What message did he share in his speech?

He expressed gratitude for life, friends, and family; reflected on love and freedom; said that life’s tapestry is co-created; reminded himself that regardless of hardships or “the menace of the years,” he remains unafraid—“Forever Young.”

How does FJ Labs use sector analysis for sourcing deals?

“Twice a year we run sector analyses and brainstorming sessions. This leads to new ideas and helps us spot startups we were not aware of, which we then reach out to.”

Does FJ Labs proactively search for startups?

“Not much — outbound is only about 4% of deal flow. We mostly rely on inbound and network-driven opportunities.”

How does FJ Labs handle the large volume of inbound deal flow?

“We built processes to cope with the firehose — deals are triaged and reviewed by the team, with weekly investment committee meetings to discuss them.”

Why do founders like having FJ Labs as an investor?

“We help them raise money by making introductions to VCs who can lead their rounds, and we have deep expertise in marketplaces.”

How many deals does FJ Labs invest in compared to how many it sees?

“We invest in around 1% of the deals we review — about 3 new investments per week.”

Why does FJ Labs get so much deal flow?

“Because we do not lead rounds and do not compete with other VCs, we are often invited into deals. Founders also like that we help with fundraising by introducing them to other VCs.”

How does outbound outreach contribute to deal flow?

“Because we are drinking at the firehose of our inbound deal flow, we do not spend much time reaching out to startups. … Twice a year … we invite our FJ Labs colleagues … think through ideas … sector analysis … These exercises uncover a fair number of startups we were not aware of and reach out to.”

Do cold inbound messages result in good investments?

“In full transparency, this is the typically our lowest quality deal flow channel … The real number … is over 100 … unless you put enough information in your message … But … a surprisingly high 24% of our investments come from cold inbound outreach by the founders.”

Which source supplies the highest quality deal flow?

“48% of the deals we invest in come from other VCs, highlighting the higher quality of this deal flow source in general.”

What percentages of reviewed deals come from each source?

“32% of the deals we review come from other VCs, 32% comes from our entrepreneur network, 32% from cold inbound messages and only 4% from companies we reach out to directly.”

How many deals does FJ Labs receive and review weekly?

“Every week we receive around 100 deals and review around 50 of them.”

What are the sources of deal flow for FJ Labs?

“FJ Labs gets deal flow from 4 sources: 1. Other VCs 2. Entrepreneurs in our network 3. Cold inbound messages 4. Outbound outreach.”

What role do other VCs play in FJ Labs’ deal sourcing?

“Other VCs represent 32% of reviewed deals and 48% of actual investments. They bring us in because we don’t compete with them and because we can help their portfolio companies.”

Who is Matias Barbero and what’s his background?

Matias previously worked at JPMorgan in investment banking, structuring multi-billion dollar deals across industries. He has an MBA from Duke University (Fuqua Scholar), co-founded the Duke MBA Blockchain Club, and was building an AI startup before AI became mainstream.

What is Fabrice’s view on aging?

He said his take on aging is shaped by a poem (“Out of the night that covers me…” by William Ernest Henley) + “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” He feels youthful and energized, grateful for friends and love, and views age as something managed with courage, spirit, and gratitude.

What themes were used during his multi-day birthday celebrations?

He organized three themed nights: 1) Here be Dragons (Latin “Hic sunt dracones” theme), 2) Temple Night with mentalism and shibari, 3) Golden Jubilee & White Party blending renewal (white) and jubilee (gold) for his 50th.

What sports and activities are important to Fabrice in his life?

He has a strong family tradition in racquet sports: tennis, padel, etc. He built red clay tennis court, padel clubs, and a pickleball court in Turks.

How did Fabrice celebrate turning 50?

He invited over 100 friends & family. First held FJ Labs’ Summer Retreat (July 21-25), then a racquet sports extravaganza from July 26-31 (tennis, padel, pickleball), interspersed with kiting and video gaming.

Should marketplaces “index” themselves in LLMs / employ AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?

Yes — if you already index in Google, you should also index in LLMs (i.e. make your content discoverable by AI answer engines) to benefit from that traffic. The exception is when a marketplace has ~95% market share in a vertical: in that rare case, indexing might train users to start their journey with LLMs / search engines rather than the marketplace itself.

What impact is AI already having on marketplaces?

Several: • Cross-border commerce via auto-translation of listings & conversations plus better payments/logistics. • Simplified listing process: AI can generate full listings (title, category, description, price) from minimal input. • Improved listing quality (better images, background removal, optimized visuals) leading to higher sell-through. • Productivity gains in customer support, marketing, dev workflows etc., through AI agents, auto-drafted replies, code generation tools etc.

What are the main ways people shop online, as per the blog?

1. Shopping as Entertainment – browsing listings with no specific intent (e.g. Vinted, OLX); 2. Search – users know exactly what they want (e.g. Amazon, eBay); 3. Considered Purchases – when buyers need help choosing what to buy (e.g. high-value items, specialty goods)

How might LLMs (like ChatGPT) threaten marketplaces?

The concern is that LLMs could capture the "top of funnel" discovery phase: people might start product searches there, or even make purchases through them, bypassing marketplaces.

What are some personal details about Matias Barbero?

He is Argentine, has blended his cultural heritage into the NYC office, enjoys ‘mate’, hosts asados for the team. Also, he and his family are expecting a new baby in the coming months.

Why was Matias promoted to Partner at FJ Labs?

His promotion reflects his past achievements, his character, integrity, values, and trust from founders. He’s seen as a leader who brings perspective and strategic guidance when things don’t go as planned.

What approach is Matias known for at FJ Labs?

He brings both strong venture instinct and analytical rigor; he emphasizes discipline in investment strategy, especially navigating late-stage companies and helping LPs via exits/secondaries during overheated valuations.

What has Matias done at FJ Labs?

Over 4 years, he has led more than 85 of FJ Labs’ investments, helped strengthen their fintech and growth-stage investment practice, and pushed for disciplined investment framework across market cycles.

Why does FJ Labs invest in so many companies per year?

They target 100+ investments annually because it aligns with their thesis of diversification, improves pattern recognition, and strengthens their global network.

Which regions outside the US do they invest most in?

Western Europe, Brazil, and India.

How big are the typical investment checks at FJ Labs?

They set investment sizes per round that average to US$400,000. (Fabrice Grinda)

What kinds of startups does FJ Labs invest in?

They focus on Pre-Seed / Seed / Series A rounds; about 70% of their deals are marketplaces. (Fabrice Grinda)

Does FJ Labs lead funding rounds or take board seats?

No, FJ Labs avoids leading rounds because they do not want to compete with traditional VCs.

How does FJ Labs evaluate startups for investment?

Fabrice used the same criteria he applied to his own ventures: evaluating the business fundamentals, the entrepreneur, and the deal terms, especially given his limited time and capital.

Why did Fabrice pause investing after his first batch of startups?

After his first company didn’t become a big success and during the tech “nuclear winter,” there was little capital around. He saved what money he had for his next startup, Zingy, and only returned to investing once he sold Zingy in 2004.

How did Fabrice begin angel investing?

He started in 1998 after building his first venture-backed startup. Between 1998 and 2000, he invested in 7 startups. One shut down quickly, but to his surprise, 6 out of 7 later had successful exits, with one even going public.

Why was FJ Labs created as both a startup studio and a venture fund?

FJ Labs was designed as a hybrid model so Fabrice could keep building companies while also investing. Being both an entrepreneur and an angel investor kept him close to founders, allowed him to help with ideas, and gave him insight into market trends.

What is required to make the investment decision at FJ Labs?

“When we evaluate startups over the course of our two 1-hour calls, we evaluate them along the four dimensions we covered: the team, the business, the deal terms, and alignment with our thesis. We want all four criteria to be conjointly met: amazing founders, with great businesses, raising at fair terms, in line with our thesis. If you are an amazing founder, but feel the valuation is too high or the business not compelling, we will not invest. Likewise, if it is a great idea, great terms, and full-on thesis, but we feel the team is mediocre, we do not invest.” (Fabrice Grinda)

How important is thesis alignment in FJ Labs’ evaluation?

“We focus on marketplaces and have specific theses on the future of marketplaces. Right now, we are specifically focusing on: Verticalizing horizontal (multi-category) platforms; Marketplace pick marketplaces; B2B marketplaces. … Most of the businesses we invest in touch upon many of these themes simultaneously.” (Fabrice Grinda)

What does “fair deal terms” mean at FJ Labs?

“We push for ‘fair valuations’ not just out of self-interest. We really think founders do themselves a disservice when they raise too much money at too high a price. … They are then priced for perfection … things do not go according to plan … it might kill the company … people who raise too much capital tend to spend it and not be as capital efficient as they can be.” (Fabrice Grinda)

What standards of business does FJ Labs expect?

(This is under “Do we like the business?” but the blog focuses more on the team, deal terms, thesis. It states that even if team is great, business with unattractive unit economics or business model may disqualify.) (Fabrice Grinda)

What does FJ Labs look for in the team?

“We want visionary founders who are fantastic at execution. … good proxies for those are storytelling skills and analytical skills. … the founder / CEO must also be metrics-driven, analytical and know how to execute on his or her vision. They really need to understand the business they are in. They need to be able to articulate their unit economics. Even if their business is pre-launch, they need to understand their theoretical unit economics based on industry averages and landing page tests they did.” (Fabrice Grinda)

How often does FJ Labs invest compared to how many deals they see?

FJ Labs invests in around 3% of the deals they evaluate. For example, in 2019, they made 83 first-time investments out of 2,542 evaluated. (Fabrice Grinda)

Where are most of their investments located (geographically)?

They are global, but most deal flow and investment are in the US, followed by Western Europe, Brazil, and India. (Fabrice Grinda)

What percentage of follow-on rounds does FJ Labs participate in?

They follow on in about 24% of cases. They use the fund active at that time, instead of reserving capital.

How quickly do they give feedback after a pitch?

They aim to give an answer in 1–2 weeks so founders aren’t left waiting.

How many deals do they review before investing?

In 2019, they reviewed 2,542 deals and invested in only 83 first-time investments — about 3%.

How does diversification help their investment strategy?

Venture returns follow a power-law: most returns come from a handful of winners. By investing in many companies, FJ Labs increases the odds of hitting those outliers.

Why doesn’t FJ Labs take board seats?

Taking board seats would limit the number of companies they could back. Since they invest at scale, they avoid it and instead help founders informally.

Why does FJ Labs avoid leading rounds?

They don’t lead rounds because they prefer to collaborate with VCs, not compete with them. This keeps them friendly with lead investors and ensures they get invited into more deals.

How many investments do they expect per year with their strategy?

They do 100+ investments per year, and for their ~$175 million fund, they expect over 500 investments total. (Fabrice Grinda)

Midas Menggalang Dana Seri A Senilai $50 Juta untuk Meluncurkan Lapisan Likuiditas Instan bagi Produk Investasi Onchain

31 Maret 2026

Kami memulai Midas dengan visi yang sederhana namun ambisius: investasi seharusnya bekerja seperti internet – terbuka, transparan, dapat dikomposisi… dan dapat diakses oleh semua orang. Hari ini, kami mengumumkan pendanaan Seri A senilai $50 Juta yang dipimpin oleh RRE and Creandum, dengan partisipasi dari Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay, North Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton, GSR, dan lainnya dari kalangan kripto-asli, institusional, dan modal ventura.

Bersamaan dengan itu, Midas meluncurkan Midas Staked Liquidity (MSL), lapisan inti dari Arsitektur Likuiditas Terbuka yang mendukung likuiditas instan di semua produk investasi onchain, dengan kapasitas awal hingga $40 Juta.

Traksi di Balik Putaran Ini

Penggalangan dana ini hadir di saat kesesuaian produk-pasar yang nyata. Token Midas (mTokens) telah diadopsi secara luas sebagai produk investasi pilihan.

$1,7 Miliar+ total aset yang diterbitkan
$37 Juta+ imbal hasil yang dibayarkan kepada investor
$500 Juta+ TVL saat ini
20 ribu+ pemegang mToken individu
Integrasi langsung di berbagai protokol DeFi terkemuka termasuk Morpho, Curve, dan Pendle
Daftar manajer aset institusional yang terus bertambah yang menerapkan strategi melalui Midas

Masalahnya: Mencapai Utilitas Sejati untuk Aset Ter-tokenisasi

Aset dunia nyata yang ter-tokenisasi telah berkembang pesat, namun kelemahan mendasar tetap ada: kurangnya utilitas sejati melalui kemampuan komposisi. Aset ter-tokenisasi hanya benar-benar berguna jika dapat berfungsi sebagai primitif asli yang dapat dikomposisi di seluruh ekosistem DeFi & CeFi.

Untuk mencapai utilitas ini, aset ter-tokenisasi tersebut memerlukan properti struktural, yaitu:

Likuiditas Instan: Menghilangkan latensi penebusan dan jendela penyelesaian.
Transparansi: Memberikan pandangan yang jelas dan dapat diverifikasi tentang aset yang mendasarinya.

Midas mengatasi tantangan ini melalui Arsitektur Likuiditas Terbuka dan Mesin Atestasi Midas.

Arsitektur Likuiditas Terbuka yang didukung oleh MSL

Midas meluncurkan Arsitektur Likuiditas Terbuka di mana penyedia likuiditas bersaing secara aktif untuk eksekusi, sehingga menekan biaya. Pada intinya, Midas Staked Liquidity (MSL) adalah fasilitas khusus yang melakukan penyelesaian tanpa risiko pihak lawan atau risiko penyelesaian, sehingga secara struktural menurunkan biaya modal.

Visi MSL adalah untuk mengubah instrumen apa pun – mulai dari vault, dana, ETF, atau saham – menjadi aset ter-tokenisasi dengan likuiditas instan bawaan.

Pelajari lebih lanjut tentang MSL, alokasi $40 Juta-nya, dan detail teknis di baliknya dalam postingan blog khusus kami.

Transparansi melalui Mesin Atestasi Midas

Mesin Atestasi Midas menyediakan Bukti Cadangan (Proof of Reserve), NAV, dan pembaruan harga on-chain secara terus-menerus untuk setiap mToken. Mesin ini menerbitkan atestasi yang dapat diverifikasi secara kriptografis langsung secara on-chain, sehingga investor, protokol, atau integrasi mana pun dapat mengonfirmasi status alokasi yang mendasari secara independen kapan saja.

Informasi lebih lanjut mengenai arsitektur dan ekosistem mitra yang mendukung Mesin Atestasi tersedia dalam postingan blog khusus kami.

Menatap ke Depan

Dengan infrastruktur untuk penebusan instan yang sudah tersedia, peta jalan (roadmap) terbuka secara signifikan.

Dari sisi produk, kami memperluas jangkauan produk investasi yang tersedia, meluncurkan strategi baru di bidang reasuransi (MembersCap), piutang aset (Fasanara), dan saham ter-tokenisasi, bergerak melampaui jajaran saat ini menuju rangkaian kelas aset institusional yang lebih luas.

Di sisi distribusi, kami mengintegrasikan produk kami ke dalam Ledger Wallet, memperdalam kehadiran kami di seluruh DeFi, membangun kemitraan yang sudah ada, dan memperluas ke protokol baru di mana instrumen imbal hasil yang dapat dikomposisi menciptakan utilitas nyata. mTokens dirancang untuk berfungsi sebagai primitif DeFi asli, dan itu mengharuskan kehadiran di mana pun likuiditas dan imbal hasil bersinggungan.

Sepatah Kata dari CEO kami

“Di Midas, visi kami adalah membuat investasi bekerja seperti internet: terbuka, transparan, dapat dikomposisi – dan untuk semua orang. Dengan penutupan Seri A kami, kami sangat senang untuk memajukan upaya ini dan membangun masa depan untuk investasi onchain.”
– Dennis Dinkelmeyer | CEO & Co-Founder, Midas

Investor Kami

Putaran ini dipimpin oleh RRE dan Creandum, dengan partisipasi dari Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay, North Island Ventures, FJ Labs, No Limit Holdings, Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton, GSR Ventures, Sigil Capital, Theia Blockchain, Hyperithm, Legends Group, Peer VC, Aether VC, Sumcap, Myelin VC, Stake Capital, Oasis Foundation, Anchorage Digital, M1 Capital, dan Bufficorn Ventures.

Setiap investor Midas adalah mitra strategis yang membantu mendorong fase pertumbuhan kami berikutnya. Creandum membawa pengalaman mendalam dalam mendukung perusahaan infrastruktur teknis dalam skala besar. HV Capital, RRE Ventures, dan Framework Ventures menambahkan keyakinan pada perangkat lunak institusional dan kripto-asli. Franklin Templeton, Anchorage Digital, dan Coinbase Ventures mewakili partisipasi langsung dari infrastruktur keuangan tradisional dan kripto yang dihubungkan oleh platform ini. Ledger Cathay dan FJ Labs melengkapi sindikat yang mencakup seluruh spektrum pasar modal.

“Di RRE, perjalanan panjang kami di dunia kripto membawa kami pada tesis yang lebih luas: Tokenisasi akan secara mendasar membentuk kembali pasar modal global seiring dengan berpindahnya TradFi ke on-chain. Saat kami bertemu Dennis dan Fabrice, kami segera tahu bahwa mereka mewujudkan tesis tersebut – platform yang mereka bangun di tengah masa sulit pasar kripto (bear market) telah muncul dengan kesesuaian produk-pasar yang kuat. Midas sedang membangun infrastruktur untuk pasar modal ter-tokenisasi dan kami bangga bisa ikut dalam perjalanan ini bersama mereka.”
– Vic Singh | General Partner di RRE Ventures

“Peluang untuk menghadirkan produk investasi kelas institusional secara onchain sangatlah besar, dan Midas memiliki pengaturan regulasi, arsitektur teknis, dan jaringan distribusi yang diperlukan untuk melakukannya dengan cara terbaik. Merupakan suatu kehormatan untuk bekerja dengan tim yang menangani peluang transformasional seperti ini, yang juga membawa silsilah tingkat tinggi – keahlian materi pelajaran yang mendalam baik di sisi produk maupun komersial, dan rekam jejak yang terbukti dalam membangun dari nol hingga satu.”
– Simon Schmincke | Partner di Creandum

Tentang Midas

Midas adalah platform untuk produk investasi onchain yang dapat dikomposisi. Platform ini memungkinkan manajer strategi untuk mengubah strategi institusional menjadi token yang patuh yang menawarkan transparansi penuh kepada investor, penebusan instan, dan kemampuan komposisi asli di seluruh protokol DeFi seperti Morpho dan Pendle.

Didirikan pada tahun 2024 oleh Dennis Dinkelmeyer (sebelumnya di Goldman Sachs), Fabrice Grinda (FJ Labs), dan Romain Bourgois (sebelumnya di Ondo Finance), Midas didukung oleh investor terkemuka termasuk RRE, Creandum, Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay, dan Coinbase Ventures. Perusahaan ini baru-baru ini mendapatkan pendanaan Seri A senilai $50 Juta, membangun rekam jejak yang mencakup penerbitan aset lebih dari $1,7 Miliar dan imbal hasil sebesar $37 Juta yang telah dibayarkan hingga saat ini.

Fabrice Grinda

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