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Meet The Fastest Growing Global Pool of Vetted Software Developers
Plus, Off Map founder Mike Doyle on the pod!
Heyyyo,
Apologies for the day-lay here… I was busy slinging cards at the National Card Show — what an experience. If you haven’t been, it’s a MUST! Tickets for this weekend are still available (if you’re Chicago-based… it’s in Rosemont).
The entire industry known as #TheHobby is on a hockey stick growth curve and many of the new entrants are tech founders and younger people that view collecting much like they do other investible assets such as crypto, NFTs and stonks.
Speaking of which, if you’re new to the hobby, check out OnlyAlts.com and sign up through me to get a free $50 to spend on your first card. Tech + Cards is an experience unlike any other in this business.
On the pod, we had my friend Mike Doyle on to talk about his new Glamping company Off Map. Mike was formerly the founder of Rent Like a Champion, which was funded by Mark Cuban. If you’re like me and you like to get out in the wild, but sorta like to fill the canteen with Champagne — this bud’s for you!
Listen to my full interview with Mike Doyle here 👉 https://spoti.fi/3zIdO7A
Follow me on Twitter @kitun.
Scott
Every week I breakdown startup pitches with the added hook that you can invest whether you’re accredited or not (if you don't know what that means, click here).
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Company Bio
Upstack provides an all-in-one remote talent solution for fast-growing companies.
Think Upwork for tech devs. The key differentiator for Upstack vs most dev shops and hiring apps is how Upstack engages clients (their model) and how rigorous they vet their talent — which is why they’ve placed 1,500 devs with more than 120 clients since launch 👀 Rather than targeting one-off projects and big enterprise projects, their model enables them to sit at the nexus of 4 fast-growing markets (over $30B TAM): recruiters, job boards, freelance platforms and Dev Shops/outsourcing.
Meet the Founder
Watch my full interview with Upstack Founder Yossi Mlynsky here.
Yossi is a career tech engineer and entrepreneur. Prior to founding Upstack, Yossi has worked for and advised nearly a dozen startups including working as a product manager at BT Financial and Macquarie Bank in Australia.
Yossi is as tech as it gets. The fact that the vast majority of Upstack’s early clients have added Yossi to join as an advisor speaks to his reputation in the space. There’s something of a secret to hiring dev support in the startup world — top groups are passed down from portfolio company to portfolio company (often by the VC). This is the word-of-mouth you need if you truly want to scale a dev platform in tech. In short, you and your team must be a trusted code resource, and Yossi is that.
Traction
Bootstrapped company: from zero at founding in 2017, to $10M revenue milestone in 2021
Clients include Intercom, MealPal, IKEA, Taskrabbit, Juul, and Invision
37% Gross Profit Margin
340% revenue growth from 2018 to 2020
Helped MealPal build their tech team and raise $35M
When was the last time you saw $10M bootstrapped?? It’s been a while. Furthermore, to see this sort of growth and retention from big brands without any meaningful marketing budget speaks to the sales org Yossi and Upstack have built. There is a tremendous opportunity in the tech dev space — think about it, everything is going tech and there’s more funded startups than ever before. No wonder Upstack is sitting in front of a $30B TAM. Personally, I think the two key numbers I like are 37% gross profit and the amount of money their clients have raised… you gotta think, Series A and up, you’re selling the stack as much as the dream. That’s some impressive work being delivered.
Terms & Takeaway
Invest in Upstack here 👉 https://bit.ly/2VktuyM
Security Type: Reg CF
Pre-Money Valuation: $80,000,000
Investment Goal: $1,070,000
Raised (as of publishing): $225,393
Minimum Investment: $100.00
Here's what I like: I have both bought and sold tech and it’s a tough business. The fact Upstack has scaled this business to more than $10M in sales and continue to grow at a ridiculous clip while maintaining super high retention is utterly impressive. The TAM is huge and the need for high quality devs is only growing. Anything that makes it easier for companies to contract and retain top tier tech talent with strong margins (37%) will always have a strong business.
Here's what I don't love: The price. $80M is pretty steep, even for a company with great traction and a huge market. Yossi is as impressive as the metrics his company is delivering. My fear is a deal this rich doesn’t leave much upside for us retail investors.
Who should invest and why: I like investing in companies I use. If Upstack solves a problem for you, I think having an ownership interest in a business you actually pay for is both smart and fun. There’s no question there will be plenty of billion dollar companies in the space and Upstack certainly could become one of them, but you have to be confident in an exit or IPO valuing the company at between $250M and a billion+ to make the math work in your favor.
As always, startup investing is super high risk, anything can happen.
Invest in Upstack here 👉 https://bit.ly/2VktuyM
Questions? DM me on Twitter @kitun