VIVEKA Deal Memo (Closing Date: 2021-04-30)

Muhan Zhang -

Deal Abstract

Invest in Viveka: The Go-To Place For Human Growth - B2C2B SaaS platform for personal development | Wefunder
The Go-To Place For Human Growth - B2C2B SaaS platform for personal development
Viveka on Wefunder

B2C2B Company wants to build the next professional learning/coaching marketplace. Can it learn from Coursalytics, whom I covered in summer 2019?

Financials (VRB)

|Question|Notes|
|---|---|---|
|1. Fundraising Target? |$1080000|
|2. Fundraised So Far?|$53050|
|3. Pre-Money Valuation?|$7500000|
|4. Previous Year's Annual Revenue |$43196|
|5. Previous Year's Annual Net Income (+ Profitable, - Burning Cash) |~$-144973|

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? False: Marina del Ray, 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: Grew from 2018
5. Notable investors? False: No one I recognize
6. Post-funding, will have 18 months of runway? True: Yes, at ~$250k will have 18 mths

The 7 Thiel Questions (Every Time Man Profits, Don't Dismiss Serendipity)

Question Score Notes
1. Engineering? 2 Probs better than stuff separate, but not that much better
2. Timing? 2 Good timing to be in this sector
3. Monopoly? 1 Not a lot of revenue comparatively
4. People? 2 Good team but not much information on individual founders
5. Distribution? 1 Needs business relationships to be able to sell this product
6. Durability? 2 It's a marketplace so if built, will be defensible
7. Secret? 1 COVID has forced the digitization of online coaching classes faster than pre-COVID times

What has to go right for the startup to return money on investment:

1. Increase revenue; 2. Build out scalable model of acquisition; 3. Not just be a distributor/appt booker/accountability but eventually become a LMS (learning management system)

What the Risks Are

1. Modest revenue; 2. What's defensible about this product vs Coursalytics?; 3. What's the unfair advantages?

Bonus Muhan's Notes

I covered a company called Coursalytics raising in June 2019 (!!!) that was raising at a $2.5m valuation cap with $168k in revenue, backed by Jason Calacanis. That company I have not seen any updates from recently. But Viveka would have to compete against a Coursalytics from a metric standpoint to catch my attention.

Updates

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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.