2021 Q1 Report: Sterling's Investments
Investing for the sole purpose to make money is fine. But that’s not what I’m here for.
In light of wanting to be more open about money and investments, I want to share some information about my current portfolio with you.
But I won’t have much information about earnings at the moment because
I only recently made the investments
I don’t receive quarterly payouts
I’m investing for the long term
Regardless, I want to share what I can, with the hopes that you will either consider investing alongside me, or that you’ll start looking deeper into your own investments.
I also want to share information about companies I’ve been tracking in that nerdy Airtable I made a few months back. Every quarter I’ll share some news about different companies I’m following and why you should be watching the space, too.
How my investments performed
So far, I’ve only made 3 investments.
On one hand, there are so many great founders out there! But on the other hand, I don’t have much disposable income that I can freely invest.
These are the risks I chose to take.
Flower Turbines
Latest news: Sales in Q1 2021 exceeded Q1+Q2 2020 sales in just 2 months.
I invested in the equity crowdfunding (RegCF) round when the price per share was $30.00. You can still invest in their Reg A+ round at $70.00 per share. If you are interested in making green energy beautiful and accessible, I highly recommend checking out Flower Turbines.
Backstage Capital, LLC
Latest news: The RegCF campaign just closed on 1 April. I received an email to let me know when the first investor meeting will be.
Arlan also just launched a new course: Investing as a Catalyst. But this isn’t a course that you can marinate on for too long. On 11 April, she’ll start the live sessions over a span of 5 weeks. If you’re serious about your future as an investor, this will be a worthwhile purchase.
Guap coin ($GUAP)
Latest news: I first bought Guap coin when it was around $0.03 in January 2021. As of 9 April at 11:50 CET, it’s $0.2477.
I interviewed Guap Coin founder Tavonia Evans last year, and it changed my perspective on how to reach the Black community. (You may recall this story from my previous issue.)
If you’re interested in getting into crypto but don’t know where to start, consider joining the Guap Telegram group so that you can ask your questions freely without judgement. Or just email me.
How my fake investments performed
Back in November, I shared an Airtable with details about companies I think are cool. So far, I’ve only had the opportunity to invest in one of them (Flower Turbines), but I still think it’s worth tracking how these companies perform!
I’ll give some updates on just a few of those companies. Please note that I haven’t done extensive due diligence on any of them - I just want to tell you a bit about who they are, what they’re up to, and why I think they’re cool.
Marpipe
Latest news: Former Adobe Sales Chief joins Marpipe as Chief Revenue Officer (announced April 2021)
I joined their community last year so that I could beta test their product. That was back when marketing strategy and graphic design were still part of my services.
Regardless of my career path, Marpipe is building a really useful tool for anyone who drafts and tests multiple variations of online ads. Rather than create a Photoshop file with a bazillion layers (or a bazillion files with tiny variations), you can assemble the assets in Marpipe’s platform and then they produce the variations for you. And then you can track how each ad performed in that same platform.
Seriously - a dream for anyone who does A/B/X/Y/Z testing.
Freetrade
Latest news: Closed their Series B round at $69 million in March 2021.
Right before the GameStop bonanza hit the fan, I signed up for Freetrade’s waitlist for the Dutch app. I love how companies are realizing that millennials and gen Z want a different experience when it comes to investing, and companies like Freetrade are making that happen.
If you’re familiar with Robinhood, it’s a similar concept: retail investors can buy fractions of shares. Freetrade also has a community where you can offer feedback on the product as well as learn from other traders on the platform (it’s nothing like the Wall Street Bets Discord).
Weet (or Loom or Vidyard)
Latest news: Private company that started in January 2021.
Honestly, anything that allows me to record audio, video, and my screen and share it easily is just a game changer. And with a software like Weet, it’s really easy for me to explain how to do something in just 2 minutes.
For example, my co-founder Kristina wanted to know how to change an automatic email message for event registrations through our website. Rather than writing out the step-by-step explanation of where to find the plugin, which section to go to, and which box to tick, I just recorded a 1-minute video of me explaining it and capturing my screen.
Imagine how much you could do - how many meetings and phone calls you could shorten or eliminate - by sending someone a 2-minute recording of your screen and your voice.
Currently I use Loom, but as I was writing this up, I thought to myself “I wonder if there are any female-founded platforms like this?” And sure enough, Weet popped up.
(See? There are female founders!)
Start tracking your investments - real or fake
Any time you come across a company you like, I encourage you to find out whether they’re privately owned, fundraising, or publicly traded.
This is something I started doing within the past few months (when I assembled that Airtable). Whenever I come across a cool company, I do 10 minutes of research to learn:
Who is the founder?
What do they do?
Are they raising funds? Or are they privately owned?
Do I like them?
We’re told we can vote with our dollar by consuming goods and services, and that’s a very valuable way to support a business.
But when it comes to building wealth, this isn’t something we’re told to do once we stop eating avocado toast. We don’t necessarily think about how we can grow our wealth with companies we love. We’re not even encouraged to support companies that don’t touch our own lives.
For example, SheMatters caters to Black women managing postpartum depression. I don’t need to use the product, nor am I the target audience. But I still love the company’s mission, I want to see them succeed, and I understand the need for such a product.
So, in addition to sharing the information with people who I do think could use the product, I also want to invest in them to help them grow. Or even offer my expertise to them.
Or Shebah, the all-women Australian rideshare app that caters to women and their children. Currently, it’s only available in Australia, but I’d love to see it expand throughout the world by investing in them.
That’s how companies expand, right? It’s not just “awareness” by the consumers. A savvy investor will think “This company could do well in X country,” and then they invest in the company to make it happen.
And by the time it reaches your shores, the investor is already primed to make back their investment.
There is always risk when you invest, especially when you invest in the early stage of a business. But if you can potentially make money while also supporting an entrepreneur’s dreams, is the risk worth it?
Hopefully - if you choose the right businesses.
Final Thoughts
Investing for the sole purpose to make money is fine. But that’s not what I’m here for.
I want to help others build generational wealth, whether that’s through my own investments or sharing knowledge.
And I hope you join me on this journey.
In the next issue, I plan to dive deeper into other ways we feel weird about money, specifically looking at our relationship with donating versus investing. Does that interest you?