📈 Coinbase’s $100B+ public debut

Plus: Microsoft’s new mixed reality platform. Brought to you by The Hustle together with Deel. March 04, 2021 [The Hustle] TOGETHER WITH [Deel]( A cautionary meme stock tale: Last year, car rental company Hertz was on the brink of bankruptcy. Robinhood traders backed the stock and pushed its value up 9x. Hertz capitalized on the rise by issuing stock. That stock is now worthless after Hertz announced a bankruptcy reorganization. Two private equity firms will invest $4.2B to take over, wiping out existing equity holders. The Big Idea [Coinbase's $100B public debut]( Coinbase’s $100B public debut, explained Bitcoin recently hit the [$50k]( milestone. If that feels pricey, how about a share of the largest US cryptocurrency exchange? Presenting Coinbase (ticker: COIN). The company has been valued at  [$100B+]( in private secondary trading, which would make its direct listing the largest tech debut since Facebook. For comparison, its last funding round (2018) valued it at a slightly lower number… [$8B](. The business of Coinbase According to Coinbase’s [S-1](, the current financial system is an inefficient and costly patchwork of intermediaries. There’s a need for a new, digitally native financial system -- AKA the crypto economy. Coinbase has built an end-to-end infrastructure to enable a safe and user-friendly platform to buy, store, and use crypto assets: - Cryptocurrency exchanges: There’s a regular and a pro version for more sophisticated investors.  - Wallet service: Where customers can safely store their cryptocurrencies. - Coinbase commerce: Online retailers can use this software to accept cryptocurrency. Think Paypal, but for crypto. - Coinbase card: A physical debit card allowing people to spend cryptocurrency in the physical word. Why the potential $100B valuation? Coinbase is one of the largest global cryptocurrency exchanges. Its strengths include:   - Flywheel effects: As [more]( products develop and more consumers join the platform, more retail users, institutions, and other partners (developers, merchants, etc.) will come to the site. - Huge industry growth: The market cap of crypto assets went from $500m in 2012 to [$782B]( by 2020 -- 150% growth per year. - Rapid revenue increase: Coinbase more than doubled its revenue in 2020 to ~[$1.3B](. There are [43m](retail users, mostly from word-of-mouth marketing. - Steady profitability: Unlike many high growth tech companies, Coinbase has been largely profitable in recent years -- ending 2020 with [$322m]( in net income.  A watershed moment for crypto at large Beyond a lucrative exit for founder [Brian Armstrong]( (who already made a cool [$60m]( in 2020 alone), a strong IPO would be a large step for legitimizing the crypto. [Critics]( view the industry as risky and experimental at best, lawless and [illicit]( at worst. Even tech behemoths like [Square]( and Tesla are just starting to buy Bitcoin. Successful or not, Coinbase’s IPO is going to make history. No pressure, mate.  (Read our full Coinbase breakdown [here]() [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Coinbase%E2%80%99s+%24100B+public+debut%2C+explained%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2Fcoinbases-100b-public-debut-explained%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D03042021-beam-raises-80m%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Snippets - Fashionable unicorn: French startup Vestiaire Collective [announced]( a $216m funding round. The company runs an online marketplace for pre-owned luxury and fashion goods. - Okta Auth0rizes a major deal: Okta, whose software allows secure access to apps, purchased cloud identity startup Auth0 for $6.5B in a bid to strengthen its position in the identity management space. Markets where meh, with $OKTA down [10%+]( after hours on the news. - Singapore-based SEA is Southeast Asia’s leading super app. Its value has increased 7x in the past year to $130B and, now, it’s creating a [$1B]( investment fund (we wrote more on Southeast Asia super apps [here](). - Google promised it has [no plans]( to build alternate identifiers once it phases out 3rd-party tracking cookies. Instead, it’ll use privacy-preserving APIs that are (supposedly) equally as valuable to advertisers. - Semi-truck, semi-stuck: GM is [extending]( temporary plant shutdowns and expects to lose billions in earnings this year as a result of the global semiconductor shortage. - Made in the USA: Walmart committed to [spending]( an additional $350B over the decade on US products. - Flying taxis are 2 years out, according to the CEO of Volocopter, a German startup that this week [raised]( $241m to develop its urban transport helicopters. - We lovin’ it: Mobile game developer AppLovin filed for an IPO, with 2020 revenues hitting [$1.45B](.  Do the floss [Beam raises $80m]( That molar money (Source: Amend Nimani / Getty Images) Beam raises $80m to disrupt dental insurance You know when the dentist puts 15 tools in your mouth, and you drool a little? That’s probably how investors looked when they saw Beam’s financials. This week, the Columbus, Ohio-based insurtech startup [announced]( an $80m Series E led by Mercato Partners and joined by Nationwide. Beam will likely use the capital for product development and growth The company, founded in 2012, is taking on the [$83.6B]( dental insurance market with a good ol’ software-hardware combo move: - Software: Beam’s IP [mimics]( the best dental insurance underwriters, but works faster and at scale, enabling low rates even for small companies. - Hardware: Members are incentivized to use Beam’s connected toothbrush to earn lower rates. To date, the program has recorded [100m+]( brushing minutes. The setup runs like a flywheel: Beam reduces claims by incentivizing preventive care, uses the connected data to improve underwriting models, then lowers costs. The economics seem to work, too Beam [reportedly]( has gangster loss ratios, spending less than $0.70 for each dollar it gets from claim premiums. The company grew revenue 600% over the last 3 years and boasts a net revenue retention rate of 100%. Beam’s network [reaches]( 400k dentists in all 50 states, and the company [doubled]( its member base in both 2019 and 2020. One question we have for the Beam team: Do you dance the floss to celebrate occasions such as this? [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Beam+raises+%2480m+to+disrupt+dental+insurance%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03042021-beam-raises-80m%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D03042021-beam-raises-80m%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SPONSORED Here’s how to hire (and pay) anyone, anywhere, without the stress of local laws or tax systems The boom in remote work has companies reaching across borders to snag the very best talent. Only one issue -- when you go international, things can get (as the Italians say) confuso. Enter [Deel](, the payroll platform that helps you hire anyone, anywhere, without the stress of navigating local laws, tax systems, or international payroll. (They also raised a cool $44M last year to double down on their vision) One place for all your hiring needs  [Deel]( lets you transcend borders to finalize contracts, manage payments, connect with legal experts, and store payroll data. With a couple clicks, you can: - [Hire employees, contractors, and service providers from 150+ countries.]( - Let your team select from multiple currencies and ways to withdraw their funds. - Access tailored legal documents, including compliance and data protection agreements. [Request a free demo today]( and see why 1,500+ companies have switched to Deel as their go-to payroll platform. [Deel me in →]( New Tech [Microsoft gets Mesh-y]( Microsoft gets Mesh-y with the future of mixed reality Microsoft this week [released]( a new mixed reality platform called Mesh, rolling the product out at its Ignite 2021 virtual conference. The conference was itself a demonstration of the technology, with Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberté appearing alongside Microsoft’s Alex Kipman, the brains behind Mesh, as 3D holograms on a virtual stage. Mesh is basically a suite of development tools that will allow developers to build collaborative VR and AR -- or mixed-reality (MR) -- experiences that work across devices, not just Microsoft's HoloLens. If the [concept video]( tells us anything, strap in, this could be big. Mesh isn’t just some Zune or Windows Phone gamble… … it’s a bet on the future of computing. According to Microsoft’s [technical explanation](, MR is a “4th wave in computing” following innovations in mainframes, PCs, and smartphones. Microsoft sees Mesh as the toolkit to make MR a consumer reality. Think Zoom meetings where hologrammed co-workers just “holoport” to your home office. Bold… and unsettling. Creating hologrammed co-workers is really effing hard So Microsoft is leaning on its cloud computing platform Azure to help pull it off. Recently, Azure has been a bright spot for the ol’ ’Soft. Over the [past 10 quarters](, revenue has climbed by 50%+, and Azure sits squarely in [the No. 2 spot]( for cloud infrastructure providers. Think of Mesh as another holographic feather in Microsoft’s Azure cap. They’re in the business of setting up the pipes for a MR future. Sure, it’s a big, fluffy vision that we may or may not want -- but has that ever stopped Microsoft? [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Microsoft+gets+Mesh-y+with+the+future+of+mixed+reality%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03042021-microsoft-mesh-reality-platform%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D03042021-microsoft-mesh-reality-platform%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SPONSORED eToro’s got us going crypto (and getting paid for it) Yup, you heard that one right -- [eToro]( is giving $50 to anyone who signs up for their crypto currency trading platform, deposits $1000, and opens one or more trades worth $1K on things like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and more of the world's most popular cryptocurrencies. You can use their [CopyTrader tool](to mirror the moves of top crypto tycoons, chat with your fellow 18M investors worldwide, or even practice your investing with a $100K virtual portfolio. Give your stonks a crypto sibling and get your $50. [Open your account →]( FINE-ISH PRINT: *eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Meme of the Day Dogecoin meme The dog in the “doge” meme is the mascot for the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. Makes Sense. (Source: Wikipedia) Dogecoin was created as a joke in 2013. Invented by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, the [cryptocurrency]( was based on the dog from the “[doge](” meme. This market cap of this “joke” coin was worth less than $100m at the end of 2020. The coin has since exploded in value -- today worth [$6.5B]( -- as one South African entrepreneur has repeatedly posted Dogecoin memes on his Twitter account: SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. Here’s a message you can use to share with your friends: Hey! Do you read The Hustle? It’s the best daily business newsletter out there -- only takes 5 minutes to read and you’ll sound like the smartest person in the room. Sign up here, it’s free: [ P.S. You can always check your referral count [here](. [Share The Hustle →]( How did you like today’s email? 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