Deal Abstract
Curastory is changing the advertising mechanism of YouTube (ads at the beginning that no one watches) to creator-conducted ads in the middle of the video. This benefits content creators by helping them get paid more and increasing viewership for company advertising.
Financials (VRB)
| Question | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Fundraising Target? | $535000 |
| 2. Fundraised So Far? | $389702 |
| 3. Pre-Money Valuation? | $9000000 |
| 4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue | $15000 |
| 5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) | ~$-154103 |
The 6 Calacanis Characteristics ("Sow Passion, Not easy mediocrity", or S2 P6 N18)
| Criteria | Yes/No |
|---|---|
| 1. A startup that is based in SV? | False: Brooklyn, NY |
| 2. Has at least 2 founders? | True: Two |
| 3. Has product in the market? | True: Revenue generating |
| 4. 6 months of continuous user growth or 6 months of revenue? | True: 2021 revenue was greater than all of 2020 |
| 5. Notable investors? | True: Lightstage and Techstars |
| 6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? | True: 2021 burn was $150k-ish, so at present already has 2 years |
The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)
| Question | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering? | 3 | Ad marketplace combined with video editor for creators |
| 2. Timing? | 2 | Adpocalypse and creators finding new ways to monetize |
| 3. Monopoly? | 2 | Good revenue, but mostly, really good that focusing on fitness vertical |
| 4. People? | 3 | Love the founder's ESPN background |
| 5. Distribution? | 3 | Good distribution via ESPN sports |
| 6. Durability? | 2 | This is my main concern about the company. What's stopping from YouTube from editing their product so that some subsect of video creators can directly bid out ad spots? |
| 7. Secret? | 3 | YouTube will lose creators as creators seek their own monetization powers, meaning they'll use Curatory to make videos, then self host ads in videos on Vimeo and the like. |
What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:
1. Keep scaling revenue; 2. Gain a deep acquisition funnel in sports; 3. Possibly partner with Vimeo/hosting companies to host the videos
What the Risks Are
1. YouTube slowly adapts self model to include this type of editing; 2. Hosting companies like Vimeo start to build ad networks (though truthfully this seems unlikely,) 3. Creator economy moves in the direction of more direct subscriptions rather than ad supported content
Bonus Muhan's Notes
Very, very cool. Going to see what the founder answers to my questions.
Updates
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Review these deal memos every time the startup raises a new round
Test if original thesis still applies
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So, did I invest?
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