https://notion-ga.astrocket.vercel.app/collect?tid=G-W6T04FHNF0&host=https://shinecapital.notion.site/Introducing-Shine-81eb181f8bc74ad387a404f15bffe92b&page=mainpage
<aside> ✨ Shine is a venture capital firm that partners with relentless, creative, convincing entrepreneurs from the early stages of company, protocol, and network building.
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We are an entrepreneur-focused firm. The people we back are more important than any theme we are focused on or thesis we have. We back entrepreneurs who have the ability to turn their big vision into an even bigger reality.
We look for three core qualities in entrepreneurs: relentlessness, creativity, and conviction. We are drawn to people who never quit, are extremely resourceful, and can communicate their vision. We look for these qualities in entrepreneurs and we demand these qualities from ourselves.
We invest from the early stages; we are not afraid to take product-market-fit risk. We have the wherewithal to lead or co-lead seed rounds and series A financings, and we continue to back our partner companies as they continue to perform. We invest with conviction and for scale.
We work as a team to be supportive and productive investors for our partner companies. We have worked with startups, public companies, and everything in between. We bring the collective expertise and networks of the entire Shine team to bear, and we aim to be your first call when you need counsel or perspective. We pride ourselves on providing leverage where and when it is most needed.
We invest in companies, protocols, and networks. We invest across web2 and web3 opportunities, and our experience in each informs and improves our work in both.
Our excitement for web3 informs all of our thinking at Shine.
Networks have always been core to the web, and networked business models have driven much of the value creation of the last decade and a half. Web3's push towards decentralized networks and broader inclusion is more than a technological idea; it is a cultural one. Decentralization is also not a new idea. It has been embedded in the fabric of the web from its inception. Web3 is a return to its foundational principles.
The web3 foundation defines web3 as "a decentralized and fair internet where users control their own data, identity and destiny.” To realize this, we need networked incentive systems that are more open, democratic, and inclusive.
Blockchain-based business models are the embodiment of this ethos, and tokens are the proxy for value in web3 incentive systems. Instead of a centralized network tax, decentralized network tokens are participatory and meritocratic. We now get to own pieces of our internet rather than having the internet own us. That, in and of itself, is transformative.
A decentralized, fair, functional, and resilient web3 is not a given; builders and investors need to will it into existence. While most early web3 projects have focused on decentralized finance, digital art, and gaming, we believe that web3 will reach mass adoption when we successfully rewire many of the largest areas of our economy. Every industry with misaligned incentives, lack of stakeholder participation, and unhealthy monetization is particularly vulnerable. We also expect entrepreneurs to build entirely novel applications using token-based models, many of which simply could not have been possible in earlier iterations of web architecture.
While our approach is constant, our interests and theses evolve over time. We are currently active in fintech, climate, and healthcare. We will always love consumer businesses. And we spend significant time with web3 entrepreneurs in our focus areas as well as those working on fresh web3 projects.
Fintech broadens access to modern financial products and services. We have been fintech investors since 2003, and we are continuing that work at Shine. Our first investment, TryNow, is a consumer financial product that allows any brand to offer a Try-Now-Buy-Later program. We have also invested in a number of workflow software platforms that offer seamless payments and financial products in networked b2b markets — trucking, construction, local government, and healthcare so far.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is the future of fintech. We specifically look for DeFi entrepreneurs building applications with broad consumer or business appeal as well as those that bridge DeFi and traditional finance. We expect new products to provide similar unlocks for DeFi as Plaid did for fintech. We have made three DeFi investments to date, and we are actively pursuing new investments in the space.
It is on us to improve our climate and our healthcare system. The brilliant scientists at our portfolio company, Kingdom Supercultures, have invented the picks and shovels for the plant-based and natural ingredient markets. We have been increasingly focused on health-tech entrepreneurs looking to fix the misalignment between patients, payers, and providers. We are also actively thinking about what role decentralization will play in these markets.
The internet continues to enable new dominant consumer brands. We backed an incredible team building a legal services brand that is changing the way personal legal care is delivered and financed. We are always on the lookout for digital consumer brands with go-to-market advantages. We further expect a flurry of web3 innovation in the consumer space.