🥃 Indulge your curiosity.
Get the weekly email that looks at the latest and greatest in startups and VCÂ through the refreshingly simple Back of the Napkin framework. Subscribers also get exclusive access to our long form investment theses, which are published a bit less frequently in The Speakeasy. Stay informed and entertained, imbibe with us for free.
What was the last idea you wrote on the back of a napkin?
I bet it was a good one. The ideas that find their way onto the back of a napkin in a dim bar or an airy café are some of the most exciting and enlightening of breakthroughs. A grand vision is smartly condensed to a clear, simple, and persuasive scribble.
Back of the Napkin VC is on a mission to identify and amplify those ideas.
This newsletter is a way to learn in public, while developing a useful framework to evaluate, strategize, and communicate about startups, business, and technology.
We use a few simple models to cut through noise, distill complexities into fundamentals, explore new ideas, and put otherwise isolated instances into context. We communicate our findings like we would over a beverage on the back of a napkin — through simple sketches and a few excited lines of explanation that we may or may not regret the day after.
The Framework
There are countless ways to value a business. Ours is simple by design. With the following models we can evaluate high-level levers, identify critical metrics, estimate growth trajectories, and more. We aim to contextualize ideas, events, and trends across businesses, while also tracking individual progress and change.
Business Equations
Distill the business into a mathematical equation. Determine crucial levers and how they can enable growth, profits, and success. Estimate total addressable and serviceable market size.
Unit Economics
Evaluate the incremental profitability of a business given a set of assumptions. Demonstrate the impact of key levers in terms of real dollars. Contextualize opportunities through tangible metrics.
Flywheels
Demonstrate the accumulating advantages of a business. Identify areas where growth compounds, generating positive momentum for the business. These can be network effects or moats.
We’re really excited to begin this journey and hope to have you along for the ride. If you’ve made it this far, please subscribe, share, or shoot us an email!
