Deal Abstract
Two tech workers in Brooklyn are planning to build a newsletter/article based professional education service, starting with product managers.
Financials (VRB)
| Question | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Fundraising Target? | $250000 |
| 2. Fundraised So Far? | $13150 |
| 3. Pre-Money Valuation? | $2000000 |
| 4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue | $0 |
| 5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) | ~$-46965 |
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? | False: Two |
| 3. Has product in the market? | False: Trying to be newsletter education for professional upskilling |
| 4. 6 months of continuous user growth or 6 months of revenue? | False: Nothing in the market |
| 5. Notable investors? | False: No one I recognize |
| 6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? | False: Would need half a mil |
The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)
| Question | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering? | 1 | Not convinced it's 10x better |
| 2. Timing? | 2 | Newsletter/articles are indeed the right thing to build in this time |
| 3. Monopoly? | 1 | No rev, no users, I'd probably be the target market |
| 4. People? | 2 | Cool techies, but no product |
| 5. Distribution? | 2 | Fine distribution through Internet and network but no overpowered advantage |
| 6. Durability? | 2 | Hard to say since product isn't launched eyt |
| 7. Secret? | 1 | E-learning is going to be monetized through curated articles and Homeroom will play the curriculum designer |
What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:
1. Ship a product; 2. Monetize; 3. Demonstrate stickiness and solve the curriculum problem at scale
What the Risks Are
1. Not even a million dollar startup yet; 2. Feature not a business; 3. The education space can definitely be messy, see /Viveka
Bonus Muhan's Notes
Made me wonder about how I level up in my own
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