Crypto Decrypted

18Liquid Venture

We all seem to enjoy the benefits of new technology – from mobile phones to health trackers, video games to social media, the list goes on and on. Many of these programs and products are so ubiquitous that we can't seem to live without them, but it's important to note that, at some point, every technology that you use now was just an idea in someone's head, brought to fruition – generally, via a young, underfunded startup. Enter venture capital. Very simply, venture capital is money directly invested into private companies with the belief that they will grow and, as such, the investment will yield a return. Technology startups always need capital, and technology investing via venture capital is the main way most technology startups get funded. It's also one of the ways that, for investors, money multiplies. Silicon Valley loves a “unicorn”: a company that grows to a billion‐dollar valuation. Unicorn hunting by placing direct investments into early‐stage startups or injecting capital into private companies as they grow has been a proven formula for decades. We've seen it with Amazon and Google, Twitter, and Facebook. We've romanticized these investments as seen in the series Super Pumped, which chronicles the rise of Uber. We've celebrated them and then lamented the rise and fall of entrepreneurs and companies like WeWork. We are entertained by the stories of moguls such as Bobby Axelrod on Billions. Let's face it – investment has become entertainment and we're ...