Social Leverage Letter | Issue #23

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UPFRONT

Fund II Portfolio Company Dog Walking App WAG! to Go Public via SPAC Deal with $CHWA

Portfolio company Wag! has agreed to go public in a SPAC deal with CHW Acquisition Corp. ($CHWA). The combined company will have a value of about $350 million and is expected to be listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol $PET.

Wag! was the first app to provide dog owners with instant access to dog walkers. Social Leverage participated in the $2.45 million seed round through Fund II back in 2015. In addition to dog walking, the company provides on-demand services to include pet sitting, and training and drop-checks. Monthly subscriptions are available in all 50 states. 

With one in five households in the US adopting a pet since the COVID pandemic started, new pet owners are the best performing clients for the platform. CEO Garrett Smallwood says, “They have a lot of guilt for leaving their pets for the first time. We think the next 12 to 24 months will be a phenomenal time for the business as we return to normal.”

Fund II Portfolio Company Stocktwits adds Crypto Trading

With the launch of crypto trading right in the Stocktwits iOS app, users in the US can now trade crypto. Stocktwits went live with their integration with FTX.US earlier this week.

READING

Raconteur

Founders and startups by their very nature are making bets on the future. Either solving today's problems for a brighter future, or inventing the future with something the world has never imagined. Futurologists help businesses big and small figure out what the future might look like.

Our blog

One thing slow sectors have in common is a very specific form of government intervention in those markets, restricted supply — leading to government subsidies. There’s a doom loop of lack of technical innovation. We need to technologically disrupt these sectors, or the story will evolve in a direction we don't want.

LISTENING

Panic with Friends

All of a sudden valuations matter. As cloud stocks plummet, coal stocks hit all-time highs. This technology boom finally made fertilizer and coal cool again?! When Social Leverage invested in Koyfin (Fund III) back in 2019, all the cool kids were investing and trading from their smartphones. Markets change. Valuations eventually matter. Take these difficult market moments and figure out what kind of investor you are and what kind of investor you want to be.

WATCHING

TEDTalks

The best product doesn't always win, often it's the best storyteller. As our GP, Howard Lindzon points out, "If you can’t code and you can’t tell a story, life will be harder in the workforce as the robots keep coming." This classic from Andrew Stanton give us a leg up on becoming better storytellers. 

Some Buzz at Beehiiv

Portfolio company Beehiiv (Fund IV) is ramping up for a huge Q1. Ramp Capital recently announced a shift to the Beehiiv platform, adding another major Fintwit account along side Litquidity. 

JOB BOARD

Our portfolio companies are seeking great candidates to fill roles in engineering, product management, design, sales, marketing, HR, and more. Browse ALL available opportunities here.

Check out all of our portfolio companies at Social Leverage.

© 2017-2021 All Rights Reserved, Social Leverage LLC.

Affiliate Disclosure: Social Leverage Group, LLC ("SLG"), Social Leverage Capital Fund I, LP ("SLC"), Social Leverage Capital Fund II, LP ("SLCII"), Social Leverage Capital Fund III, LP ("SLCIII") and Social Leverage Capital Fund IV, LP ("SLCIV") are all distinct entities from Social Leverage, LLC ("SL"). Social Leverage is not a registered investment advisor. SLC, SLCII, SLCIII, SLCIV, SLG and SL have used the logo and branding of Social Leverage with the permission of Social Leverage Group, LLC.