Tremendous

An angel investor's take on life and business

  • Remote vs. In Person: What’s Better for Startups?

    Investors love to argue whether startups should be in person or remote. Wiz is remote-first and just got a $23 billion acquisition offer. Can we end this debate?

    The Game of Outliers

    Time and time again, I hear investors trying to sound all hard core, saying you’ve got to be in the office 5 days a week. But the evidence shows us you can build a great company either way.

    We’re in a business of outliers. Any criterion that could exclude a Wiz has to be dropped.

    Instead, we need to focus on factors that are more relevant.

    Are the founders great entrepreneurs? Is the company growing fast?

    A Peak Into My Portfolio

    In my portfolio, I have great companies operating in person and others that are remote.

    One of my most successful has everyone in an office in Queens 6 days a week. Another top performer is 100% remote — even the CEO works out of a Starbucks.

    Some founders love to be in person. Others like flexibility.

    The key for me as an investor is not to focus on a factor that doesn’t make much difference.

    My Advice to Startups

    If you’re starting a company today, here’s my advice: go remote.

    This lets you recruit anyone, anywhere. The best people are hard to find and hard to win.

    You, a tiny startup, need every advantage you can get. And being remote gives you an advantage in recruiting.

    Of course, it depends on the startup.

    For hardware companies, in person is a must. And for companies that are very sales driven, in person can be better, at least for the sales team. People in sales tend to prefer it — they feed off each other’s energy.

    Wrap-Up

    Wiz is the best case scenario in startupland. And it’s a remote first company.

    So if any of you investors think in person is the only way to build, it’s time to rethink that.

    We investors have only one job: find a Wiz. And we won’t get there by focusing on irrelevant details like whether everyone comes to an office.

    What do you prefer, remote or in person?

    Have a great weekend, everyone!

    More on tech:

    The Easiest Way to Help Founders

    Why I Passed: “3L”

    The Simple Way to Angel Invest

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Kamala’s Extreme Agenda

    Kamala Harris has called for a ban on private health insurance. There’s a word for banning private business: communism.

    Harris has since backpedaled on that statement. But it shows her instincts: anti-capitalist and anti-freedom.

    From healthcare to taxes to border security, Harris is a creature of the extreme left. Where Biden is liberal, Harris is an out-and-out radical.

    Banning Your Health Insurance

    If the old Harris gets her way, hundreds of millions of Americans would lose their health insurance. Ironically, that includes millions of people on Obamacare, the Democratic Party’s signature policy win of the 21st century.

    But hey, why shouldn’t the government be in charge of our health? Look what a great job they’ve done with education, the border, and pulling out of Afghanistan!

    Don’t get sick, folks.

    Opening the Floodgates

    I wish that taking away Americans’ insurance was the only extreme policy Harris has advocated for. But unfortunately, there’s a lot more.

    Harris has also called for decriminalizing crossing the border and abolishing the border security agency, ICE. This will result in a new wave of illegal immigration the likes of which we’ve never seen.

    NYC is already going bankrupt under the current influx. How will we survive an even larger wave?

    Bye Bye, 401k

    And if that wasn’t enough, Kamala also has a plan to slash the value of your 401k. She plans to raise the corporate tax from 21% to 35%, a massive increase.

    Even Biden never advocated for more than a 28% rate. If Harris gets her way, companies profits will shrink drastically, along with their stock prices.

    Bye bye, retirement.

    Leftists love to talk about Wall Street as if it has nothing to do with the average person. But most Americans’ retirement is tied to the stock market. Indeed, a majority of Americans own stocks.

    Extremist policies that kill our capital markets won’t just affect the rich. For the majority of middle class Americans, it will push retirement even further into the future.

    Wrap-Up

    We prosper when we’re safe and free.

    Taking away our healthcare and our retirement isn’t freedom. Opening the border doesn’t keep us safe.

    I thought we couldn’t do much worse than Biden. Well, I was wrong.

    Harris is an extremist. Her views are not the views of most Americans.

    And this fall, I expect to see her go down in flames.

    Well, that’s enough politics for this week! Tomorrow, we’re getting back to tech, and another hot debate: what’s better, remote or in person?

    More from the blog:

    Sacks at the RNC

    114 Days

    The Coming M&A Wave

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Llama 3.1 vs. ChatGPT: Battle Royale

    Yesterday, a sun kissed and fluffy haired Zuck introduced his ChatGPT killer: Llama 3.1. The latest open source model from Meta beats ChatGPT 4o on most benchmarks. But how would it perform in the real world?

    Today, I did a head-to-head test with 3 identical questions to find out.

    Question #1: Help Me Shop

    Last evening, I was thinking about buying a webcam so I can look a little snazzier on my Zoom meetings. But which one should I get?

    Instead of spending half the night browsing product listings, I figured I’d ask my new AI friends…

    Here’s ChatGPT…

    And here’s Llama 3.1:

    ChatGPT did great, giving me a list of well known brands at great prices. Llama’s answer, however, wasn’t helpful. It didn’t tell me a key piece of data — each camera’s cost!

    ChatGPT takes this round.

    Question #2: Scouting Startups

    Next, I used the AI’s to help me solve the biggest business problem I have: finding great startups. Specifically, I wanted to know which startups I should check out in the current YC batch.

    First, let’s try ChatGPT:

    Now, we’ll try Llama 3.1:

    ChatGPT was totally wrong. it pulled companies in the prior batch, W24. That’s not useful to me because they’ve already raised seed funding, and I like to invest at seed.

    Llama 3.1 makes the same mistake, also giving me companies from the prior batch.

    This one is a tie.

    Question #2 shows how hard it is to use LLM’s for mission critical tasks. They’re just not reliable enough yet.

    Question #3: Market Research

    One of the main things I use LLM’s for is to research unfamiliar markets.

    One minute, I’m looking at a consumer social company. The next, it’s a SaaS platform for oil refineries.

    LLM’s are super helpful in getting me up to speed on those unfamiliar corners of the economy. So I asked the dueling AI’s about manufacturing SaaS.

    First, we’ll go to ChatGPT:

    Now, let’s try Llama:

    ChatGPT gave a good and thorough response, calling out 11 different platforms. It wisely listed Excel first. Never underestimate how widely Excel is used to pull off complex tasks!

    Llama 3.1 gave almost the exact same response. It mentioned many of the same tools like Oracle and SAP, along with Excel.

    I’m calling this one a tie as well.

    Wrap-Up

    Overall, ChatGPT is still the reigning champion, winning 1 question and tying the other two. Nice try, Meta, but you’ve still got a ways to go!

    What do you think of the new Llama?

    More on tech:

    The Easiest Way to Help Founders

    Why I Passed: “3L”

    Retool’s YC Demo Day Pitch

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • The Easiest Way to Help Founders

    “What’s the best way to help founders you’ve invested in?” Last fall, I posed this question to one of the top early stage investors. His answer surprised me.

    “Share their posts on social media,” he said.

    “That’s it?” I thought. “Anyone can do that!”

    Yes, anyone can. But hardly anyone does.

    Clearing a Very Low Bar

    Take one of my most successful startups. Twitter is their main customer acquisition channel.

    I try to retweet everything they put out there. And despite the long list of names on their cap table, I’m usually the only investor doing this!

    Whenever I see that no one else has bothered to help, I shake my head and mutter. But I also crack a little grin.

    “I just beat the competition,” I think to myself.

    Just like founding a startup, investing in startups is a competition. You have to be better than the next available investor.

    Fortunately, it doesn’t take much! Most aren’t willing to do even the simplest tasks to help the company.

    Hacking the Algorithm

    The more people like, comment, and share a post, the greater its reach. If even 5 investors all take the time to share a company update, that update could go viral.

    A single viral post can bring in dozens or hundreds of leads for a company. So believe it or not, those little likes and shares can translate into serious cash.

    As one post after another goes viral, the startup builds a huge social presence.

    This is absolute gold. A giant social following means you can get in front of tons of potential customers whenever you want, absolutely free.

    Going for Extra Credit

    Sharing a company’s social posts pushes them up the timeline on Twitter or LinkedIn. But I have another little trick to nudge them up another critical ranking — the Google search results.

    I announce every investment I make in a blog post — with the founder’s permission, of course. I love telling you guys what I’m investing in. But I also have an ulterior motive…

    My post pushes them up the Google results. I do this by linking to their website, which builds their domain authority.

    My site has been around for almost four years. That’s longer than many of the startups I invest in.

    A link from a well-established site like that provides an especially strong push up the Google rankings. Every little bit helps!

    Wrap-Up

    Retweeting a post or shouting out a startup on my blog isn’t exactly moving mountains. It’s ridiculously easy and only takes a few minutes.

    But that’s exactly my point. Most investors won’t help, even in these very low effort ways.

    If you will, you have a big advantage in winning the best deals.

    Plus, it’s fun! You’re part of a secret cabal trying to get that startup in front of as many eyes as possible.

    Startups need all the help they can get. A few investors shouting them out online just might put them over the top!

    How do you help startups you invest in?

    More on tech:

    Meet My Latest Investment: North

    Why I Passed: “3L”

    Retool’s YC Demo Day Pitch

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Why I Passed: “3L”

    They were raising $8 million at a $35 million post-money valuation. Despite a great founder and some blue chip customers, I passed. Here’s why…

    “3L” is a tool for law firms to recruit new attorneys coming out of law school. ”3L” is a composite, not a real startup, and the name is made up. But it shows why slow growth and outsourced development make it hard to raise money.

    The Good

    In just 2 years, “3L” had signed up some impressive customers. Many top law firms were using the platform to find new attorneys.

    The founder, “Tim,” knew his market inside and out. He had been a Biglaw attorney before starting “3L” and he knew what these blue chip firms wanted.

    When he demoed “3L,” I was impressed by how easy it was to browse the profiles of new law school grads. If you want a new associate who’s done a lot of coursework in securities law, you can find one in just a few clicks!

    The Bad

    “3L” had an awesome platform. But they were having a hard time finding new customers.

    Revenue had been flat for the last 6 months. Rapid growth in prior years had slowed down to a crawl.

    The founders had a plan to hire more salesmen and pump up those numbers. But whether that plan would succeed was anyone’s guess.

    “3L” also relied on a team from Bulgaria to write most of the code. This may have slowed them down — collaborating across time zones and language barriers isn’t easy.

    Decision Time

    Looking at the “3L” deal, I asked myself: “What am I buying here?”

    We’ve got a business that isn’t growing. The team doesn’t have the technical skills in-house to make a better product that would sell faster.

    Remember, “3L” is one of 100-200 deals a month I see. Many of those are highly technical teams with fast growing businesses.

    As much as I liked “Tim,” I couldn’t justify investing in “3L” over all those other companies. I passed.

    Wrap-Up

    Lots of companies are like “3L” — strong initial growth that quickly peters out. In a situation like that, fundraising is tough.

    The best solution is to get to break even, find some ways to grow a little, and then raise from a position of strength.

    For investors, we have to focus on backing technical teams that are growing fast. In an industry rife with failure, they are our best chance of success.

    Would you have invested in “3L”?

    More on tech:
    Why I Passed: “ProductPreview”

    A Peek Into My Founder Meetings

    Retool’s YC Demo Day Pitch

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • A Peek Into My Founder Meetings

    Here are some questions I asked founders at actual meetings this week. Draft some answers to these, and you’ll be better prepared for your investor meetings!

    1) “What’s your vision for [Startup]?” This is the first question I ask every founder. I put it first because it’s the most important.

    I want to hear not just about where the company is, but where it’s going. Here’s an example:

    “My vision for Uber is to make it easy for anyone to get a ride anywhere, anytime.”

    That’s ambitious. That has the potential to be a world-changing company. That’s what I want to back.

    You want to get the vision down to a single, clear sentence with zero jargon.

    2) “What made you want to start this business?” I’m gauging how deeply interested the founder is in the problem they’re solving.

    Building a startup is so hard and pays so poorly that only a nutjob would do it. A nutjob who’s obsessed with a problem they just have to solve.

    My job is to find those nutjobs and give them money.

    3) “Tell me about your team.” I’ve already done some research on this before the meeting. But I want to hear from the founder why he assembled this team and why they’re the right people to take on this problem.

    I’m especially interested in learning about his co-founders. How do they know each other? Why are these the right people to partner with?

    4) “Who writes the code for this startup?” I want at least half the founders writing code.

    It’s pretty hard to create a software company if you don’t have anyone who can build software. This is a core capacity that we cannot outsource.

    If the company runs short on cash, that hired help will be gone. Can the founders keep building and getting closer to product-market fit?

    If not, the startup is dead in the water.

    5) “How do you find customers?” I don’t expect an early stage founder to have his entire sales process worked out. But I do want to see some early success in winning customers.

    I also like seeing how the founder approaches this problem. Do they throw money at it, buying a bunch of ads? Or do they find creative ways to get in front of their users for free, like a Facebook group?

    Those creative, resourceful founders will win.

    6) “What are your early customers telling you?” I’m judging how close the founder is to their customers and how well they listen.

    If you look at any great startup like Mercury, Superhuman, or Intercom, they know their users inside and out. They talk to them constantly. And they continuously ship new features that make those customers happy!

    I want to see the founder doing that. They should know what their first customers like about the product and what they don’t. And they need a plan for addressing the latter.

    7) “Can we run through a demo of your product?” I’m always flabbergasted when an investor doesn’t ask for a demo. How would you know what you’re even discussing when you haven’t seen the product?

    I’m looking for how well it solves a user’s problem. I also want to see how good the design is. Pretty products sell.

    The founder should know every inch of that thing as if it were his own living room.

    Sometimes a founder is unable to give me a demo. Whenever that happens, I start to wonder…

    “They told me this thing is live. Is that really true? Is this vaporware? Or does the founder of the company not even know how to log into their own product?”

    In any case, no demo, no check.

    Wrap-Up

    Try to draft an answer to each of these. The answer should be brief, concise and specific. Take about as much time to answer the question as it takes me to ask it.

    The questions every investor asks you will be a little different. But if you can answer some of these common ones, you’re a lot closer to getting a check!

    What do you ask founders?

    Have a great weekend, everyone!

    More on tech:
    The Question No Founder Asks
    My Top 5 Pitch Deck Pet Peeves

    Meet My Latest Investment: North

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • The Question No Founder Asks

    “How can I make this pitch better?” A founder asked me that this week. It’s something I almost never hear — and something every founder needs to ask.

    When you raise a round of funding, you might meet 100 investors. You have two choices:

    A) Give the same pitch to everyone and wonder why people keep passing.
    B) Improve the pitch each time, making fundraising easier every day.

    At the end of every pitch, ask for feedback. As each investor gives you ideas to make the pitch better, you get closer and closer to a perfect pitch.

    How This Played Out In a Real Meeting

    Let’s go back to my meeting this week.

    On Tuesday, I met with a great SaaS founder. We talked about his vision for the company and the awesome team he’d built. Next, I asked for a demo.

    Instead of taking me into the product itself, he showed me a Figma. I asked if we could see the live system, but he wasn’t able to show me that.

    I furrowed my brow a bit, made a note to myself, and we moved on…

    At the end of the meeting, this canny founder asked, “How can I make this pitch better?” So I told him…

    “I think you guys have a great start. But I’d like to see a demo of the live system. Seeing a Figma isn’t the same. When investors can see the platform in action, it helps them build conviction that you’ve got something awesome here.”

    And let me tell ya, this guy was smart. He didn’t argue with me. He thought about what I said and thanked me for my candid input.

    This is a fella who is going to improve fast.

    Making Those Moneybags Work for You

    I don’t care who you are, most of the investors you meet with are going to pass on your company. So you may as well get something out of the meeting, right?

    At the end, ask them this question, in exactly these words:

    “Can you please give me your most unfiltered feedback on this pitch? I want to step up my game.”

    Even if you ask for feedback, investors will default to polite platitudes. We don’t want to make anyone mad and hurt our reputation.

    By asking the question exactly this way, you’re giving them permission to be brutal. And brutal is what you want.

    Brutal helps you learn.

    Take note of every piece of feedback. Try to work it into your pitch to make it better.

    Wrap-Up

    Lets say you do 100 investor meetings.

    Meeting #1 might suck. But if you keep triangulating toward a better pitch each time, pitch #10 will be a lot better. #50 will be a banger.

    And before you know it, you’ll have millions in the bank.

    It’s hard to hear negative feedback. And for investors, it’s hard to give it.

    But it’s necessary. Happy talk doesn’t help anyone get better.

    Embrace that criticism. Every ounce of it helps you!

    What have you learned from your investor meetings?

    More on tech:

    My Top 5 Pitch Deck Pet Peeves

    Retool’s YC Demo Day Pitch

    Meet My Latest Investment: North

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • Sacks at the RNC

    “We need strength and savviness in the White House Situation Room, even if the crisis hits after Biden’s bedtime.”

    David Sacks

    I didn’t expect to giggle during the RNC. But along with a strong argument against President Biden, David Sacks brought a great sense of humor.

    Biden, the Spender in Chief

    Sacks hits Biden hard, pointing out his record of wild spending.

    A $1.9 trillion stimulus even as the country was already reopening. A trillion for infrastructure. And $400 billion for an “Inflation Reduction Act.”

    Since when does pumping massive amounts of money into the economy reduce inflation?

    It certainly hasn’t at my grocery store. Prices are through the roof there, along with everywhere else.

    I’m lucky. I have more than most. So for me, inflation is just an annoyance.

    But for many Americans, it’s existential.

    Keeping Us Safe

    Sacks also emphasized the need to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.

    America has spent over $100 billion and counting on this war. Whatever the merits of Ukraine’s position, no war can go on forever.

    What’s more, continuously escalating a conflict with Russia is incredibly dangerous. As Sacks puts it:

    “…the world looks on in horror as Joe Biden’s demented policy takes us to the brink of World War III.”

    Where I Disagree with Sacks

    Sacks is right that Biden spends way too much money. But he lets the GOP off the hook too easily — they’re spendy spenders as well.

    In fact, wasting taxpayer money seems to be the one thing both parties agree on.

    Every dollar we add to the debt puts our country at greater risk. I haven’t seen a detailed plan from Trump on how he’ll reduce the national debt.

    Wrap-Up

    Overall, I thought Sacks did a great job at the RNC this week.

    Too often, folks in our industry have shied away from politics. We can see the results in the cities where technologists cluster, places like SF and New York. They’re filled with disorder, drugs and crime.

    We just don’t have the luxury of staying out of the fray anymore.

    In 2020, I voted for Biden. I’ve come to regret it, big time.

    This time, I don’t plan to vote for Biden or Trump. I’ll be writing someone in. I’m sick of picking between the lesser of two evils. And here in New Jersey, the outcome is a foregone conclusion anyhow.

    That said, Sacks makes a powerful argument. And he does it with the flair we’ve come to expect on All-In.

    What did Sacks get right? Where do you disagree?

    More from the blog:

    114 Days

    The Coming M&A Wave

    Nuclear War: A Scenario

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order. 

  • The Coming M&A Wave

    I’d like to see every startup I invest in get to IPO. But realistically, an acquisition is the best case outcome for most.

    If Trump wins in November, we could see a massive wave of M&A in tech. This M&A flood will put a lot of money in investors’ pockets, whatever their political leanings may be.

    Pent-Up Demand

    Since Biden became president, tech companies have had a pretty hard time buying anything.

    The hardline FTC chair, Lina Khan, has blocked most acquisitions in tech. The FTC was even against Amazon buying the Roomba vacuum company!

    This means that for almost 4 years, tech companies haven’t been able to buy the products and teams they want. If a friendlier administration takes office in January, there will be enormous pent-up demand for M&A.

    Big companies like Uber are growing revenue 20% a year. Meanwhile, headcount has been basically flat since 2021.

    Growing revenue and flat headcount means tech giants are piling up cash. Big tech wants to use that cash to grow their businesses.

    An easy way to do that is to buy some startups! Uber could buy Gopuff and offer 15 minute delivery to Uber’s 150 million users overnight.

    Praying for Exits

    It’s really hard for VC’s to raise money right now. I’ve heard some say it’s the worst since the dot com crash in 2000.

    With few IPO’s and M&A blocked by the government, there have been very few exits since 2021. This means LP’s just don’t have the money to invest in the next venture fund.

    If a friendly administration comes in and M&A starts cooking, that picture changes considerably.

    Once we see a couple big M&A transactions push through, LP’s will have more cash to play with. Many will re-invest that in another venture fund, hoping for more juicy returns.

    The European Gadflies

    Ahh, the Europeans. Love the croissants, don’t love the politics.

    The one problem with this rosy M&A story is Europe. Regulators in the EU and UK are rabidly anti-tech.

    They helped block the Adobe-Figma deal even though Figma doesn’t compete with Adobe. They also had a hand in squashing the Amazon-iRobot acquisition.

    You may see some tech companies pull out of the UK entirely to avoid regulation. For most companies, it’s not a significant market anyway.

    The EU is a tougher cookie. But acquirers may be able to spin off certain units or make commitments to share platform access with competitors. This worked for Google’s acquisition of Fitbit in 2020.

    Wrap-Up

    For America’s system of entrepreneurship to work, people have to make a return on their investment. For the last 3 years, that’s been nigh impossible.

    If Trump wins, he’ll get rid of Lina Khan and M&A will get much easier. Cash-rich tech giants will go on a shopping spree.

    And hey, I’m willing to part with my shares — for a reasonable price.😁

    What do you think the future holds for M&A?

    More on tech:

    114 Days

    My Top 5 Pitch Deck Pet Peeves

    Retool’s YC Demo Day Pitch

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

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  • 114 Days

    My very best wishes to President Trump after the cowardly attempt on his life on Saturday. 🇺🇸

    He showed incredible presence of mind, ducking down instantly as shots rang out. And far from killing him, the would-be assassin didn’t even delay Trump’s schedule — he’s at the RNC today.

    He’s a tough old SOB, isn’t he?

    On Sunday afternoon, once it was clear President Trump was okay, I was sitting outside with my coffee. I got to thinking…what will the world look like after the election?

    We vote for president on Tuesday, November 5. By November 6th, we should know the winner.

    That’s 114 days from today.

    Heavy inflation and Biden’s pathetic debate performance meant Trump was already favored to win. Now, after the attempt on his life, a second term for Trump seems highly likely.

    Under Trump 2.0, I expect a major rally in markets. Here’s why…

    Lower Taxes

    Trump cut corporate and individual taxes in his first term. In a second term, he plans to cut taxes even more. The corporate rate could reach just 18%.

    Stocks exploded when Trump became president in 2017, in large part because of his tax cuts. Lower corporate taxes mean more profits for public companies.

    More money in the hands of individuals could also spur economic growth. That pushes up stocks.

    Firing Lina Khan

    If there’s one human being that those of us in the tech industry can’t stand, it’s Lina Khan. The FTC chair is blocking almost all acquisitions, even piddly ones like Amazon’s attempt to buy the Roomba vacuum guys!

    Lina Khan is anti-tech, anti-business, and anti-capitalism. So is the entire Biden administration.

    Getting these people out of government will be a huge positive for business.

    Public companies can get the people and tech they need by buying other companies, as they have for decades. VC’s can get desperately needed liquidity by selling startups to the bigger players.

    And it’s not just Lina Khan. The Biden administration looks for any opportunity to hit business with a stick. Trump, meanwhile, repealed numerous regulations in his first term and will surely axe many more in his second.

    Lower Interest Rates

    The odds of a cut in September are already high, given lower recent inflation readings.

    Trump doesn’t control this, nor can he take credit for it. But he will benefit from it.

    An environment of lower taxes, less regulation, and declining rates — that’s a great combination.

    Wrap-Up

    When we sit here 114 days from today, we could be looking at a new president-elect and a major market rally.

    You might be thinking, “Wow Francis, you sure are a big Trumper!”

    To tell you the truth, I’m not happy with either of the candidates. I think Trump is a better choice than Biden, but I’m actually planning to write someone in.

    Still, I can see which way the wind’s blowing. Trump is well on his way to a second term.

    And whatever his imperfections, business is going to love it.

    What do you think of the election?

    More from the blog:

    My Ten Year Angel Investing Plan

    Meet My Latest Investment: North

    Poor Charlie’s Almanack

    Save Money on Stuff I Use:

    Fundrise

    This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

    More on Fundrise in this post.

    If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

    Misfits Market

    I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

    I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

    Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order.