Weekly Roundup: 2 and 20 💸

Happy Friday, DVC! Last week I learned that the Coors family - the billionaire brewers of “The Silver Bullet” lager - are only making beer as a side hustle… Tucked away in the mountains behind its brewery, the family runs Coorstek - the world’s largest producer of engineered ceramics.

Given its profitability, I wouldn’t be surprised if competitors are copying the strategy. In fact, it almost confirms my long-held suspicion that college favorite Natty Light is actually a front to distract from Anheuser-Busch’s string of ultra-profitable Paint Your Own Pottery studios…

Startup News & Weekly Poll:

You’ve likely seen the news that legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger passed away this week at the age of 99. As a successful businessman on his own prior to becoming Warren Buffet’s right-hand man, Munger is hailed as one of the greatest investors of all time. Since his passing, the internet has taken to sharing many of his quotes on business, investing, and life.

Coincidentally, last week finance influencer Graham Stephan shared a fun fact on Berkshire Hathaway:

It’s worth noting that the tweet replies (are they still “tweets”? “Xeets”?) are full of criticism from the that’s-not-how-the-math-works crowd. Fair enough. But as a mathematically-challenged individual myself, I think it’s an interesting thought experiment.

Or, at the very least a good segue into our weekly poll…

Choose an answer below and see how you stack up next week!

Last Week's Results:

Last week we covered the chaos at OpenAI and asked if the board’s alleged fears over AI safety were warranted… It turned out to be an even split from DVC between “Warranted - AI is dangerous”, “Unnecessary - It could have been an email…”, and “Indifferent - It helped with the slow work week”.

We’ll just have to wait and see. But it’s safe to say that between the OpenAI drama and the new Napoleon release, a LOT of popcorn was consumed over here last week 🍿

Vote for New Deals:

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New companies suggested this week:

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Deal Review #71 Update:

In case you missed it, this week we’re looking at Plei - a Florida-based startup making finding pickup soccer games “as easy as calling an Uber” 🤳⚽️

Through its consumer mobile app and business SaaS platform, Plei helps sporting facilities rent out their unused field times to local players looking for convenient and fun games in their communities.

• Plei Pros: Helps rec sports enthusiasts stay active with easier access to pickup games ✅ 

• Plei Cons: Easier access to pickup games means a higher probability of me getting dunked on like in my freshman year 1 credit hour basketball elective 😢 

Thankfully our DVC deep dive on Plei features a report on its product & traction, market opportunities, risks, and more. We invite you to read our Deal Review and submit questions you’d like us to ask the founders.

Bonus Links for this Deal:

DVC Portfolio Updates:

Read on for recent updates from past DVC Deals!

Active Safety System Technologies (Deal #42) - Defense X Thanksgiving:
Just in time for Thanksgiving last week, the ASST team shared a quick update on their defense tech progress. Namely, new patents filed for minefield clearing vehicles, product interest from forces in Ukraine, and renewed hopes of US-based research grants. See full update.

Allocortech (Deal #14) - Achieving Liftoff:
The team at Allocortech shared that its software and hardware parts were instrumental in helping Elroy Air achieve the first successful flight of its autonomous hybrid electric aircraft. See full update or Forbes article.

Blendid (Deal #25) - Suite Partnership on Deck:
Robotic smoothie startup Blendid announced a partnership with Thor’s Skyr to launch new kiosks offering Icelandic skyr-based smoothies. See full update.

Available in 1,600+ US stores, Thor’s Skyr was founded by actors Terry Crews, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson (aka “The Mountain”), and The Suite Life of Zach & Cody’s Dylan Sprouse. Honestly this is the most unexpected collab I’ve ever seen but it is now my life’s mission to join their friend group…

Thanks for reading & participating! Have a great weekend and see you for more DVC action next week!

Sincerely,

Team DVC