iFly.vc 2022 Fund Progress Update
“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security” — John Allen Paulos
When I started iFly.vc, I knew it wasn’t my expertise to predict when and how the “up and up” market would change its direction. But in my view, businesses that provide those basic necessities for people’s livelihood would have a better chance to survive a potential economic downturn. Today, while we all face the impact of the ongoing turmoil in international and domestic politics, capital market, inflation, interest rate, recession, and other macroeconomic factors, I maintain my optimism and continue seeing relentless entrepreneurs who bring a combination of market insights and technology empowerment across the value chain of various verticals to unlock new opportunities and provide tangible value to customers. As of the writing of this email, we are working to close two new investments, which we will share in the next update.
Update on Select Portfolio Companies that Touch on People’s Daily Lives
Weee! is the largest and fastest-growing e-grocer for Asian and Hispanics in North America. Weee! has a strong value proposition to customers based on exciting assortment, competitive pricing, and ease of access. This year, the company closed the oversubscribed Series E round of $425M at a valuation of $4.1B. iFly.vc remains the second largest shareholder after this round. Since 2017, the team has fulfilled over 21.6 million orders across 48 states.
Similar to Weee!, Alorsfaim is an e-grocer for the underserved ethnic minorities in Europe with the initial coverage of Asians in France. This is the only investment that iFly.vc has made outside the US, because we see ourselves as a strong value-add investor.
Yummy Bazaar is an online international food store with emphasis on specialty foods from Europe. If you’re not a customer of Weee! or Alorsfaim, then I’d recommend you spend a few minutes browsing what Yummy Bazaar has to offer.
Cheese serves the underbanked American with a zero-fee debit card service loaded with reward programs from 1,000+ merchants. For example, using the Cheese card to shop from Weee! gives 3% cashback. Since launch last year, Cheese has acquired many ethnic minority users including Asian, Hispanics and Blacks.
Life-long Learning and Professional Development
Along the iFly journey shared with our former and current colleagues, I have been delighted to watch everyone learn and grow to the next level. Martin Salomon (Head of Operations) is going through his part-time MBA program at UT Austin/McCombs. While scoring straight A’s in his first semester (no pressure onward, Martin!), he has done an excellent job in applying his classroom learning to the day job at iFly.
I decided to matriculate for the Kauffman Fellows Program (Class 27). Since its inception, the Kauffman Fellows Program has built a network of 765 fellows who represent 670+ investment firms from nearly 60 countries, and 280 members are founders of their firms. Over the course of my VC career, I have connected with a number of Kauffman Fellows and felt impressed by the network and each individual’s caliber. The program will allow me to expand the network for iFly, accelerate my learning of the “known unknowns”, and, above all, further explore the “unknown unknowns” including my own blind spots.
Thanks for your continued support of iFly.vc!
Best,
Han Shen | Founding Partner
