Alright, been meaning to write this for a while. This is why I create.
NASJAQ Narrative:
Build a community of engineers, investors, and people interested in startups and the future.
Meet founders already building dope startups for an optimistic future, and make content with them.
Invest in startups built by founders I meet and engineers from my community.
Fairly self-explanatory but:
1. Build a community
The mainstream media is pessimistic, engineering content creators are focused on science/experiments, and investing content creators are focused on public stocks. There is an opportunity for an optimistic, application-focused, private market/startups content creator.
This is me, NASJAQ. We are the community. We will make the Future the Present.
2. Meet the founders
Most of the founders building hard tech don’t have massive social media followings (except Elon, obviously). This means it’s difficult for them to spread the word about how cool their tech is, and how it’s making the world better. I will meet these founders, and explain their tech to a broader audience. I partially envision it turning into a David Dobrik Vlog Squad-esque Founders Squad, haha.
3. Invest in startups
Since I will be meeting these Founders, I would like to invest in them! Duh! I will raise a rolling fund so that any investors in my community can participate in the investments. This will grant access to private startups that certain investors did not previously have. This also has the benefit of encouraging young technical students in my audience to become founders and build something great (by telling them I will invest in them), instead of potentially wasting time elsewhere.
This is the tricky part with a few difficult, but solvable, challenges. First, I need to become accredited, so I can establish the rolling fund, then I need to raise capital, then I need to find good startups, then I need to learn early-stage investing. All while making good content. It will be a ton of work, but I’m ready for it.
Questions:
“Isn’t this already being done on twitter? VC twitter, It’s time to build, etc?”
Twitter certainly has a ..~vibrant~ community of VC’s and software engineers, and the hardtech community is beginning. However, I believe two things. 1) not all great engineers that will start a company are on twitter, 2) engineering and building dope tech is a visual process so a visual medium (youtube/tiktok) works orders of magnitude better than text (twitter/blogs/podcasts). As well, the aesthetics of the future will not be created through text, aesthetics must be visually experienced. That said, videos will be posted on twitter too, since it is a high value platform imo.
“What is your content/investment thesis?”
Hardtech for an optimistic future. Anything that helps us civilize space, increase manufacturing, create new materials, expand energy capacity, improve our biology.
"You’re clearly planting this question but: what are the themes of NASJAQ?”
Build-comm: The physical future is only just beginning. You can and should create something amazing, and make money while doing it. Building is heroic.
“Are you NASJAQ?”
Well yes, you can call me Jack or NASJAQ (really just Nasjaq or nasjaq is fine, all caps is overkill). But, it’s bigger than me….
“So what does NASJAQ mean?”
NASJAQ is like the NASDAQ, but for startups.
It’s where you hijack the NASDAQ, skip the 9-5, the public companies.
It’s where you take a risk and build something incredible.
It’s where the future is built.
So, since this is a future I believe in, I recently left my job at a YC startup to pursue this full-time (my full background here & reposted here). You can support me by following/watching/supporting any of my channels, checking out NASJAQ merch, subscribing to this substack (essentially my patreon), venmo-ing me @nasjaq, reaching out if you have any startups you’d like me to discuss, meet, or make content with, or by investing in my fund in the future.
Excited for the future!
- NASJAQ
Also I recently published ‘the future of bioelectricity’ on youtube, definitely check it out if you haven’t already (or at least this clip from balajis)
Glad I made it from Tiktok, love your content. I'd like to pick your brain and thought a subscription would be a nice gesture. l'd like to know if there a best DM method you prefer for ideas discussions?
Please & Thank you
Brad