Author Archive
Posted on: April 15th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Two weeks ago, the ride-sharing company Lyft had its IPO – raising more than $2 billion with a $20+ billion market cap. Since then, Lyft’s stock price has declined by 16% while the overall market has risen.
But here’s the deal: investors who think Lyft has been a failure are Missing the Game. Quite simply, investment alpha is no longer being generated by the public markets. Rather, investment alpha is being generated and captured in the private markets, and those investors who fail to realize that the game has changed are suffering poor portfolio returns as a result.
In this newsletter, we dissect trends in the overall marketplace and the specifics of the Lyft transaction. We focus on who gets paid and the implications for individual investors and their investment portfolios.
Click on the link below and read away. We think you’ll enjoy it, and may even give some serious consideration to re-positioning your portfolio.
Kirenaga Observations: Lyft Off?
Posted on: April 11th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Innovation & Tech Today has published an article acknowledging the potential of Violet Defense to revolutionize cleanliness. Specifically recognized is how Violet Defense’s proprietary Surface and Air Germ Elimination (S.A.G.E.) technology can not only reduce the need for toxic and environmentally damaging chemicals for disinfection, but can also reduce the generation of waste such as used cleaning wipes.
At Kirenaga, we remain extremely bullish on the potential of Violet Defense to provide a more sustainable option to protecting people from disease in myriad contexts. We can’t wait to see what comes next for the Violet Defense team.
To read the Innovation & Tech Today article yourself, please find it at the link below.
Full Article
Posted on: March 15th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Mike Gupta, who helped Twitter go public in 2013 as CFO, has joined the Plenty executive team in that role. His previous experience also includes stints at Yahoo, Docker Inc., and Zynga (where he also contributed to IPO efforts.)
Mike has substantial experience guiding young companies through periods of hyper growth. We are excited to see him join the team.
If you would like to read more about Mike and Plenty, then you can find more information in the Bloomberg article linked below.
Full Article
Posted on: March 11th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
The Yale endowment, one of the largest of its kind and pioneer of the alternative investment heavy strategy now so popular across the industry, has increased its allocation to venture capital to 19% as of June 2018. This continues a trend of increased emphasis on venture capital strategies. The allocation to venture capital has risen sharply from the 13.7% weighting seen in 2014.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, we share the endowment’s bullish assessment of venture capital as an asset class. Therefore, we hope this development encourages more investors to consider venture capital allocations for their portfolios.
Finally, you can read a Bloomberg News Network piece on the changes to the Yale portfolio at the link below.
Full Article
Posted on: February 15th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Conscious Content has begun work on a documentary series on ecoSPEARS and their mission to clean up waterways of PCB’s. A rundown of the project, together with a first clip, are accessible on their website.
If you would like to learn more, then you can find the link below.
Project Website
Finally, ecoSPEARS has also published a brief animated video explaining their revolutionary technology, which can be found at the following link.
Animated Video
Posted on: February 12th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
ecoSpears, our portfolio company with a focus on PCB pollution remediation using NASA developed SPEARS technology, has just completed a $2 million seed round. Altogether, there were two investors in this round, ourselves at Kirenaga and the EIA Social Enterprise Fund. Overall, we’re extremely pleased with the progress ecoSpears has made so far, and are proud of their team.
Finally, you can read the full press release on the investment round at the link below.
Full Article
Posted on: February 1st, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Former AOL Chairman and CEO is bringing the Rise of the Rest VC investment tour to Orlando! This means that Orlando based startups will have the opportunity to compete in a high-profile case competition with notable VC investors for substantial publicity in addition to a $100k investment for the winner. The Orlando Sentinel even tapped our own Terry Berland for comment on the development.
We at Kirenaga are excited for the additional attention this will bring for local startups. Also, we look forward to seeing how our own darlings perform in the case competition.
Finally, if you would like to learn more about Rise of the Rest, please see the Orlando Sentinel article at the link below.
Full Article
Posted on: February 1st, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
AdvisorEngine has today announced the roll-out of its integration with Pershing so the broker-dealers and RIAs that custody with Pershing will be able to take advantage of AdvisorEngine’s technology. Also, the partnership is a notable first for Pershing, which currently has $615bn in fiduciary assets.
You can find the press release at the link below.
Press Release
You can also read more about the announcement in the Financial-Planning.com news piece at the link below.
Full Article
Posted on: January 25th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Germs of all kinds can prove to be obstacles to academic success, reducing academic performance and causing absences. Therefore, Jewish Academy of Orlando has installed Violet Defense germ-killing UV solutions across their facilities. By improving student and teacher health, the school hopes to reduce absences and improve the general health of its community.
You can read a Heritage Florida article on the development at the link below.
Full Article
Posted on: January 24th, 2019 by Kirenaga Partners
Our friend Matt Barnard, CEO of Plenty, recently got to present his firm’s revolutionary approach to agriculture at the Davos World Economic Forum. Following the successful opening of Plenty’s first two farms, and a third on the way, Matt is working on paving the way for global expansion. Overall, we’re excited to see what comes next for Plenty after getting access to such an influential group of experts.
Finally, you can read a BBC article on the presentation at the link below.
Full Article
