- Red Beard Ventures Newsletter
- Posts
- RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖
RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖
Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, RBV Fund I Closing & More
Joshua Howard
May 25, 2023
RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖: Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, RBV Fund I Closing & More
—-------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the first quarter of 2023, investor confidence has been slowly creeping up, recovering from the massive tank over November/December last year. The landscape is changing, and deals are filling up quicker and quicker over time. We are lucky for the increased confidence, because that means more deals can be posted, more capital deployed, and bigger ownership stakes. This is the good news; the bad news is that, just like the cycles of the seasons, valuations will creep back up. Founders know the market, and when cash starts moving around more, deals will stop being quite as much of a ‘bargain’ as they are today. Investment dollars are going a long way right now, so please consider the deals we bring you as a great opportunity to deploy and get ownership in the next generation of great companies!
Also, just a quick reminder that we have started our search for candidates for our Tokenomics Accelerator, Denarii Labs. This initiative, jointly powered by Red Beard Ventures and Horizen Labs Ventures (known for creating Yuga Labs’ ApeCoin and many other successful projects), aims to assist Web3 builders in designing, developing, and executing their tokenomics and token launch strategies with the help of top-notch advisors, strategic partners, and investors.
Through the accelerator, five fortunate projects will be selected and equipped with the necessary skills to achieve an exceptional token release within three months of the curriculum. Interested parties can register at www.denariilabs.xyz.
—------------------------------------------------------------
🚨 TL;DR: This Week in Crypto
Coinbase promises to “Move America Forward”
First airline to issue all-NFT tickets
Hong Kong courts crypto businesses
—------------------------------------------------------------
📣 As a reminder, Red Beard Ventures has both a syndicate and fund:
The Red Beard Ventures Syndicate is stage agnostic and invests in Frontier Technology with a focus on Web3, Space, FinTech, Robotics, Biotech, and Climate. We invest anywhere between $100k - $1.5M.
The Red Beard Ventures Fund I invests $100k - $1M in Pre-seed and Seed blockchain-based companies.
—------------------------------------------------------------
🔔 Active Investment Opportunities:
Tafi: the global leader in 3D assets and text-to-3D genAI
Largest commercial library of 3D assets in the world; customers include Coca-Cola, HBO, Warner/DC, Coinbase, and others
Their product DAZ 3D (link to demo here) creates ultra-HD fully compatible and customizable characters
Exclusive partnership with NVIDIA to train even greater AI capabilities
0-G Launch: Better Rocket Launch Platform for the Growing Space Industry
0-G is building a fleet of Boeing 757s specially designed for precision high altitude flight
The first purpose of these aircraft is to launch rocket payloads high in the stratosphere
The second purpose will be flying long parabolic dives for zero-gravity testing and consumer experiences
Edison AI Systems: Zapier for AI, Link Multiple Models into One Workflow
Edison AI is building a web platform to build complex, interoperable AI systems
Developers can cut their time and costs by 60–90%, deploying in days, not months
The platform can operate as no-code or low-code, meaning even novices can link together StableDiffusion, GPT-4, a voice mimicking AI, and more!
Texas Ranchers, Major League Pickleball Team: The Fastest Growing Sport in the World
Ranchers global is acquiring the Texas Ranchers, one of the top pickleball teams in the league
The investment also comes with a stake in Major League Pickleball itself
The popularity of pickleball exploded in 2022, with now 36 million players worldwide
Storybook: #1 Parenting App in 90 Countries
We are cosyndicating with Umami Capital
$1.9 M in ARR, growing 20% monthly
Strong investor roster including Goodwater, Jason Calacanis, Magma Partners, Google Latino Founders Fund
Siegelman Stable: Streetwear with a Conscience - Gary Vaynerchuk Lead
Rapidly gaining mass appeal and A-list celebrity endorsements
Nearly one million dollars in gross revenue in 2022
Founded by the son from a top horse racing family, Max Siegelman, past collaborator with Kanye West, NBA teams, Puma, Hypebeast, Lexus, and more
One Earth Rising: Ownable Interoperability for Modern Gaming
Their standard has self-sovereignty and a format game engines can understand
This format seeks to become industry standard
All facets of the asset - items, moments, stats - are able to be minted
Meratas: Expedia for Student Loans - Last check, Oversubscribed Round
This round is led by Jason Calacanis, legendary investor from The All In podcast
Multi-lender marketplace allows users to compare and loan offers to compete
110 schools are current paying customers, at $1300/mo
Projected revenue of $6M in 2023
GET protocol: The Premium NFT Ticketing Solution
GET has been building NFT ticketing since 2016
They have a full range of ticketing products for event holders, from self-service to full concierge, and also whitelabel solutions
Issued nearly 3.4 Million tickets (1.7M in 2022 alone), over 17k events
Investment includes a token grant AND discounted token purchase rights
Simply Eggless: The Future of Egg Alternatives
Simply Eggless is the second-largest producer and supplier of plant-based eggs globally, with a revenue of $2M in 2022
Their products are sold in over 2.8k stores in North America and the company is looking to expand to 1k more stores, serving their massive popularity among Gen Z and Millennials
The main ingredient used by Eggless is lupin bean, which offers high protein, excellent baking functionality, and is environmentally friendly
The competitors in vegan egg alternatives all fall behind Simply Eggless, which has a much more versatile and shelf-stable product
Blocklords: GoT Meets Axie - Revolutionizing Play-To-Earn Gaming
Blocklords already has 120k pre-registered for their play-to-earn game
The medieval-based game allows players to craft their narrative while simultaneously earning cryptocurrency for tasks they complete within the game (Play-to-earn model).
Blocklords is focusing on delivering value to the user first to build up the user base and ecosystem first - This approach seems to be working by their massive sign-up and connection numbers
Money earned can be used to progress in the game or traded on crypto exchanges.
Bitscraft, Delphi Digital, and Animoca Brands are all investing
SAFT, $100M FMV
The Sandbox: Global leader and largest metaverse platform
$SAND is a Top 50 Cryptocurrency >$2B
$250M+ current virtual real estate LAND value
>$700M digital asset portfolio
$4.3M highest LAND price paid
~3X more LAND sales than competitor Decentraland
250K+ creators and brands are using the no-code tools to mind new items and experiences each month!
—------------------------------------------------------------
🥳 Upcoming Events:
In-person events are a great way to stay informed in our industry, so we are planning for a very full 2023. We would love to hear about any other conferences you will be attending this year, so please let us know as we are still planning our event calendar!
—------------------------------------------------------------
🪙 Crypto News:
In February, Coinbase commissioned a national survey from Morning Consult that shows that one in five Americans own crypto and that 80% of Americans want to update the financial system.
Coinbase is working with US regulators, policymakers, and businesses to ensure that cryptocurrency is used safely and responsibly.
Vitalik Buterin urges caution when it comes to re-staking on Ethereum
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned users to make sure they understand the risks before they decide to re-stake their ETH
Buterin said those who stake their ETH and violate the network's new rules could be penalized by having their ETH slashed or locked for at least 6 months.
Buterin's warning comes after the Ethereum network transitioned to proof-of-stake (PoS).
Hong Kong will allow retail trading of cryptocurrencies starting in the latter half of 2023.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will accept applications from exchanges to offer such services from June 1.Only exchanges that meet the SFC's requirements will be allowed to offer services to retail investors.The SFC has yet to approve any virtual asset trading platform to provide services to retail investors.
The move is seen as a step towards making Hong Kong a hub for the crypto industry.
—------------------------------------------------------------
🗃️ Portfolio News:
The platform is now the first and only place to allow offers for collections like NFL ALLDAY, UFC Strike, Jolly Jokers, and more
The move allows for better, more personalized sales and deals, as well as a way to track the floor of a collection
The chemistry experts were able to create new salts, co-crystals, and polymorphs of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in psychedelic mushrooms
Terran published a patent application and Drug Master File with the FDA, the first steps towards becoming a new medical treatment
Terran Bio is researching these compounds to better understand and treat a range of psychological disorders
—------------------------------------------------------------
💸 NFT Alpha
The collection featured a series of unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) created by Butcher, known for his distinctive minimalist art style
The title of the auction listing for Butcher's "Checks Elements" collection: "This Artwork May or May Not Be Notable."
Prior to the auction, the complete "Checks Elements" collection was put on display at Christie's New York location at 20 Rockefeller Plaza.
The move eliminates the risk of counterfeit tickets, provides transparent ownership records, and facilitating efficient ticket transfers and resales in a secure and traceable manner.
This implementation of NFTs in ticketing demonstrates the potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing various industries beyond art and collectibles.
The adoption of NFT-based ticketing by a major airline sets a precedent for other airlines worldwide, potentially leading to a transformation in ticketing systems globally.
—------------------------------------------------------------
🤝 We are hiring!
We are looking for syndicate vertical leads in the following categories - if you are interested please reach out and we can discuss the opportunity in greater detail:
Biotech
Space
Robotics & Automation
Climate
Fintech & SaaS
—------------------------------------------------------------
Onwards 🚀
Drew, Elana, Whit, Mitchell, and Lauren