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Invest in The Ultimate Travel Bag (and coffee maker)
Plus, Beam Dental on the pod talking about its $80m Series E
Heyyyo,
Welp. Elon Musk did SNL and it was for the most part entertaining. But, that didn’t stop Dogecoin from cratering 25 minutes into the show. And, if crypto fans thought that was bad… wrong. Yesterday Tesla (Musk) announced they were no longer accepting Bitcoin due to its negative energy impact on Earth… and, Bitcoin wilted instantly.
Before becoming a viable hedge (or anything else for that matter) Bitcoin still has a long way to go — that said, I bought the dip 🤷♂️
For the skeptics, this is the obvious alarm. For the Diamond hands, this only stands to reiterate just how much upside there still is!
For my noobs; every week I breakdown a startup pitch with the added hook that you don’t have to be a rich guy to invest (if you don't know what that means, click here).
If you like what you see here and haven’t already subscribed, please do 👇👇👇
On The Pod: The dental business is BIG business. Just look around you, if you live in the burbs, you’ll likely see a dentist on every corner… that’s because it turns out teeth are a two sided marketplace, lol. Vanity and health. The market opportunity is so huge that Beam Dental Insurance just raised another $80 million in its Series E last month!
Here’s my podcast with Beam founder Alex Frommeyer 👉 https://spoti.fi/33BVK11
Follow me on Twitter @kitun.
Scott
#pitchreview time!
Company Bio
Pakt makes exceptionally well-designed gear built for the modern traveler.
Have you ever seen/used a Nomatic Backpack? This is like that only more sustainably sourced, with a focus on what you do more than how you get there. And, I actually think there’s something to this… from a marketing perspective, there’s only so many types of bags and shit you can use to organize said bag. Pakt is creating tools rather than compartments — something that enables it to market more towards the minimalist or active traveler.
Meet the Founder
Watch my full interview with Pakt’s Founder Malcolm Fontier, here.
Malcolm is a designer by training, a builder at heart, and obsessive by nature. He’s working to change the perception of “doing business”, by raising the bar for both environmental and social responsibility.
You know I love me some design snobbery. Malcom’s mission is to take the minimalist vision of travel and apply it to whatever you do when you arrive! I’ve featured a few other businesses (Stojo) that have targeted consumer products to “minimize”. Pakt is unique because it crosses multiple markets from hiking and travel to coffee; I think from a design perspective you either get it or you don’t and that’s totally fine. From a business perspective the Pakt team has proven they can pre-sell millions — time will tell if retail and D2C distribution follows.
Traction
$4.6M in lifetime revenue with 24,000+ units sold to date
Even during COVID, revenue grew to $1.4M in 2020, a 32% YoY increase
Engaged, enthusiastic community of 75K+ people across the globe
Social media engagement that's 540% higher than the industry average
The sales are impressive, especially during a pandemic. The minimalist community is nothing to sneeze at, they represent one of the fastest growing retail sectors in the world and Pakt is at the epicenter. Social media can power organic growth and with a strong digital strategy there is no reason to believe that post-pandemic sales can’t cement their place in the retail isles too!
Terms & Takeaway
Invest in Pakt here 👉 https://bit.ly/3bkaqGo
Security Type: SAFE
Valuation Cap: $9,000,000
Discount: 20%
Raised (as of publishing): $77,166
Minimum Investment: $250
Here's what I like: The bags and gear are slick. The design is A+ and I personally will own at least one for running around. As a company, if the team keeps pushing out amazing gear then it will thrive. If not, it has a clear ceiling (that could be in the tens of millions or higher).
Here's what I don't love: The price is very steep. Even with a 20% discount, $9m is craziness. It’s asking us to take a major leap — essentially, if they don’t score with product iteration and diversification Pakt can be limited to a valuation at or around the value cap (which means exit scenarios for investors are scarce). That said, plenty of businesses in the space have churned out very healthy profits for a long time and those investors (cough* Patagonia) appear plenty satisfied.
Who should invest and why: The bag alone is worth it. I don’t usually pedal perks but in this case I would invest enough to get a bag and write it off as supporting the product development. If you don’t relate to minimalist travel, the price is probably too steep with not enough upside.
As always, startup investing is super high-risk, anything can happen. So, don't invest money you can’t afford bury in a bag 🎒 💸
Invest in Pakt here 👉 https://bit.ly/3bkaqGo
Questions? DM me on Twitter @kitun