RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖

Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, RBV Fund I Closing & More

Author

Joshua Howard
June 16, 2023

RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖: Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, RBV Fund I Closing & More

—-------------------------------------------------------------------
The entire Red Beard family are heads-down and hard at work sourcing some truly great deals. We are entering the period of the Bear Market that is best for early-stage investors such as ourselves, when the market for valuations is still quite low, and solid companies that would otherwise be raising at massive valuations are offering equity at a discount. Over the next few months, we are going to be able to get allocation in down- or sideways-rounds for companies that spent hard in the Bull Market, but just need liquidity to make it to the next one. These are going to be the companies that are most suited to success: enough time to build product, lean burn to have as long of a runway as possible, and already touting a cap table full of heavy-hitters. People say “buy low, sell high” as a maxim, and let me tell you friends, now is the time to buy low.

Also, we wanted to drop a friendly reminder that our Tokenomics Accelerator, Denarii Labs, is currently in the process of seeking out exceptional companies. This groundbreaking endeavor, fueled by the combined forces of Red Beard Ventures and Horizen Labs Ventures (renowned for their role in creating Yuga Lab’s ApeCoin and numerous other successful products), is dedicated to empowering Web3 innovators in crafting, cultivating, and executing their tokenomics and token launch strategies.
We'll be providing these visionaries with unparalleled guidance from esteemed advisors, invaluable partnerships with strategic allies, and access to discerning investors.

Through the accelerator program, we will meticulously select five projects, arming them with the essential skills and know-how to achieve an extraordinary token launch within a swift three-month timeframe.

If this opportunity calls to you or someone you know, don't hesitate to register at www.denariilabs.xyz and seize the chance to be part of something truly remarkable.



—------------------------------------------------------------

🚨 TL;DR: This Week in Crypto

  • Former SEC Director reveals he doesn’t feel ETH is a security

  • Lawmakers introduce bill to remove SEC chair

  • Binance adds Bitcoin NFTs to its marketplace one day after SEC lawsuit

  • Billionaire Tim Draper Calls for New Way of Regulation, states Gary Gensler is Damaging the USA

  • COTI’s ADA Pay to be used by Wolfram Alpha

—------------------------------------------------------------

📣 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.






-----------------------------------------------------------

🪙 Crypto News:

Billionaire Tim Draper Says Gary Gensler Damaging the US With Anti-Crypto Policies, Calls for New Way of Regulation

  • Renowned billionaire investor Tim Draper expresses concern over the anti-crypto policies implemented by Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

  • “ Coinbase – all they wanted to do was abide by the law. They kept writing the SEC, ‘What can we do here? Etc.’ The SEC let them go public. But somehow, now, they’re going, ‘You’re somehow violating things.” Draper also commends Brian Armstrong for his role as CEO of Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange by volume in the US, which was charged by the SEC last week for alleged securities violations.

  • Draper argues that Gensler's approach is detrimental to the United States, hindering innovation and technological advancement in the crypto industry

  • Former SEC director William Hinman intended to have a conversation with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in 2018.

  • Hinman wanted to understand how the Ethereum Foundation operates to “confirm” his stance that ETH was not a security.

  • Members of the United States House of Representatives are pushing for ways to remove Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler from his position

  • A Supreme Court decision ruled that the U.S. president could not remove commissioners except for “standard of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.

  • Members of Congress can also expel fellow lawmakers with a two-thirds vote, though this approach is so rare it has happened only 20 times in the entirety of U.S. history.

    —-----------------------------------------------------------

🗃️ Portfolio News

  • Launched in March 2022, BetSwirl is one of the most prominent on-chain casinos and an active and successful promoter of open and permissionless on-chain betting!

  • They have almost 25M of wagered volume, $750k revenue, $20k players, 2.5k in $LINK consumed through Chainlink VRF, & launched on 4 chains

  • Danny Zuckerman spoke at length on the next gen: L1s for Unicorn Consumer dApps.
    The panel explored the consumer stacks aimed at creating top dApps.

  • In addition to canvassing dynamic data layers, interface abstractions and the powerful addition of AI. The discussion centered on the backbone of the consumer stack: the Layer 1 chain.

  • XP NFTs, expanding beyond gaming boundaries

  • XP NFTs introduce new possibilities and utility for players, unlocking additional features and benefits within the Zed Run ecosystem

  • These innovative NFTs are set to enhance the gaming experience, allowing players to level up their virtual horses and access exclusive in-game rewards that will hold real world value.


—------------------------------------------------------------


💸 NFT Alpha 

  • Through this integration, Coti's ADA Pay and Wolfram Alpha aim to create a compelling and streamlined NFT auction experience for users

  • The collaboration showcases the potential for blockchain-based solutions to enhance the efficiency and transparency of NFT auctions

  • Core technology introduced:, ADA payments for NFTs, Bidding and auction mechanisms.

  • Following the recent SEC lawsuit, Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, swiftly adds Bitcoin-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its marketplace

  • The timing of this launch amid the SEC lawsuit reflects Binance's determination to continue innovating and catering to the evolving demands of its user base


—------------------------------------------------------------

🔔 Active Investment Opportunities:

Pathway AI: a Data Science Team at Your Fingertips

  • Analysts can use natural language to generate sophisticated statistical models

  • Chosen for AngelList Access Fund and Private Capital Network

  • Coinvesting with Notion Capital, Cur8 Capital, REMUS Capital, and more

  • Link to invest

Venus Aerospace: LA to Tokyo in ONE HOUR at hypersonic speed

  • A promise of the space age finally fulfilled, the craft designed by Venus Aerospace will be the fastest reusable hypersonic system in the world.

  • Their patented rotating detonation rocket engine (RDTE) will propel passengers at speeds up to Mach 9

  • The craft is designed to fly just outside of our atmosphere, where air friction poses no risk to the craft

  • Link to invest

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

  • Link to invest

Brex: Financial Services to Businesses of all Sizes

  • 200% growth YoY with 200k customers

  • Ranked the #2 disruptor in their field by CNBC two years in a row

  • Expanded by acquiring six startups and partnering with Techstars for further expansion

  • Link to invest

Potion: Using AI to Create Personalized Video Content

  • On track for $1M ARR by July of this year

  • Unique no-code platform allows marketing managers and advertisers to create personalized video content

  • Coinvesting with UpHonest, Streamlined Ventures, and others

  • Link to invest

Canza Finance: a New Financial System for Africa’s FX Markets

  • African FX TAM is $5T, yet is still highly inefficient and expensive

  • Canza is building the Jara Network to facilitate OTC

  • The round is being led by Polychain Capital at a $15M PMV

  • Link to invest

Slingshot Aerospace: the Traffic Cop and Modeling for Orbital Vehicles

  • The global space economy TAM is expected to be $640B by 2026

  • A massive explosion in satellite launches needs controls to avoid collisions, an increasingly pertinent risk

  • Coinvesting with lead Sway Ventures, with follow-ons from ATX Venture and Lockheed martin Ventures

  • Link to invest

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!

  • Link to invest


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

  • Link to invest

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

  • Link to invest

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

  • Link to invest


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

  • Link to Invest


—------------------------------------------------------------

🥳 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!

Red Beard Ventures with syndicate company Brex at LA Tech Week

—------------------------------------------------------------

🤝 We are hiring!

We are looking for part-time 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, Mitchell, Frankie, and Lauren