SimpleShowing Deal Memo (Closing Date: 2021-08-01)
Deal Abstract
Invest in SimpleShowing
Republic is a startup investing platform where you can invest as little as $10 in impactful startups
Platform and white-label service for providing self-guided home showings.
Financials (VRB)
| Question | Notes | 
|---|---|
| 1. Fundraising Target? | $1000000 | 
| 2. Fundraised So Far? | $85000 | 
| 3. Pre-Money Valuation? | $16000000 | 
| 4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue | $776731 | 
| 5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) | ~$-434974 | 
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: Atlanta, GA | 
| 2. Has at least 2 founders? | True: Two | 
| 3. Has product in the market? | True: Yup | 
| 4. 6 months of continuous user growth or 6 months of revenue? | True: Revenue grew from 578k to 776k Y2019 to Y2020 | 
| 5. Notable investors? | False: Got into 2 day events and workshops but no LAUNCH or 500 Startups yet | 
| 6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? | True: Needs ~$750k for burn | 
The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)
| Question | Score | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering? | 2 | Software to allow for self guided showings, better but not 10x better | 
| 2. Timing? | 3 | Def good time to provide self booking for home showings | 
| 3. Monopoly? | 1 | Have not heard of them before Republic despite being fairly knowledgeable about proptech | 
| 4. People? | 2 | Team has good startup backgrounds but no Proptech background | 
| 5. Distribution? | 2 | Not seeing unfair advantages to distribution | 
| 6. Durability? | 2 | What's stopping a Nada from integrating this feature? | 
| 7. Secret? | 1 | Automating showings for homes is the secret to digital transformation of the home buying process | 
What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:
1. Grow faster in the house showing process; 2. Become a tool for real estate agents instead of supplementing (them for now); 3. Build the business so it becomes a platform for the other sectors
What the Risks Are
1. Has had fairly linear growth for last two years; 2. Hardware solution to showing is somewhat limited in growth; 3. Not able to capture the other sides of the home buying process after showing
Bonus Muhan's Notes
Compare to Nada which I also reviewed and invested in.
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.