"I always tell people like fortunes are made in the down market, they're collected in the up market. So the best time to be investing is in a down market." - Jason Calacanis

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Takeaways

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• Investing in a down market can be advantageous as there are fewer competitors and more time for diligence.
• Jason views fractional ownership of assets, such as collectibles and real estate, as opportunities for diversification and liquidity.
• Valuations in private markets have become overinflated, leading to a need for a great process and strategy as an investor.
• Unicorns exhibit characteristics such as strong growth, product velocity, and a focus on building a great team and customer base. Focus on hiring great people, executing product updates, and delighting customers as the key signals for startup success.
• Equity crowdfunding can bring discipline and user involvement to the investment process, and will be a part of the capital allocation space moving forward.

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Bio

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Jason is the Founder and CEO of LAUNCH and Inside.com. Through private funds, the LAUNCH accelerator, and his public angel syndicate, Jason has invested in startups including Uber, Robinhood, Wealthfront, and Trello. Prior to that, Jason served as general manager of Netscape, Entrepreneur in Action at Sequoia, and founded numerous media companies during the dot-com era including Weblogs and VentureReporter.net.

As a prolific podcaster, Jason hosts All-In alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks, and David Friedberg as well as This Week in Startups.

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

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