TLDR

• New 3 phase deal launch procedure
• Zero Commission Secondaries
• Open Startup page launched

Deals

• Procedure Update
  • Last week, we split deal launches into two phases. First we would publish the memo with a soft commit form. Then if there was enough demand, we would launch the SPV. This change looks like it will decrease our SPV cancellation rate. This change also shifted the bottleneck to memo generation.
  • Going forward, we will launch all deals in 3 phases
    • Phase 1
      • We gather the company’s materials (deck, etc.) into a Journey with a form for investors to make non-binding soft commits
      • We publish to the group. If there is at least $10k in soft commits, then we proceed to phase 2
    • Phase 2
      • We create a memo with the founders using our standard memo template and review process.
      • We then send the memo to the group along with company materials and the same soft commit form. If we get another $15k in commits for a total of at least $25k in commits, then we proceed to phase 3
    • Phase 3
      • We create the SPV and then send that out to the group over email. We keep the SPV open for 3 business days. If the SPV has at least $50k in funded commits, we close the deal. If the SPV does not receive $50k in commits, we cancel the SPV and return funds to the investors.
• Deal Pipeline for 8/22/22-8/26/22
  • Phase 1 launch: 4 deals
  • Phase 2 launch: 1 deal
• North Star Metric: Live Deals Published
  • I am clarifying the North Star metric definition to Live Deals Published. A live deal is one where an investor can make a funded hard commit. This aligns with how we’ve used “Deals Published” previously. “Live Deals Published” corresponds to Phase 3 in our new deal launch process.
• Last week’s deal progress
  • We published a live deal which had the experimental ability to accept rolling closes. The investor experience and cost structure are promising. I enthusiastically hope to use this approach for future deals. But given the experimental nature, it is unclear if/when we will be able to repeat this.

Zero Commission Secondaries

Secondary opportunities are the purchase of shares or LP interests from existing shareholders. I am searching for secondaries in a few of our highest demanded target companies. Secondaries often transact through brokers who charge commission. I believe there is a way to structure secondaries with zero commission, carry, and management fee. I am validating feasability of the various components to do so.

Open Startup

I have launched our Open Startup page and will continuously update it with more content

https://www.ruvalliance.com/open

RFC: Monetization Strategy

I will publish the RFC (Request for Comment) on our monetization strategy this week (week of 8/22/22).

Membership (email list subscribers)

The email list is not back to growth but the loss rate seems to be slowing. Last week’s change where we now only send out live deal pages, commit forms, etc. over email (instead of Slack and email) seems to be showing progress.