22xFund: A Candle Light in The Murky Wilderness
When I hear “The 1000-miles journey to the unknown starts with a step”, as they like to say, the question of “What defines a journey?”, comes to mind. I take a moment, lean back, and wonder “maybe the achievements, maybe the tribulations, or maybe all of those combined.” The journey of building 22xfund and the collected stories that unfolded to tell that journey from an idea conceived around a fire pit to a fully structured fund, read just like the good old Færeyinga Saga (The Story of the Faroe Islanders). Ours, though, ends with building a fund that is founders and funder friendly. Two journeys, different times, similar outcome: prosperity.
Just like in the 1000-miles journey, the steps were unclear, side roads were treacherous, stakes were high, the proverbial howls of the wolves were getting louder, and closer. However, as the raiding Vikings built portages to the unknown, we as founders, built one, a fund, which will make the unknown more known and give us a better chance in achieving our goals, serving our clients and the public good, building profitable companies meanwhile.
The current funding scene brings to memory the recollections of a desperate journey of nomads, looking for an oasis, in the scorching heat of the desert with hungry vultures flying high in the sky looking for that one opportunity. Long gone are the days when startups are pitted against each other, in a survival of the fittest fight to get the funding they need, to extend their runway. Now, a new era is ushered in where founders are the ones who get to tell the story, the way they want it.
I and Charu, as founders in Next Play, we came from a different background. For Charu, a female founder, and a minority, it has been hard to navigate the funding scene of the Silicon Valley. In a biased environment, where rarely the fortune favors the bold unless you fit a certain profile, a female founder has to work extra hard to prove her worth to have her due share of the Silicon Valley Gods’ gifts. However, with the inception of 22xfund, a new narrative will be told, where founders like Charu and I can work on building our business and focus on what matters. Such democratization of access to early-stage startup investing would forge a path for up-and-coming investors, from around the world, to back startups like us, where they get favorable terms in a win-win scenario for all parties. Live and let live, was the old proverb, now we should coin a new one: thrive and let thrive.
Nawar is the Co-Founder of Next Play. Technology enthusiast, product thinker, open-source evangelist, adventurous cook and a Fulbright Scholarship alumnus. In his free time, Nawar enjoys the calming coastal strolls in Nova Scotia and San Francisco.
