Deal Abstract

Invest in Envel πŸš€: 🏦 Building the World’s Smartest Bank Account | Wefunder
See why 1230 Wefunder investors invested in us. Read up on our mission, team, and traction.

Nerds from Boston raised (and burned!) an astounding amount of money to build an app for budgeting. Is this the future of banking?

Financials (VRB)

|Question|Notes|
|---|---|---|
|1. Fundraising Target? |$1070000|
|2. Fundraised So Far?|$1225313|
|3. Pre-Money Valuation?|$15000000|
|4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue |$0|
|5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) |~$-1143644|

Source

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: Boston, MA
2. Has at least 2 founders? False: Two
3. Has product in the market? True: Beta online
4. 6 months of continuous user growth or 6 months of revenue? False: No revenue
5. Notable investors? False: Lots of institutional accelerator free competition money
6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? False: Burning a lot of money
Source

The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)

Question Score Notes
1. Engineering? 2 Prettier app but nothing fundamentally different
2. Timing? 2 Good timing, but is this the right solution?
3. Monopoly? 1 20 ratings on App Store, nothing to write home about
4. People? 1 No one with banking experience
5. Distribution? 1 Downloading app to get users?
6. Durability? 2 It is a bank, so once someone starts with them should not switch easily
7. Secret? 1 Building a better UI/UX mobile app will make a superior bank

What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:

1. Develop a monetization strategy; 2. Acquire users; 3. Build a platform for tight integration via digital banking

What the Risks Are

1. Founders have no experience in banking; 2. What is the proprietary value add; 3. AI budgeting is not that useful of a feature

Bonus Muhan's Notes

Low-income families are getting terrible financial advice online
A recent Reddit thread shows some common misconceptions about poverty

Updates

This is where I’ll post updates about the company. This way all my notes from offering to post-offering updates will be on one page.

Review these deal memos every time the startup raises a new round

Test if original thesis still applies


So, did I invest?

Click here to find out.

Other thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns? Write me at mail@muhanzhang.com and let me know.