Weekly Roundup: Bull Market Confirmed 🐂

Your December 15 DVC Recap. A rampaging bull delays commuters but gives hope for the markets, Wefunder drops a huge new product, and DVC continues its review of Advancing Eco Agriculture!

Happy Friday, DVC! Yesterday, trains at Newark Penn Station were delayed after a bull named Ricardo was spotted running loose on the tracks. The bull reportedly escaped from a slaughterhouse, but will now live out his days at Skylands Animal Sanctuary.

Now, you may be thinking, “That is so random haha”. But, I assure you, there is no such thing as a coincidence.

I mean… a bull… on the brink of ruin… breaking out in a mad dash towards Wall Street?!?

The Oracle has spoken. The Bull Market is back 🐂 

Startup News & Weekly Poll:

Last week we covered Republic’s (re)launch of the Republic Note! As fate would have it, this week RegCF peer/competitor Wefunder quietly dropped a new product of its own 👉️ the VIP Membership.

Despite the back-to-back product spotlights, I promise you none of our posts are sponsored (we just love RegCF news). But, if the other platforms want to take it easy from now to Jan 1 we wouldn’t mind covering some other topics 👀 

With that said, let’s dive into the details!

For $295/year, VIP Members get the following perks:

  1. 10% bonus equity for most deals 🧧 

  2. Exclusive access to invite-only deals 🥇 

  3. Priority over non-VIPs for oversubscribed deals 🏃 

  4. 20% off investment fees (i.e. 1.60% fees instead of 2%) 🏦 

  5. Black metal VIP card for discounts with Wefunder alumni companies 💳️

  6. Concierge customer support and early access to new features 📞 

First Impressions: 

On the company side, the VIP Membership reminds us of StartEngine’s Owner’s Bonus program. With the standard RegCF platform model boiling down to charging fees to investors (2%-4%) and companies (5%-8.5% of total funds raised), it makes sense that Wefunder and other RegCF platforms would want more predictable and high margin revenue streams that drive more loyalty to the business.

On the user side, if you’re investing enough through Wefunder every year, the bonus equity and lower fees alone just make good financial sense. But of course, the question becomes: What does “investing enough” mean?

More “Back of the Napkin” Math:

For the sake of argument, let’s assume you’re an active investor maxing out your base $2,500/year RegCF limit. Let’s also assume you’re a Wefunder Superfan™️ and never use the other platforms…

Here’s how that looks:

Okay… more like "Back of the Sheet1 of an unsaved Excel file" math

If you can’t follow my non-GAAP-compliant formatting… basically at the $2,500 level, you’d be spending an extra $285 ($2,835-$2,550) to receive $250 in bonus equity. If this was a DVC Live Discussion we’d call that “negative unit economics”. BUT, in a way it actually stretches the value of your SEC-regulated allowance a little bit further… We recommend you gift some of the extra equity to our benevolent overlord Chairman Gary Gensler as a thank you 🎁 

Based on my math (I use that term loosely), the “breakeven point” seems to be around the $2,837 investment level. In other words, if you invest more than $2,837/year via Wefunder, you start to benefit from the 10% extra equity for every new dollar you spend.

Now for the Nuance:

But “not everything’s about the money, man ☮️“. True enough. The intangibles here are a huge consideration.

Most notably, priority access could literally make the difference between getting in on an oversubscribed deal or getting shut out (I still lose sleep over the fact that we got denied by the Offline team smh).

Or, if you’re in the market for an electric car and/or a LOT of houseplants, the VIP Membership could save you thousands of dollars.

You might also just want to take inspiration from this Cracker Barrel couple and road trip to every bar that ever raised on Wefunder, drop the VIP Black Metal Card on the table, and enjoy a well-earned drink on the house. You’d spend so much money on gas, but the memories would last a lifetime 💓

It feels like a bit of a cop out answer, but at the end of the day, the value of the VIP Membership really just comes down to what your priorities are as an investor.

Which leads us to today’s poll… Choose an answer below and see how you stack up next week!

Would you get a Wefunder VIP Membership?

Vote and share why/why not!

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Last Week's Results:

Last week we did a deep dive on the Republic Note and asked if you would invest. Turns out 55% of you would NOT invest and would instead look for higher returns by hunting for loose change in your old coat pockets 🧥 

While the economics of the Republic Note might not necessarily make sense today, it could be more valuable at a lower price. In any event, Republic should be commended for pushing the boundaries in the name of democratization. To conclude, we’ll leave you with some food for thought from one of our DVC members:

“I actually had the chance to pick up the notes cheaper last year in an earlier round. Except it's a blockchain asset. I won't go near it simply because we don't yet fully understand how to safely and securely manage the assets, as evidenced by various cases of token theft. In the long run, the tech has inherent features that help, but we really don't yet know how to manage the assets.”

Vote for New Deals:

Help select DVC's future deals! Please view the options, upvote your favorites, and suggest your own!

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New companies suggested this week:

Deal Review #72 Update:

In case you missed it, this week we’re looking at Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) - a startup empowering farmers with scalable regenerative agriculture solutions.

The company uses a “whole-systems approach” of consulting services, soil testing & data analysis, organic fertilization, and educational content to help modern farms implement regenerative growing practices.

  • AEA Pros: The company is profitable and showing promising results improving crop yields & soil health at client farms ✅ 

  • AEA Cons: Despite seemingly strong market growth & leadership, potential exit plans are unclear thus far (we’re following up for more details) 🤔 

Thankfully our DVC deep dive on AEA features a report on its products & 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:

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DVC Portfolio Updates:

Bit of a lighter news week headed into the holidays… But read on for a couple recent updates from past DVC Deals!

ZenniHome (Deal #62) - Design Spotlight:
Modular home startup ZenniHome shared an update this week with an overview of its space-saving design features, as well as an analysis of its “viral” success of social media. See full update. 

Active Safety System Technologies (Deal #42) - Investor Webinar:
As ASST heads into the holidays, the team is conducting its annual shareholder webinar on Monday, December 18th at 12:30pm EST. In the webinar, ASST will discuss recent sales updates, grant applications, and the plan for 2024. See update & register for webinar.

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

Sincerely,

Team DVC

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