Social Leverage Letter | Issue #49

Web3 Pick-and-Shovel Play, Building Brand, and Unlocking Human Performance

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UPFRONT

Social Leverage Acquisition Corp ($SLAC) has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with W3BCLOUD Holdings Inc.

The transaction accelerates investment in W3BCLOUD and drives further adoption by the blockchain developer community and reinforces their position as a leading Web3 infrastructure provider. W3BCLOUD’s flexible architecture is designed to scale with Web3’s explosive growth and is supported by leading-edge hardware and software expertise from AMD and ConsenSys.

“With its proprietary architecture, experienced management team, and large market opportunity, W3BCLOUD is well positioned as the ‘picks and shovels’ play to leverage the secular shift to a decentralized Internet,” said Howard Lindzon, CEO of SLAC. “The key to building world class companies is having a management team with passion, vision and deep domain experience, which perfectly describes this team. Sami and his team have already proven their ability to execute in an emerging and dynamic market. We are eager to help W3BCLOUD continue to execute on this vision and build the next great technology company.”

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of W3BCLOUD and SLAC, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022,

READING

Building brands takes a lot of effort, is difficult, and customers don’t care. It takes valuable time, energy and money away building your business. So why bother? The answer is because, while customers may not consciously notice brands, their behaviors are subconsciously influenced by them.

WHAT ELSE WE'RE READING

Here's a few other stories that caught our eye over the past week.

LISTENING

Will Ahmed founded WHOOP a decade ago, right after graduating from Harvard. It's his first company, and his first full-time job. WHOOP tracks and measures strain, recovery, and sleep. The brand is well received by pro athletes like LeBron James, Michael Phelps and over half of the PGA Tour. Will walks Howard through the ups and downs of building a wearable technology company.

Will Ahmed of WHOOP is on a Mission to Unlock Human Performance and Save Lives (EP.213)

Listen to this episode from Panic with Friends - Howard Lindzon on Spotify. Today’s guest is Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP, a wearable technology/fitness company that fits smack in the middle of what I like to call ‘fashology’ – technology meets fashion. The device tracks and measures strain, recovery, and sleep. The brand is well received by pro athletes like LeBron James, Michael Phelps and over half of the PGA Tour; but can it help Howard? Those who have followed me for a while know I’m fascinated with sleep fitness and I have a WHOOP, but there are difficult customers, and then there’s me. We discuss what it would take to have Howie back on the WHOOP wagon. Will started the company in Boston right after graduating from Harvard – his first company, and his first full time job. Ten years later the brand continues to unlock human performance and save lives. Some of the smartest people I look up to on things like fitness, brains, and style are super bullish on WHOOP; to include Arizona Cardinal Kelvin Beachum, Jr., Brad Feld, and Ryan Spoon. Guest - Will Ahmed, Founder and CEO at Whoop howardlindzon.com, whoop.com Here’s the WHOOP Podcast Twitter: @howardlindzon, @PanicwFriends, @whoop, @willahmed, @knutjensen linkedin.com/in/willahmed #fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance Show Notes: Introduction (00:42) Welcome Will (05:48) Starting WHOOP in Boston (06:32) Star athlete investors (07:05) Celebrity users (07:39) Physiology research at Harvard (08:45) Raising capital (09:23) 10 years 600 employees later (09:41) Big name venture investors (10:01) Bet the business transition (11:16) Differentiating WHOOP (12:53) Behavior change and improving health (13:43) Early star athlete adopters (14:30) Making health monitoring cool (15:40) Bringing Howard back into the fold (16:59) Becoming a source of accountability (18:30) A/B testing yourself (19:31) The next frontier for WHOOP (19:43) Apple Watch - the elephant in the room (20:54) Sensors in your boxers (23:13) Whoop on the PGA tour (25:27) What’s the magic with WHOOP? (27:38) Wearable's - A uniquely difficult space (29:02) Being mentored as a founder (31:31) Improving live, saving lives (33:56) Two types of customers (35:03) Smart people bullish on WHOOP (36:18) The WHOOP Podcast (37:06) Free Climber Alex Honnold (39:18) Alex’s REM sleep advantage (41:06) Closing thoughts (45:54) Wrapping up (48:02) Related: Free Solo climber Alex Honnold on eliminating fear and accomplishing greatness Kelvin Beachum Jr, Offensive Lineman for the Arizona Cardinals & 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominee, on Investing, Leveraging your Network, and Parenting with Intention Ryan Spoon, COO of Sorare on the Intersection of Fantasy Sports, Blockchain, and Community

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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.