This week’s episode of Funding & Disrupting presented by Oura Collective welcomes Josh Chapman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Konvoy Ventures. Konvoy is one of its kind of venture capital firms. Having diverse experience in many fields and being an avid video-game lover, Josh talks out his heart in the interview.
Keith interviews Josh to learn more about his ideas and working styles. In the next exciting session, Josh talks about the latest gaming technologies.
How Konvoy Ventures Evolved?
The interview begins at a light note where Keith tries to learn more about Josh’s career. Having worked in sales & trading at Morgan Stanley for a long time, Josh transitioned to venture capitalism at a very young age.
When asked about it, Josh Chapman shares how his previous work experience helped him enter the equity world. He credits his job to make him familiar with international markets, domestic markets, liquidity, and how venture capitalism works.
Keith asks Josh about the idea behind Konvoy Ventures and how it evolved. Josh shares his inclination towards private equity and venture capitalism. He also tells how he saw an opportunity in venture capitalism while working at Morgan Stanley in the video gaming industry. Josh and his brother analyzed how a couple of firms were involved in the industry. They saw a great opportunity for the interactive media market.
Josh Chapman also shares that he found a gap in the market that he thought he could fill. Being a video game lover himself, a VC firm about gaming sounded like his own thing. So, after three years of rigorous groundwork and hard work, Konvoy Ventures finally took off in 2019, when they launched round one funding.
Why Konvoy is All About Gaming?
What makes Konvoy Ventures unique is the marketplace it serves. Keith curiously asks Josh what made him choose the gaming industry in specific. To this question, Josh recalls his younger days. He shares how he spent his youth in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He fondly tells how he loved gaming since childhood and played at local stations, in his house, and in internet cafes.
Josh Chapman, his brother, and their other friend's love for video games make them a perfect team. This passion for gaming brought these three together to start a VC firm in the industry they love. Talking about the working style, Josh calls themselves an early-stage VC firm focussed on investing in gaming. Konvoy hunts down tech platform infrastructures and blockchain gaming groups.
In the past 5 years, Konvoy had added a billion gamers and helped generate hefty revenues. Josh calls gaming the future of the entertainment industry. He also shares how their team is actively hiring and growing. From $1-3 Million cheques to $12 Million cheques, Konvoy Ventures continues to expand. With investments in many parts around the globe, the company has no geographical limits when it comes to the right opportunities.
Genopets: Next-Gen Gaming Platform
In the interview, Keith talks in detail about the latest investment by Konvoy in Genopets. An NFT gaming platform, Genopets rewards you for exercising your mind and body. The Move-To-Earn game turns your real-life movements into crypto tokens to use in battles, upgrading your Genopets, and crafting valuable items.
When Keith asks Josh what Josh liked about the project, Josh tells how this could be bigger than the Pokémon-Go game. He adds how Genopets intersects two categories of people. First, the people who invest and use crypto. Second, people who exercise daily and those concerned about their health. The stunning part is that 11 million people come under this category. Josh believes such a gaming concept has never been done before.
Josh Chapman also talks about the NFT aspects of Genopets and the convenience it brings. He talks about NFT benefits like providing traceability and instant settlements. When asked about the first interaction with the founders, Josh shares how Konvoy loved the founding team. He candidly tells how the founders pitched their vision and felt every word they said. He expresses how the founders believed in their mission, and that’s all Konvoy was looking for.
Evaluation Process Checklist
Taking deep insights, Keith asks Josh to share the evaluation process Konvoy follows before investing. Josh happily shares his checklist for finding the perfect team to invest in. He tells Konvoy looks for:
- An amazing team.
- The size of the marketplace.
- The founder’s product, vision, and preparedness.
- Lastly, the structure for money.
Other than this, Josh Chapman and his team use their experience and knowledge to make social interactions. They ask many questions and look for real-time plans and confidence.
If your start-up has all these features, you know who can help you with funding!
Advises for Founders & Investors
Josh shares his knowledge and experience to help people succeed. When talking about the technology industry, he advises people to plan 24 months ahead of time. He shares how 2-year planning gives you enough time to learn, survive, and upgrade.
Josh Chapman also asks founders to self-fund their ideas. He believes personal sacrifice makes you work harder and smarter. A lot or a little personal investment yields good results in the future. Moreover, business timelines and alignment with other team members will help investors succeed.
Konvoy Story Notes
- Early work-life of Josh Chapman
- Transition to venture capitalism
- Evolution of Konvoy Ventures
- Everything about gaming
- Genopets blockchain NFT gaming platform
- Types of NFTs
- The investment strategy of Konvoy Ventures
- Advice in developing technology platforms