screw finding your passion

Get me some of that blockchain

Hi there,

I finally got to use the term “VC sugar daddy” in an article.

My parents are really proud.

Banking on fintech

We looked at the incumbent banking and wealth management firms that are making investments in wealth tech.

Dear big banks

When figuring out your bank’s blockchain strategy, it’s really important to pick the right color.

BTW, if your job requires having a clue about blockchain and if people are starting to see through your gibberish about the blockchain protocol and general ledger, you should be at The Future of Fintech.

We’ll dig into the hype and the real applications of blockchain within and outside of financial services with experts and our research team.

Use the code blockchain for $1500 off your tickets through end of day today.

All you can eat & drink

We put together a list of 15 of the most well-funded VC-backed food & beverage startups. The companies — mainly focused on plant-based foods and drinks — have raised $1.49B in aggregate funding.

Finding your passion — ugh

I was talking to a cousin a few weeks ago who didn’t have a job post-graduation because in his words, he hadn’t found something he’s “passionate about.” He wanted my thoughts on how he could find a job that got him excited.

As the conversation started to unfold, I thought only one thing.

Kill. Me. Now.

I love my cousin, but it was apparent that he’d be a nightmare of a teammate cuz he’s got this unrealistic view of what the world is like. And let’s not chalk this up to youthful idealism. This was pure, unadulterated stupidity.

I love love love my work at CB Insights. It is my passion.

I love our team, our product, covering the next big thing in technology, writing the spiel at the top of this newsletter, figuring out how to acquire/retain customers, etc.

And even though I like so much of what I do, I still hate 25-30% of it. And that’s life.

There is an essay by Mark Manson (see The Blurb) which describes this as well as I’ve seen.

Mall madness

We look at where some of the top retail real estate groups — primarily mall owners — have been investing. Simon is the most active, with 14 unique investments, including the parent company and venture arm.

Mixed bag

We looked at subscription e-commerce financing trends since 2013. Startups in the space attracted only 10 funding rounds in Q1’17, but saw total dollars invested rise significantly compared to the previous quarter.

Industry Standard

CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.

Bloomberg. Lulu Yilun Chen (@luluyilun) writes about Alibaba’s planned $1B investment into Chinese food-delivery startup Ele.me and refers to CB Insights investment data.

Forbes. Zack Friedman (@zackafriedman) writes about the global unicorns and cites CB Insights research on the subject.

Economic Times. Chhavi Tyagi on the aftermath of SoftBank’s investment into Vision Fund with a reference to CB Insights investment data.

San Francisco Business Times. A look at the shut down of meal delivery startup Sprig with a mention of CB Insights funding data.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. We’ll be diving into financing trends, startups, and investors in the AR/VR space. Join us for the briefing on June 6th.