Substance over sizzle. I make no promises about the cadence of this email. I do promise it will be worth your time and mine. -Dave
At the buzzer…
On June 30th, Buzzer, the streaming startup backed by Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and other stars, announced that it would shut down. The company raised $44 million in total investment for its app to target Gen Z sports fans. Originally, Buzzer’s business aimed to “sell parts of live games to fans”. Its value proposition fell well-short of NORMA’s. Karma is a bitch.
Conferences for people who have never been to one…
On August 2nd, RingCentral announced it had acquired some technical assets from virtual events company, Hopin, for $15M. The price tag is a far cry from the $7B valuation Hopin commanded way back in August. 2021. Yup, a whole 2 years ago. Imagine you owned a live events company (and the underlying software) during COVID and watched Hopin go from zero to $7B. The market might have trashed you for “missing the moment” by virtue of your decision not to pivot into a Hopin-like company.
You think you know, but you have no idea…
Hundreds of thousands of users and millions of transactions later, it’s easy to assume venture-backed TradeBlock is just another sneaker marketplace. You would be mistaken. And that’s the difference between seeing a business through the eyes of a consumer, versus understanding the mechanics (and possibilities!) truly at play. Watch this company…
Make Me Smarter, Dave!
If you haven’t read Paul Graham’s essays, start with this one, or you’re missing out.
Bye-Biosteel
BioSteel Sports Nutrition filed for bankruptcy (link). Anyone with a casual interest and understanding in CPG isn’t surprised. Despite the company signing huge sponsorship deals with the NHL, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets, for example, the company simply wasn’t good at…selling beverages. There has been quite a lull in the better-for-you beverage space, punctuated by companies that were once darlings languishing as the window for a yuuuuge liquidity event appears closed. Are we just stuck with PRIME for now?
Where’s the alpha?
Hedge fund titan, Bill Ackman, recently relayed a conversation he had with a larger fixed income manager whom, according to Ackman, said, “there are just too many bonds.” Speaking of real assets and high yields, who knows a lot about minerals & royalties?
FML. Why didn’t I think of this?
Ever heard of Next Level Sports? There may be dozens of ‘meathead’ training facilities in New Jersey that go by the same name, but this Next Level is the one college sports administrators love. It’s the kind of business model that’s so damn brilliant it’s infuriating. Here’s what Next Level Sports does. First, they approach a university offering a turn-key solution to create, market, and administer youth sports leagues. The university pays a licensing fee to use Next Level’s turn-key solution. The university staffs the league with its own collegiate student-athletes and administrators (think: graduate assistants). Next Level’s staff? None. Just the software and sufficient digital marketing to fill the leagues with youth players. whose parents are desperate to make something of Saturday mornings in February. F-me
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