Deal Abstract
WeWork for van life has arrived. Former Intersection/Sidewalk Labs alum is starting a network of physical sites for van life participants to get all the benefits of fixed housing and supplies with all the mobility of van life.
Financials (VRB)
| Question | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Fundraising Target? | $1070000 |
| 2. Fundraised So Far? | $456428 |
| 3. Pre-Money Valuation? | $15000000 |
| 4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue | $0 |
| 5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) | ~$-62261 |
The 6 Calacanis Characteristics ("Sow Passion, Not easy mediocrity", or S2 P6 N18)
| Criteria | Yes/No |
|---|---|
| 1. A startup that is based in SV? | True: San Francisco, CA |
| 2. Has at least 2 founders? | False: Two |
| 3. Has product in the market? | True: Revenue generating |
| 4. 6 months of continuous user growth or 6 months of revenue? | True: 500 paying member deposits, if the monthly cost is $2500, that's $1m in rev? |
| 5. Notable investors? | True: Balaji Srinivasan, the former COO of Hustle (political texting technology), |
| 6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? | True: Very little burn |
The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)
| Question | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering? | 3 | Definitely impressive, taking van life and giving it physical infrastructure via refueling sites |
| 2. Timing? | 3 | Definitely the right time to start this business, so many people who plan on Vanning |
| 3. Monopoly? | 2 | No revenue, good deposits, need to learn more |
| 4. People? | 2 | Potentially right people, but need to dig into CEO and ask his 'company' Intersection sale to Alphabet |
| 5. Distribution? | 3 | Definitely has access to desirable young professional taste maker market |
| 6. Durability? | 3 | Especially with the sites and physical location, quite defensible |
| 7. Secret? | 3 | The future of society is going to have an explosion of van life people who want community/reload sites |
What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:
1. Take product to market; 2. Keep operating costs low; 3. Scale like technology marketplace/not WeWork real estate company
What the Risks Are
1. Niche product/maybe Van life stays fringe and fancy for a long time; 2. Real estate/site management costs; 3. How does this business get to $250mm ARR?
Bonus Muhan's Notes
Possibly one of the most ambitious businesses I've seen in a while
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?
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