Why I started investing...eventually

I don't consider myself an investor yet, but I'm getting there.

In 2019, I learned that Juul received more funding than all the female founders combined seeking venture capital investment in 2018.

I then continued to learn that, while women are encouraged to be entrepreneurs, there is significantly less effort to encourage women to become investors. And, ultimately, women (and underestimated founders) won’t receive more investment if women (and underestimated funders) aren’t part of that decision-making process. #hardtruths

I’m just going to pause right there and tell you that I don’t feel this passionate about anything else. I will stay up until the early hours of the morning - sober - researching and writing about investing because I’m so goddamn worked up about it.

And I enjoy it. Seriously - my desk is covered in post-it notes with ideas for this newsletter!

I enjoy learning about how I, as an individual, can make a lasting impact on someone’s generational wealth. I spend my days thinking about changing the landscape of investing. At night, I dream about being the kind of VC that can dedicate an entire day to replying to emails and inquiries from founders around the world.

But what’s upsetting is that I’m not really allowed to. I’m not accredited, and I’d bet that many of you aren’t either.

What does it mean to be an accredited investor?

Glad you asked! It means you either:

• earn an annual income of $200,000 on your own;

• earn an annual income of $300,000 combined with your spouse; or

• have a net worth of $1 million (excluding your permanent home)

You don’t have to pass a test. You don’t have to justify your position in an application. By simply being worth a certain amount, you are considered accredited.

The SEC, however, recently expanded the definition of accredited…sort of. If you’re already certified to work in the industry, or if you are an LLC with $5 million in assets, you may be considered an accredited investor.

But for anyone who earns less than $200,000 annually, it’s not enough to hear a good idea and say “yes, I’d like to give you money to make that idea happen.” You’re not considered smart enough to make those kinds of decisions.

In other words, you’re allowed to drop thousands of dollars at the slot machines, but you can’t invest that money in an early stage company.

And I think that’s a total bummer.

So why is Sterling Investing…Eventually?

Like I said before, I’m just passionate about learning this stuff, and I think you could benefit from this information, too. So far, I’ve determined that this newsletter is for people who:

• know there’s some relationship between avocado toast and home ownership, but don’t care

• want to help businesses do more than pay the bills

I’ve also decided that this newsletter is not about:

• how to save money

• personal financial advice

• lecturing people about buying coffee

Some of the things I’ll be talking about:

• equity crowdfunding

• angel investing (it’s not related to religion, I promise)

• definitions, terms, and processes

• funds and companies I find interesting and inspirational

• why any of this matters

I’m not quite sure where I see this newsletter going, but maybe after we gain all this knowledge together, we can start a fund or syndicate of our own by 2025. (Sidenote: trying to manifest a long-term goal here by writing it down.)

Things I Find Informative and Interesting

🌱 I recently learned about SheTransActs, which is a collective of female entrepreneurs, founders, leaders, and investors who want to build strong networks around ESG principles

💰 Google announced the recipients of the Black Founders Found, including Atlanta-based food startup Goodr and Upskill VR, which offers immersive CPR training

😲 I *just* learned about Oper8r, which is on a similar mission: to educate the upcoming generation of VCs and make it less of an old boy’s club

💶 In their 2020 report, Unconventional VC found that all-female founder teams in Nordic countries receive anywhere between 0-5% of deployed capital (mixed gender teams received anywhere between 4-17%)

Final Thoughts

That’s pretty much it for now. If there’s anything you want me to cover, or if you have questions, please let me know!

Otherwise, I’m so thankful to have you here, and I’d really appreciate it if you can share this newsletter with someone who enjoy it, too.