🌟 The Bulletin #46: From Disney Star to Startup Founder, Peter Thiel's Olympics on Steroids, and Wish.com's 99% Valuation Plunge
This week's bulletin covers Disney star Bridget Mendler's journey into space entrepreneurship, Peter Thiel's 'Olympics on Steroids', and the 99% valuation drop of Wish.com.
🎤 From Famous to Founder
What are the odds of a Disney child star becoming CEO of an a16z and Founders Fund-backed space startup? Apparently not 0! 🚀
Bridget Mendler, known for her roles in Disney Channel’s “Good Luck Charlie” and “Lemonade Mouth” recently announced on X that she is venturing into the space industry. Mendler, along with her husband, is establishing Northwood Space with the aim of mass-producing ground stations and antennas that enhance satellite connectivity for space companies, aspiring to be a data highway between Earth and space. 🛰️ Mendler expresses that “Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite.”
Hailing from what she describes as an “engineering household” and boasting an MD and PhD from MIT, Mendler is also pursuing a law degree at Harvard (while serving as the co-president of the Harvard Space Law Society). 🤓 Adding to her impressive resume is her role at the Federal Communications Commission’s new Space Bureau, where her interest in space law was piqued. Her background coupled with the impressive founding team, including two engineers from Lockheed Martin, makes the $6.3 million seed round led by Founders Fund not only warranted but emblematic of Mendler’s transition from Disney star to founder.
💊 Peter Thiel's Olympics on Steroids
Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal, Founders Fund, and the first outside investor in Facebook is now directing his attention to a groundbreaking venture – the Enhanced Games. This sports competition actively encourages participating athletes to use performance-enhancing substances, earning it the nickname "Olympics on steroids" on social media. Thiel has invested a substantial multi-million dollar amount into this initiative, driven by his belief that it's time to usher in a new era that openly celebrates scientific innovation and acknowledges the use of performance enhancements in sports today.💰
Scheduled for 2025, the game has surprisingly garnered support from decorated Olympians including Brett Fraser and Christina Smith, due to their mission to pay athletes a fair wage. All eligible athletes will be paid a base salary and compete for prize winnings which they claim will “larger than any comparable event in history”. The Enhanced Games’ website dives into the disparity between the amount of capital the IOC profits quadrennially and the low pay athletes receive.
While the concept of the Olympics on steroids sounds like the trope of a South Park episode, it raises serious questions about the ethics and safety of encouraging athletes to take performance-enhancing substances. 🏃 The potential health risks associated as well as the long-term consequences for athletes’ well-being come into focus. Critics also argue that promoting the use of performance-enhancing substances goes against the principles of fair competition and jeopardizes the integrity of sports.
🛒 Wishful Thinking: The Rise and Fall of Wish.com
Wish, the ultracheap online marketplace, valued at $14 billion during its IPO in 2020, recently announced it is undergoing acquisition by Singapore’s Qoo10 for $173 million in cash, marking an intense decrease of 99% from its peak valuation. 📉
Wish pioneered the direct sale of economical products from Chinese manufacturers to Western consumers, operating on a dropshipping model where most suppliers forego maintaining their own stock. Co-founder Peter Szulczewski bet that shoppers in the West would accept long wait times in exchange for bargain prices- and initially, his bet paid off. However, AliExpress, Shein, and Temu were able to perfect this approach and steal market share.
In the face of stiff competition from Temu, armed with a colossal $3 billion marketing budget for 2023 and an overwhelming presence on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook—complete with a Super Bowl ad urging viewers to "shop like a billionaire"—Wish found itself grappling to stay in the game. 🛍️
As Wish undergoes the acquisition by Qoo10, it will be interesting to see Qoo10’s strategy to revive and reshape Wish’s future amidst the ever-evolving and competitive e-commerce landscape.
That’s it for this week, feel free to email me at lara_gamaleldin@brown.edu with any inquiries!
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