~/investments
Below is the data (periodically updated) on all of my private startup investments to-date. The idea is to be transparent about all of them: no window dressing and no survivorship bias. I've sought in good faith to represent them all here.
The vast majority of these investments were passive / on the sidelines. That means I wasn't a large or meaningful part of their fundraising round, just allowed to participate with a smaller amount (typically $5,000 to $25,000).
The longer-term goal of this dataset is to shed light on early stage investing to make it better for everyone involved. To bring some of the rigor of public markets with the "disinfectant of sunlight".
I think there are a lot of lessons available for founders and investors alike, and hope to increase the available data over time. Reach out if you'd like to see me add any data points or background!
A quick note on returns (click to expand)
Return calculations require assigning at least two valuations: when you invest and at some later point, either when you exit or at an arbitrary point in time. Exits are easy to calculate (the price is set by someone else, just as the investment had), but the majority of current investments otherwise must be valued arbitrarily by some estimate of current value.
Currently I am using the simplest methodology available: the last fundraising round valuation. That means if they haven't raised more money since, the valuation is statistically more likely to be overstated than understated. Remember, this is not an endorsement or investment advice, nor an offer for any securities.
A lot of the returns show small declines or near complete losses but not total losses. These should probably stand out as peculiar, but there's a good reason for both: fees/transaction costs.
The vast majority of deals have some allocation of transaction costs for legal and related expenses incurred in the transaction. That means less than 100% of the principal ends up getting invested in the company. Therefore it immediately has a negative return equal to the amount of transaction expense incurred. And in the event of a total loss without a distribution, it has been accounted for as a total loss of the principal invested excluding the transaction costs.
Investment Portfolio
AI platform providing financial services firms with real-time insights through advanced NLP and predictive analytics.
Robotics company developing automated massage and wellness solutions using advanced robotics and AI.
Full-service parking operator platform managing operations, payments, and enforcement for parking real estate.
Digital banking platform in Mexico providing modern financial services and money management tools.
