KINGMAKERS: Inside the group chat investing millions into startups

DISCORD DILLIGENCE

AtomBeam has ascended to startup royalty - despite it being a typically boring business, thousands of investors have poured $16M+ into their coffers.

AtomBeam’s TLDR is that they’ve built next-gen software to compact data - a valuable solution to basically any company that uses any amount of data.

We’re big fans (you can read why here).

AtomBeam has a special advantage when it comes to raising millions of dollars more than anyone else - they’ve won favor with some of the most prolific crowdfunding startup investors.

These investors use Discord (a messaging app) to debate startup prospects, share information, and rally support for their favorite startups.

There are two main Discord group chats - one that exclusively talks about AtomBeam, and another that discusses all crowdfunding investment opportunities.

There’s heavy overlap in users between the two, and we’ll think of them as one for the purposes of this article.

I decided to poll the investors in this Discord chat specifically about AtomBeam, and the results shocked me.

We’re going behind the curtain - how much have these investors invested, what they believe AtomBeam will be worth upon exit, and when investors will get a payday.

POLLING THE MOST POWERFUL GROUPCHAT

I sent out a 20-question survey last week to scrape all the information I could get.

It wasn’t the easiest to fill out - members needed to download the Google Forms app in order to complete.

There’s around 250 members in the Discord chat, and around 50 who are active on a weekly basis.

The form attracted nearly 30 responses in the first 24 hours. Let’s get into it.

The group has funneled $2,378,118 into AtomBeam over their 4 fundraises. Hot damn.

• Largest Investment: $1,070,000

• Smallest Investment: $1,000

• Average Investment: $88,078

Most investors have invested across multiple rounds - the most recent has seen the highest participation, by a slim margin

• 2021 Raise ($10M Valuation): 56% participation

• 2023 Raise ($51M Valuation): 56% participation

• 2023 Raise ($69M Valuation): 41% participation

• 2024 Raise ($96M Valuation): 59% participation

The second 2023 raise likely saw a dip since most investors had just participated in the previous raise earlier in 2023. Then 2024 (current round), is seeing an uptick.

It’s likely that investors feel that this may be their ‘last chance’ to get in, and that’s why participation is up.

I next wanted to see how much was left in the tank.

Investors seem split nearly down the middle, with 48% considering adding to their investment in the current round.

Of those considering adding more, a total of $205,600 is left in the tank. This equates to roughly $15,815 per investor.

While $205k sounds like a lot, it’s less than 10% of what the group has invested thus far. Investors appear to be somewhat tapped out - they’ve already gone ‘all-in’. 

One thing that is less surprising as I go through the data, is that the typical AtomBeam investor is very wealthy. 37% report being an accredited investor - over 5x the national average.

To be an accredited investor one needs to earn $200,000+ a year or have a net worth of over $1M.

AtomBeam investors also appear to be somewhat seasoned - 89% have invested in startups prior to adding AtomBeam to their portfolio. And their collective portfolio is quite hefty.

Well over $4M has been invested into startups from this particular group. A bulk of that has gone to AtomBeam obviously - 82% reported AB as their largest investment.

HEADING FOR THE EXITS (IN A GOOD WAY)

The next series of questions surveyed investors’ expectations for an exit.

• 33% expect an exit in 1-3 years

• 48% expect an exit in 3-5 years

• 15% expect an exit in 5-7 years

• 4% expect an exit in 7+ years

I believe this allocation of guesses is spot on - the probability is pointing to 3-5 years, but it’s easy to conceive 1-3 or 5-7 as well.

For an exit value, investors chimed in with their predictions here too:

• $0 - $500M: 0%

• $500M - $1B: 3%

• $1B - $5B: 30%

• $5B+: 67%

This was pretty incredible - overwhelmingly the group is expecting an exit exceeding $5B. 

A five billion exit would represent a 52x return on investment for investors in the current round. And it would be a 500x investment for those in AtomBeam’s first round.

Not a single investor believes that AtomBeam will sell for less than $500M in value.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

AtomBeam’s caught something pretty special here. Last week, Charles (the founder) sat down with Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary to discuss the immense potential sitting ahead of the company.

In the 24 hours following that webinar, investors showered the startup with $350,000 in fresh funding. 

AtomBeam has been able to rally an investor base that is so excited with the potential that they’ve pushed all their chips in.

Any other startup looking to raise some serious cash should cast a keen eye to what AtomBeam has done to communicate their message, strike a cord, and win over the hearts of investors.

For the investors out there - I’d highly recommend joining the startup investing discord chat. Lots of great minds in there that can help you figure out your next startup investment.

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