8 startup excesses which jeopardize business, Amazon assets in high demand, a new crypto investment tracker and loads of fascinating snippets.
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Hi there, 👋
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It feels like we've been dreaming about summer holidays for a looong time.
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We're not the only ones.
Data gathered by a travel operator and a digital marketing agency shows the travel experiences people searched the most during the past year.
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The list they compiled gives you the world’s most popular “bucket list” destinations.​
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Is your ideal travel experience mentioned?
(Confession: This writer has been to 9 of the top 10 "bucket list" destinations. Is that a good or bad thing?)
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On to the news…
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​Today we look at:

• Why Amazon brands are attractive acquisition targets
• 8 startup excesses which jeopardize your business
• An alternative revenue-based financing solution

Plus, the snippets section is crammed with info on:

• A new crypto investment tracker
• The app boom
• A microfund for women,
  and much more.

We'll let you read on and enjoy.
As always, thanks for being here.
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​P.S. Some of you asked when today's sponsor would return. They have a new look and a new offer for you below.
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​P.P.S. Smash our feedback links (bottom of the email version) and tell us what you want to see more of in this letter….please.
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Attractive Acquisition Targets

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Globally, third-party sellers on Amazon operate over 1.9 million storefronts and represent nearly $58 billion in sales through the platform.
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The phenomenal rise of third party aggregators like Thrasio, Heyday and Perch clearly shows that Amazon-based businesses can pose immense value.
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​Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) assets are in high demand, and we've seen valuations and multiples rapidly increase (trends from Empire Flippers).
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For entrepreneurs looking to execute a high-value M&A transaction, now is the time to leverage your position in the marketplace to secure the highest dollar amount for your successful Amazon-based businesses.
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In an article for Forbes, Chris Shipferling - managing partner at Global Wired Advisors - discusses the future outlook for Amazon-based digital assets.
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He states:
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"Understanding the algorithm is critical, as is launching aggressive data-driven strategies to establish and maintain a dominant position on the platform. Such initiatives help sellers differentiate themselves from other brands and attract investors that are willing to pay a premium for top-tier digital assets."
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See his advice for building a business that is attractive to prospective acquirers.
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Alternative Financing

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​Uncapped was founded in 2019 in London by serial entrepreneur Asher Ismail and former venture capitalist Piotr Pisarz.
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​Uncapped offers an alternative revenue-based financing solution for high-growth companies.​
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It provides growth financing between £10k and £2M and there is no interest, equity, or personal guarantee required.
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Instead, they charge a flat 6% revenue-based fee for the capital provided until both the capital and the flat fee have been recouped through the company’s revenues.
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Their philosophy is that founders should not have to give away equity to fund marketing, inventory or hiring expenses.
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They recently raised an $80M equity plus debt round led by Lakestar.
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Their intention is to move beyond lending and launch a suite of new banking services tailored to the needs of digital entrepreneurs.
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Want to know more about Uncapped?
​See how they work.​
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Web Scraping Made Simple

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If you're looking for a fast and free web scraper, we've found one.
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​Simplescraper allows you to scrape website and table data in seconds.
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It's a simple point and click tool to select the data you need and download in CSV or JSON formats.
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The smart selection feature captures table columns as well as urls from links and images.

You can also create automated scraping recipes to scrape thousands of web pages and turn them into APIs.
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Simplescraper runs locally in your browser so there's no need to sign up.
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​Available as a Chrome Extension​
​Starter guide​
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Random Tweet

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Domain Snack

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👉 A Win or a Loss?
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Last year, Elliot Silver placed an $18 Discount Club backorder on a domain name at DropCatch.com.
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He then listed it for sale on Afternic for $4,999, and it sold at the BIN price without any negotiation.
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Silver has been checking the domain name periodically and just noticed a new website appear on the domain.
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It turns out that a stealth startup with around $150 million in funding had acquired the name.
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Was that a win or a loss for him?
​Read what he says about the deal here.​
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8 Startup Excesses Which Jeopardize Your Business

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Every entrepreneur we know is short on resources.
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The last thing they can afford to waste is their time, money, and skills.
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As usual, Marty Zwilling has done an excellent job of summarizing the relevant waste points for every startup and small business.
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​The list of 8 startup excesses includes:

• Offering too many products and services concurrently
• Poor or too many business processes, and
• Focus on activities rather than results

Entrepreneurs and small businesses always operate on the edge. There is no cushion.
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​See where you might be burning resources.​
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Stop Typing

Content creators (especially writers) often look for ways to give their tired typing digits a rest.
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After 5 hours writing a blog post, the last thing you want to do is spend 2 hours responding to emails.
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​Reverb lets you record and share voice notes so it's perfect for use as an email tool.
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We're a stan for Reverb because it's ideal for those with specific disabilities.
Many people with disabilities find it difficult to use a mouse or type long messages.
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​Aside from email, you can:

• Embed voice notes into Twitter
• Embed notes and recordings on your websites
• Share on email, forums, image boards, and anywhere else audio is unconventional
• Paste Reverb links in direct messengers and Slack

All recordings are stored in the cloud so there is no need to download or upload files.
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Use the Reverb Record website or get the Chrome Extension to record in-email drafts.
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It's all free, and there’s no registration or sign up required.
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An agency with so much link juice you’ll need a mop and bucket to clean it all up.
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​Check. Them. Out​
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✅ Snippets to Send You on Your Way

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​🔷 Digital banking apps: Finally, Apptopia has download numbers for neobanks. Downloads of the top 10 banking apps have increased 37.4% YoY. Can you guess which was number one?
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​🔷 Interested in getting more app conversions? Here are four effective strategies you can use to secure more app conversions and boost your brand visibility.
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🔷 Apps are big business: Consumer spending in mobile apps hit a record $64.9 billion during the first half of 2021, according to preliminary data from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower. This figure represents a 24.8% increase in spending seen across both the App Store and Google Play, compared with the year-ago period. In 2020, investors poured $73 billion in capital into mobile companies - a figure that’s up 27% year-over-year.
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🔷 Empty pockets: The EU put more than a billion euros in a fund meant to boost startups. But they're quickly running out of cash.
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🔷 GM invests in lithium: We recently covered the shortages that create investment opportunities - particularly the essential metals used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Lithium is crucial in most electrification products because it is at the core of lithium-ion batteries used in EVs. General Motors is targeting domestically sourced lithium as it became the first investor in an Australian company’s project to extract the mineral.
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🔷 A novel approach to invoice factoring: Arex Markets has raised €8.8 million in a Series-A round. The Dublin startup uses an algorithm-based trading mechanism that opens up capital for SME’s and provides professional investors the opportunity to invest in SME assets directly without transaction costs.
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🔷 Crypto track: Intuit-owned finance and budgeting app Mint added the ability to track cryptocurrency investments across a number of supported exchanges, including Binance, BlockFi, Coinbase/Coinbase Pro, Gemini, Kraken, PayPal, and Robinhood.
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🔷 Start her up: Women’s social networking app Peanut launched a microfund called StartHER to begin investing in early, pre-seed stage startups led by women or other historically excluded groups. StartHER will write checks of between $25,000 and $50,000.
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🔷 Second best year: Invest Europe has released its 2020 Central and Eastern Europe Private Equity Statistics. The report shows that the number of CEE companies receiving private equity investment increased by 15% on the previous year’s record and beat the five-year average by 46%.
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💲 Visualizing 150 years of debt:
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