equally possible that those signs can lead to failure for others. Byju's is a perfect example: it seemed like a success story for a long time, but recent events have caused both optimism and concern among its early backers. It’s a reminder that even when the potential looks great on paper, the reality of scaling and maintaining a business can shift dramatically. The "mafia" concept—like Flipkart or PayPal's alumni network—seems to work well because these networks consist of experienced entrepreneurs who have already navigated high-stakes environments. They carry a reputation and understanding of the market, making it easier to raise funds without necessarily proving viability in the real market first. Essentially, investors are betting on the individuals and their connections rather than the product itself. In summary, early-stage investments are akin to high-stakes gambling, and while patterns might emerge in hindsight, predicting outcomes remains more art than science. You can mitigate risk, but no one can predict with certainty whether the next Byju’s will succeed or fail.

Some of the most successful angel investments ever 🔥 👇 1. Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin): - Angel Investor: Andy Bechtolsheim - Investment: $100,000 in 1998 - Return: Bechtolsheim’s $100,000 investment was worth approximately $1.7 billion when Google went public in 2004. 2. Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg): - Angel Investor: Peter Thiel - Investment: $500,000 in 2004 - Return: Thiel’s $500,000 investment grew to about $1 billion after Facebook’s IPO in 2012. 3. Uber (Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp): - Angel Investor: Chris Sacca - Investment: $300,000 in early 2010 - Return: Sacca’s $300,000 investment was worth approximately $1.2 billion when Uber went public in 2019. 4. Airbnb (Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk): - Angel Investor: Greg McAdoo - Investment: Early personal investment - Return: McAdoo’s early investment saw valuations multiply, with Airbnb valued at over $100 billion during its 2020 IPO, translating to significant returns for early backers. 5. WhatsApp (Jan Koum and Brian Acton): - Angel Investor: Jim Goetz - Investment: Early personal investment - Return: WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, making Goetz’s early investment worth approximately $3 billion. 6. Instagram (Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger): - Angel Investors: Steve Anderson and others - Investment: Early angel investments - Return: Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, yielding substantial returns for early investors like Anderson, turning his $250,000 investment into an estimated $78 million 7. Twitter (Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams): - Angel Investor: Chris Sacca - Investment: $25,000 in early rounds - Return: Sacca’s $25,000 investment grew to an estimated $1.2 billion when Twitter went public in 2013. #Startups #VentureCapital #AngelInvestors #StartupFunding #InvestorCommunity #TechInvestors #AIStartups #BlockchainInnovation #GlobalEntrepreneurs #USAStartups #IndiaStartups #EmergingTech #Web3Investing #AIRevolution #DisruptiveTech

Some of the most successful angel investments ever 🔥 👇 1. Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin): - Angel Investor: Andy Bechtolsheim - Investment: $100,000 in 1998 - Return: Bechtolsheim’s $100,000 investment was worth approximately $1.7 billion when Google went public in 2004. 2. Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg): - Angel Investor: Peter Thiel - Investment: $500,000 in 2004 - Return: Thiel’s $500,000 investment grew to about $1 billion after Facebook’s IPO in 2012. 3. Uber (Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp): - Angel Investor: Chris Sacca - Investment: $300,000 in early 2010 - Return: Sacca’s $300,000 investment was worth approximately $1.2 billion when Uber went public in 2019. 4. Airbnb (Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk): - Angel Investor: Greg McAdoo - Investment: Early personal investment - Return: McAdoo’s early investment saw valuations multiply, with Airbnb valued at over $100 billion during its 2020 IPO, translating to significant returns for early backers. 5. WhatsApp (Jan Koum and Brian Acton): - Angel Investor: Jim Goetz - Investment: Early personal investment - Return: WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, making Goetz’s early investment worth approximately $3 billion. 6. Instagram (Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger): - Angel Investors: Steve Anderson and others - Investment: Early angel investments - Return: Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, yielding substantial returns for early investors like Anderson, turning his $250,000 investment into an estimated $78 million 7. Twitter (Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams): - Angel Investor: Chris Sacca - Investment: $25,000 in early rounds - Return: Sacca’s $25,000 investment grew to an estimated $1.2 billion when Twitter went public in 2013. Learn more about Startups and Venture Capital at my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/d_zxqrr6

In 2005, David Choe was offered $60,000 to graffiti a mural at Facebook's first office in Palo Alto. When the mural was finished, Facebook president Sean Parker gave Choe a choice. $60,000 in cash or stock options. Choe needed the money. At that time, Facebook was just a year old—an unknown platform with no revenue and no hype about a future $5 billion IPO. Instead of taking the cash, Choe gambled and took the options. His gamble paid off big. When Facebook went public at $38 a share in 2012, his stock options were worth $200 million. #venturecapital #startups #socialmedia _____ Enjoy this? Follow Kevin Jurovich for daily startup & VC insights and the occasional meme. ✌️