How ICONIQ, Sequoia, and Tiger left billions on the table in 2021, KD gives his take on the finals and new media, and The $500M Warriors
Stretch Four Insights Volume 29
Happy Saturday,
It is a relaxing week for me at the crib. Cain and I will be chilling together mostly all weekend.
This week was another gut-wrenching week if you are an American, as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. While I am not a political writer this continues to shed light on one thing that is clearly happening in America. We are regressing as a nation. However you feel about Roe v. Wade is neither here nor there, but the fact that states will outlaw abortions and likely not increase their discretionary budgets for this like child support, social security benefits, and even the earned income tax credit are all conversations no one in these states are having. It is hard to pinpoint when this started but the last few years have been eye-opening to see how we are decaying economically, politically, and socially all across the board. This is another move in the wrong direction for us, and despite how you feel about abortion it seems like this is a harsh regression that will affect many people and this now being a state issue will net-net disproportionally affect women.
In other more positive news, I’m happy to share this is the 29th edition of the Stretch Four Newsletter and sequential newsletters and content through the summer will be brought to you by Future. I have been a user since January 2021. I have completed 183 workouts, burned 94,247 calories, and worked out for over 8,997 minutes. It is a life-changing app for me and my personal trainer Alex gives me customized workouts five days a week. The app gives me one on one training, feedback, and recommendations and Alex is usually the first person who reaches out to me in the morning to let me know what’s on tap at the gym. I am able to get the workouts in on my time and share videos, ask questions, and get feedback from my trainer. I can also set goals for myself. I am all in on losing the 10-15 pounds I have gained since becoming a dad so my workouts focus on weights and cardio.
Check out Future for 50% off for the first three months using our exclusive link and let me know what you think.
General Tech & Startup news
Inside ICONIQ Capital: How the Rich Got Richer Eric Newcomer has been dropping some interesting premium content on substack lately. Last week, he focused on ICONIQ which is known for managing the money of prominent Silicon Valley billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg. He highlights slides from their recent investor deck and shows how the aggressive nature of their investing style in 2021 left them with lots of exposure in the current market. With tech valuations falling off a cliff this year ICONIQ’s returns are not looking, well, iconic.
Masters of the Bubbleverse The NY Mag focused on another growth stage investor that has taken a major hit in 2022. Tiger Global was a darling and known for disrupting venture capital in 2021. I had a friend whose company raised $40 million from Tiger last year in less than a month's time sight unseen. This hit piece digs deep into how much Tiger has lost this year and counts it nearly at one-third of its total returns since it started investing in the early 2000s.
Sequoia is Down Bad Newcomer delivered another fascinating insightful read on another venture darling Sequoia highlighting how the firm left $7 billion in returns on the table by going long on DoorDash and Unity. Sequoia made noise last year by implementing an unusually long holding period for their portfolio companies that go public.
Greenwood, Inc Acquires Valence To Provide Professional Development and Job Recruiting For the Black Community Two guys that do not get enough credit in a venture that happens to be brothers are Paul Judge and Kobie Fuller. This week, Greenwood an upstart black bank backed by Paul Judge and other investors acquired Valence, a community platform built for black professionals.
#BURNBAYC My good friend Steve returned with him the Inside The Huddle newsletter and he had an interesting take on the Bored Ape Yacht Club. It is a very perturbing time in the crypto circles. Interestingly enough BAYC is backed by A16Z who after making head waves for their bullishness on crypto in 2021 are now feeling the riptides as many crypto assets are down 80-90% and the tokens which A16Z often would buy and sell off are coming under grave scrutiny.
Tax Tech and Accounting News
The Earned Income Tax Credit: Building a Better Way for Filers to Claim Column Tax which announced a $20M Series A round earlier this year wrote about the Earned income tax credit and what they are doing to make it better.
NBA Business News
Post Season With Kevin Durant KD returned on his own podcast and said everything he had to say about the Warriors, the new media, his legacy, and how he spends his offseason in a sick SoCal ensemble.
The Lowe Post: Steve Kerr and Jonathan Givony Steve Kerr, fresh off his 4th finals as a coach, did a podcast run and shed light on how good this one feels for the Warriors.
The Warriors Should Have Never Won This Championship JxmyHighroller is a fascinating YouTuber and this video was a nice finishing touch to the Finals week for the Warriors. It is the best content I have seen during the championship period.
YouTube & Podcasts For the Week
That’s all for this week’s newsletter. Next week Whitney, Cain, and I take our first flight as a new family. We are heading to the ATL for a family reunion. I will do my best to get to newsletter edition number thirty while on the road. As long as I have air conditioning I should be ok.
Thanks again to Future for sponsoring this week’s newsletter. Be sure to check out our link {insert link} to receive 50% off your training for the first three months.
Email feedback to me at matt@stretchfour.co
Until next time, have a great week.
Back to the trenches,
Matt