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

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?	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

Source

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

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

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So, did I invest?

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