How much money everyone actually makes in VC. The celebrity owl Flaco (RIP) inspired rat birth control. Diamonds are everyone's best friend.

Hey everyone,

By the time you are reading this, I will be in Palm Beach. Send your reccomendations!

Today in raises, we’re talking about the skincare company backed by Merit Beauty founder Katherine Power, an at home STI test, Serena Williams investing in Michael Jordans tequila brand, and more.

News highlights include some not-so-good numbers in the world of personal finance, how much VCs actually make, games from Jane Street and Morning Brew, NYC rat contraceptives, and diamonds.

Happy reading!

🤑 RAISES

• Privateer, a space data startup co-founded by Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak, raised a $56.5M Series A led by Aero X Ventures and acquired Sequoia-backed analytics firm Orbital Insight. Woz is a legend.  (Link) 

• Mother Science, a biotech skincare brand, raised $3.5M  led by Greycroft. Under the terms of the deal, Greycroft Partner and founder of the makeup line Merit Beauty, Katherine Power, will join the Board of Directors.  (Link) 

• Testmate Health, makers of an at home, low cost, OTC diagnostic urine test for STIs, raised a $6M seed round. Regulatory approvals are not expected to happen this year. Users can expect results in under 30 minutes.  (Link) 

• CoreWeave, a cloud computing platform, raised $1.1B led by Coatue. The ~$19B valuation is 3x its valuation from just five months ago. We are not seeing any slowdown in the AI compute power landscape and investing dollars reflect that.  (Link) 

• Cincoro Tequila, the luxury tequila brand founded by Michael Jordan, received funding from Serena Williams. Bottles start at $99 but Derek Jeter, who is also an investor, likes a bottle that can get as expensive as $1.6K!  (Link) 

• Nivoda, a London-based diamond and gemstone marketplace, raised a $30M Series B. If you think this is interesting, I wrote more about it below.   (Link) 

• Mimic, a developer of AI-powered humanoid hands, raised $2.5M led by Founderful. The tech is designed to ‘mimic’ real human movements. (Link) 

• Insempra, a startup that turns oil yeast into lipids, raised $20M. Lipids normally come from  petrochemicals, which are bad for the environment. This alternative is a greener alternative. Insempra also plans to make protein fibers for use in the fashion industry. Lipids are used in beauty products, fashion, and other industries. (Link)

🗞️ NEWS

Tech 

• YouTube is officially launching its AI-powered "Jump Ahead" feature for Premium users that want to skip to a video's most interesting parts…. but only on Android for now. I write timestamps for podcasts now rather than use AI because I haven’t found a solution that actually finds the best parts of shows to mark; I don’t know how well this will work starting out.  (Link)

• Apple and Rivian are in talks for a partnership. This news came before Rivian reported they lost more than $38,000 per vehicle  delivered in Q1. Remember, earlier this year Apple scrapped their own car plans and put the people on that team in other places. I wonder if this will change now! (Link) 

• Hydrostor,  builders of a giant compressed air battery, has plans for a big facility in California. The company is trying to make a solution for long-duration energy storage that can be used to fill gaps when wind and solar aren’t producing enough. This is so sick. Canned. Air. Boom. (Link) 

• Nike is making its own generative AI model to design products using its massive amount of athlete data. "I don't think in our case of designers, (AI) ever replaces creativity… I think it is certainly rocket fuel for creativity” said John Hoke, Nike chief innovation officer. Other design forward advocates of AI include one of my favorite founders, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky. (Link) 

VC 

• Ethan Kurzweil (prev Bessemer Venture Partners), Kristina Shen (prev a16z), and Mark Goldberg (prev Index Ventures) are possibly starting a new early-stage firm, according to Axios. Kurzweil was one of the first investors at Bessemer; today it has ~400. Shen joined a16z when it had <400 employees; today it has ~700. Goldberg was one of the first investors at Index; today it has ~100. (Link) 

• Nicole DeTommaso, a Harlem Capital Principal that posts resources and job openings on LinkedIn, launched a newsletter called VC Demystified. If you are looking to break into the industry or just want to learn more, check it out. Earlier this year on X, she also shared 2023 VC Salary Data. More on money below. (Link) 

• Confluence brokedown how much full-time VCs make in 2024. If you care about salary, don’t work at a first-time / smaller fund. I was surprised to see that it took most people ~12 years to become partners. (Link) 

Playing games

• Looks like Morning Brew is expanding its games! The media company is hiring a puzzle creator. “The puzzle creator will produce the current slate of daily games and puzzles, including a 15x15 crossword published on Saturday, Mini crosswords 2x a week, and other formats for distribution in the Brew’s newsletter.” A few days ago I saw Linkedin dropped some games of their own too. (Link) 

• The new video game 'Content Warning' plays off of some influencers' extreme quests for attention. Players go into spooky places like abandoned factories, try to record video footage monsters without getting killed, and upload footage to a fictional site called SpookTube to earn views which are determined on how frightening clips are. They lose if they do not meet a quota within a few days. (Link) 

• Trading firm Jane Street dropped a mobile game. Even better, it is based off of a card game they made in 2013 called Figgie! It is supposed to help you learn the basics of trading. Kinda cute. Kinda weird. (Link)

Fitness 

• Equinox $40K/Y membership is trying to make some very rich people into elite athletes. “Optimize by Equinox”  is a health program with personal training, nutrition plans, massages, sleep coaching, and more. With the rise in health conscious trends, I am interested to see who is buying this. It also doesn’t even come with an Equinox membership. I need Bryan Johnson to review this. (Link) 

• Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy is going steps down, as shares are down 90% from their 2020 peak. The company plans to cut 15% of staff (~400 workers). McCarthy will remain a strategic advisor through the year and interim co-CEOs are stepping in as they look for someone permanent. In an internal email from when he joined the company in 2022, he wrote that he’s “here for the comeback story” and “We have to be willing to confront the world as it is, not as we want it to be if we’re going to be successful.” I wonder what Barry was like IRL. (Link)  

• I told you guys that golf was the new tennis! Aime Leon Dore is launching a golf line. (Link) 

New York 

• “Does Rat Birth Control Actually Work?” Maybe. I have no clue. Flaco, the celebrity owl that escaped to in Central Park for a few months, died this year after what I thought was from flying into a building. Turns out, he also had rat poison in his system (and a case of pigeon herpes, but that is a different story). A bill was introduced in Flocos name that would  pilot the use of contraceptives instead of rodenticides to help control the city’s rat problem. This was actually attempted, and failed last year, after the city tried to use a liquid contraceptive in Bryant Park. Guess it’s time for round two. Flaco’s revenge, if you will.  PETA is is doing a “rats have rights” campaign in response to rat poison. Someone, please, make a t-shirt. (Link) 

• The Panic Room industry is booming in New York and I wonder what tech innovation is going to be taking advantage of this!! Maybe cameras with AI. These rooms are meant to protect the owners, with features like pepper spray that shoots out to temporarily blind intruders and  a fortified walk-in pantry with ballistics-grade composite that can withstand nuclear fallout. “... New York’s wealthiest residents clamor to protect themselves in a city they see as increasingly doomed.”  (Link) 

• The East Village dive bar Lucy’s might be reopening. The hospitality group behind the Dime Square wine bar Le Dive applied for a liquor license to take over the space and the LLC on the filing is still Lucy’s. Lucy’s has been around since the 1980’s. I hope the previous owner,  Ludwika “Lucy” Mickevicius, is still involved. Until the reopening, I will be at Welcome To The Johnsons. It is also cash only and the PBRs are very cheap. (Link) 

• In the Feed Me newsletter Emily wrote that she is hearing rumors Blank Street Coffee is in trouble as they keep closing location in New York and Boston. I am a known Blank Street Coffee hater. (Link)

Personal Finance 

• TikTok finance videos are causing "money dysmorphia" in young adults, distorting their financial perceptions that could lead to poor decisions like accumulating credit card debt. Gen Z's rising non-mortgage debt over the past two years compounds these issues. (Link) 

• The average 22- to 24-year-olds had a credit card balance of $2,834 in late 2023, up from $2,248 in 2013 when adjusted for inflation, and the age that people are getting credit cards is getting earlier too. (Link) 

• 43% of those who owe money to BNPL services reported they have a late payment and economists aren’t accounting for it. Wells Fargo senior economist Tim Quinlan used the term "phantom debt” when describing how experts have been “lulled into complacency about where consumers are" as a result of these platforms. (Link) 

Diamonds 

If diamonds are a girl's best friend, the lab room must be where they hang out. I’m watching the diamond and lab grown diamond market right now. Here is a quick round up of some recent news, some of which I covered.

• The diamond and gemstone marketplace Nivoda raised a $30M Series A. (Link) 

• Pandora lab grown diamond sales are up 87% in Q1. (Link) 

• Studs launched lab-grown diamonds and Fancy Studs store. (Link)

• A16z-backed Pascal is offering lab-grown diamonds at as low as $70 and is expected to generate between $20-$30M in revenue this year, with a customer repurchase rate of 20%. (Link) 

• Kendra Scott launched a lab grown diamond collection with prices ranging from $500 to $2,950. (Link)

🧠 BRAIN DUMPS

Here are some weekend reads for you!

• Benny Blanco’s new cookbook, Open Wide, has a recipe for a quesadilla made with an iron. It also has a recipe for a deep-fried Rolex. (Link) 

• Six slaughterhouse conversions from the Dezeen archive: Galleries. Museums. Breweries. Community centers. Classrooms. Creepy! (Link)  

• Substack has created a video creator fellowship with help from producer Gymnasium’s Adam Faze. I previously wrote about his work with Boys Room and Take Me To Your Spot. You might know him from his days at Mad Realities; the cofounder Devin Lewtan actually just stepped down as CEO and I’m excited to see what she does at her next role! (Link) 
  
  
  Until next time,
  Rachel Braun
  

P.S. I read all my emails! If you have feedback, a question, or just want to say hello, please do so by responding to this newsletter or by emailing [email protected] 💌