Investments

I’ve personally invested $130K into startups, all in founders I knew before investing:

Fund 0: 2012

I invested the first $75K in my second startup Labdoor in 2012.

At the time, this was 20%+ of my liquid net worth, earned through my first startup Avomeen.

Labdoor raised a 2013 Seed led by Mark Cuban, joined Y Combinator in Winter 2015, raised a 2016 Series A led by Floodgate, and is now operating profitably.

I’d love for Labdoor to be independent forever, and hope that we both live to 100+ years old.

Fund 1: 2013-2016

I invested $45K in this fund and have returned 4.4X DPI and 6.2X TVPI so far.

• Portfolio:
  • Paystack (2016 Seed) – Acquired by Stripe for $200M+ in 2020.
  • Beek (2016 Pre-Seed) – Raised $13M Series A led by Lightspeed in 2022.
  • Sano (2015 Seed) – Raised 2018 Series A from Fitbit. Acquired by One Drop in 2020.
  • MatterFab (2014 Seed) – Raised 2015 Series A from GE Ventures and AutoDesk. Shut down.
  • Experiment (2013 Seed) – 2021 grant by Robert Downey Jr. via Experiment Foundation.
  • 10 Storks (2013 Seed) – A subscription box I bootstrapped with my wife. Shut down.
• Returns:
  • I invested $45K as an angel and have returned $200K (4.4X DPI) so far.
    • My 3 YC angel investments have an 11X TVPI.
  • My anti-portfolio is probably ~100X TVPI.
    • I’ve helped 100+ founders apply to Y Combinator, but only had the personal capital to invest $5K-10K per year.
    • I missed investing in YC top companies like EquipmentShare and Noya at pre-seed because I didn’t have enough cash.

Fund 2: 2017-2021

I invested exclusively in cryptocurrencies from 2017-2021:

• Portfolio:
  • 2017-2018: Built a market cap-weighed portfolio of the top-10 cryptocurrencies.
  • 2019-2021: Consolidated into a market cap-weighed portfolio of BTC and ETH.
• Strategy:
  • Buy, hold, and accumulate top cryptocurrencies with a 10-year outlook.
    • My two kids were born in 2017 and 2019, so liquidity is now a key factor in my investing strategy.

Fund 3: 2022-Now

I’m an active angel again with my fund Utopic, investing in biotech startups led by scientist CEOs.

• Portfolio:
  • Biophysical Therapeutics (2023 Angel): Led $60K angel round with $5K check.
    • Idea: New anti-aging drugs that slow metabolic rate; starting with cosmetics applications.
    • As Lead Investor, I act on behalf of all crowdfunding investors in this round.
  • Propion (2024 Angel): Leading $50K angel round with $5K check + advising.
    • Idea: Nutraceuticals that improve gut microbiome to slow aging and increase healthspan.
    • If you’re interested in investing here, please DM or email me.
• Strategy:
  • Find scientists with world-changing ideas.
  • Help them launch startups.
  • Lead $50K-100K+ angel rounds with $5K-10K personal checks.
  • Personally advise founders on accelerators, fundraising, growth, and exits.
• Deal Flow:
  • Founders find me through my writing on this website, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
  • I find great founders by being an active alum of YC (W15) and UofM (B.S., B.B.A, ’10), advising prospective founders even before they start their companies.
• Mission:
  • Empowering scientists to launch more startups that solve the world’s biggest problems by being their first supporter, investor, and advisor.