VCs

Framework Ventures co-founder says DeFi gives hope following FTX collapse • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 11, 2022Posted in Crypto, crypto markets, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, FTX, investing, VCs, Venture CapitalistsNo Comments

FTX’s downfall will heighten the need for regulation but also pique long-term interest from venture capitalists looking to invest in decentralized finance (DeFi), according to Michael Anderson, co-founder of Framework Ventures. “It just seems obvious that DeFi is the only way that we can continue to do these types of financial services operations in the crypto ecosystem,” Anderson said to ZebethMedia. “It gives us hope and strengthens our resolve that the things we’re pushing for are the right things to be working on.” In April, Framework Ventures launched its third fund at $400 million, with about half of it earmarked for web3 gaming. Anywhere from half to 70% of pitches the firm gets are gaming-related companies, Anderson said. But the recent situation with FTX has the firm “doubling and tripling down on everything we believe in,” which includes DeFi and regulation of centralized finance (CeFi). And while some firms like Multicoin have seemingly lost capital stored on FTX’s crypto exchange, Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures, said the firm had no exposure. “Regulation is not something we should be against or preventing,” Anderson said. “Sensible regulation makes sense and now that [former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried] has been removed from the table, we can move forward and get more vocal about centralized finance versus DeFi and the pros and cons of each.”

Draymond Green isn’t starting a fund, but is working with top VCs • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 20, 2022Posted in Draymond Green, investments, Startups, TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, VCs, VentureNo Comments

Draymond Green, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors, says he’s working with well-known investors involved in the tech space. That wasn’t a massive secret — Green has historically been quite public about his portfolio companies, like SmileDirectClub — but until this morning at ZebethMedia Disrupt, he hadn’t previously named his go-to investing partners. When asked by ZebethMedia’s Brian Heater on stage whether he was looking to start an investment fund, Green replied that he wasn’t because he’s already involved with a group of prominent VCs, including Chamath Palihapitiya, Bill Gurley, Jason Calacanis and Bill Lee. Palihapitiya was an early investor at Facebook and backed Yammer and Slack through this fund, Social+Capital Partnership. Gurley, currently at Benchmark, has led investments in a number of high-profile companies including Nextdoor and OpenTable. Calacanis is an angel investor in various tech startups including mindfulness app Calm. And Bill Lee is one of the co-founders of Craft Ventures, alongside which Green has invested in the past. “I have some of the best friends in the world, especially when you’re speaking of funds, and so I don’t personally feel the need to go create my own when I have experts like that in my life that can help guide me,” Green said. “I take pride in learning and I never want it to come off as if I know more than them … It’s not something that I see for me, trying to start my own firm, but I do enjoy and appreciate being an LP in their funds.” Green — who once told CNBC that he wanted to become a billionaire by age 40 — has been an active investor in startups for several years, beginning in 2015 with the aforementioned SmileDirectClub. He’s poured money into Blink Fitness, which aims to bring affordable options for fitness to underserved communities; the tequila brand Lobos 1707; and Snackpass, a social food ordering platform. Green’s more recent investments span self-filtering water bottle brand LARQ and LeBron James’ company, Uninterrupted, a multimedia platform for athletes and general sports content. Not all of those investments have turned out to be strong long-term performers. For example, while SmileDirectClub raised over $400 million while private, the company ended up giving back most of its IPO-driven valuation gain after going public. Others appear to be going strong, however, like Snackpass, which last year raised around $70 million at an over-$400 million valuation as the platform crossed 500,000 users. As of June, Green had a reported net worth of $50 million.