Deal Abstract

Thumbtack to allow creatives to trade sweat equity for labor with startups.
Financials (VRB)
| Question | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Fundraising Target? | $125000 |
| 2. Fundraised So Far? | $265031 |
| 3. Pre-Money Valuation? | $10000000 |
| 4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue | $244050 |
| 5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) | ~$-52777 |
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: Miami, FL |
| 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: Revenue went from $139k to $244k |
| 5. Notable investors? | False: Miami Angels and some others, but no big names |
| 6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? | True: Raised 3 years of runway |
The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)
| Question | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering? | 2 | It's a Thumbtack made for founders and creators |
| 2. Timing? | 2 | Why is now the right time to build this business? |
| 3. Monopoly? | 4 | Really no venue for finding talent for your startup other than Angel list |
| 4. People? | 3 | Team seems fine |
| 5. Distribution? | 2 | Building the marketplace for this startup requires more access to populations |
| 6. Durability? | 2 | It seems like another marketplace, will have to build some moats |
| 7. Secret? | 2 | Building a Thumbtack that includes sweat equity is going to be a billion dollar business |
What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:
1. Keep driving up interactions; 2. Attract startups with a more targeted talent pool; 3. Attract freelancers with better client management services
What the Risks Are
1. Feature not a business; 2. Startups that don't have much capital to pay are not a great customer; 3. Easy for another marketplace to come in and copy features
Bonus Muhan's Notes
Very cool idea, but I missed it. Will be curious to see how they perform.
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
Notice trends in how you think

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.
