MONTHLY METRICS

Accredited members: 823 (+9%)
Unique investors: 215 (+11%)
Total Investments: 486 (+16%)
Total Dollars Invested: $1.8M (+21%)
New Dollars Invested this month: $315K

We hit a delicious $315K invested on the platform for the month and topped $1.8M AUA (assets under advisement) since we started a year ago. 🎉

Feels cute that just last month I was bummed about missing the $1.5M AUA mark. 

March was also our first breakeven month of the year. Breakeven is a controversial metric for startups, but until we find "lightning in a bottle" on our go-to-market, breakeven is beautiful. It also didn't hurt that we had a fresh $50K of outside capital committed to the company.

Operationally, we funded 2.5x more than our average number of investments this month. Our back office automation goal was to reduce time spent on SPV Ops to under an hour a week—and we crushed that goal even with the volume.

If anyone doubts how low-code, automation, and AI are enabling lean teams to scale - I can attest it's game-changing. Our entire team feels bionic some days.

It could also be the Nguyen Coffee talking. We are all officially hooked. 

MARCH WRAP UP

• We launched our Android App & crushed K1s

• For the 2nd time this year a founder landed a 6-figure fund investor who discovered them on the platform.

• Our March partnership experiments were 'Meh'

👎🏽 We met with a handful of existing angel groups this month. TLDR: There is no urgency. The enterprise-type requirements most had—stuff folks like Dealum do fine, albeit uninspired—feel like a distracting small-ball version of the future we see.

We see a glimpse of our future when we look at Nguyen Coffee. 

✨ Nguyen Coffee Case Study ✨

By plugging into our capital network, the company:

• Raised 33% more money than they could have on Sydecar.
• 3x’d the number of Angels in their round -- that's 3x the brand advocates with skin in the game.

While we made 40% more revenue than AngelList would have on the same deal, the "big check" Angels the founder brought in ($20K-$25K checks) paid less in fees. It was a win/win all around.

🫤 We launched a collab with the NYC branch of the MIT Angel Network at their annual Female Founder pitch event.  They got cold feet about promoting investing (stop. don't even say it.) so it only delivered ~20% of our member growth for the month. 

On the plus side, the competition winners were live on Play Money. There is still more juice to squeeze for their deals and the MIT partnership. 

🤔 The partner bright spot? Regional startup networks. We have a few prospects in the queue, and this is where I want to learn more in April.

👀 Also, over the last year, we deployed more capital - and at bigger check sizes -- than most Fund I VCs.  Our conversion on founders' time is 🤌🏽.

• Our audience is our asset—it transforms us from a "nice to have" to a "must have" for founders and partners. 
  
  
• For the first time since we launched, we can put all our product and distribution efforts into the end-user experience, with the goal of jump-starting the flywheel effects a little more ourselves.

Plus, we will move way faster and have more fun. 

APRIL LOOK AHEAD 

• Back to the outbound
• Focus on Sharing
• Baby steps towards subscriptions

I need to get my head back on the business vs in the business. It's been a few months of reactiveness in the weeds.

So here's the thing. We have a 60% - 70% weekly engagement rate. That's insane.

We need to figure out how to translate that into two things: product virality and revenue.

It will always be free to "lurk and learn", but what if there is an optional upsell that lets us make money from our non-investors AND turns them into investors sooner? 

You can debate top-line growth vs. bottom-line revenue, but I am beginning to think it's the same content that fuels both. We haven't locked in our goals and bets for the month yet. But they'll be in this direction.  

1. Download the App 📱
Now on Android or IOS. We've had a few folks ask 'Why an app?' Try it, and you'll see. Plus it's the only place to get post-investment content and early access to deals. 

2. New! Give us Feedback 💬
Check out the "What's New" tab, share your wishlist, and vote on what we build next. 

3. Help us crack the code on sharing 👭
Have you wanted to share a deal but are unsure how? Do you want to talk to your friends about your investing but feel awkward? Do you know someone who might be interested in Angel but don't know how to start the convo?

🙋🏽‍♀️ Smash the reply button. Share a few thoughts or raise your hand to beta one of the product experiments we are rolling out this month. 

Big thanks...

Alan, for inspiring a whole-ass evergreen feature on the site with all your feedback. Mike for reframing my role as GP of a new kind of fluid fund. Jess for making us look like stars with TenYour. Rachel, Jamie, Jennie, & Melanie for the super sweet notes (plus, I love it when Play Money OG's connect). Paul for the original MIT intros. Alisha for working with us so fast and efficiently. And finally Bruce, Julie, and Bill for helping me crush our new streamlined back-office process for Custodial IRAs. 

Feels like progress.

-- C2K

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