LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DAISI Inc., an ecommerce platform company and parent of TheDrop.com, has opened a Convertible SAFE Note specifically for athlete-investors before its anticipated Series B round of financing. With an expected Series B raise in the $40-50 million range, this unique opportunity encourages athletes to make a technology investment early in their careers. Only $1.5 million will be accepted on the incentivized terms of the SAFE note.
DAISI Inc. is currently in discussions with several pro athlete investors, many of whom are NFL, NBA and NHL players currently playing and/or residing in the company’s hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada.
DAISI Inc.’s flagship marketplace, TheDrop.com, offers the largest selection of streetwear, sneakers and skateboarding brands online today. With over 800 brands and 237k+ skus currently available on the marketplace, TheDrop.com adds multiple new brands and shops every week. TheDrop.com marketplace has evolved into a global destination and is the first choice of brands and retailers looking to streamline their Direct-to-Consumer strategies across international markets. DAISI Inc.’s leadership hails from companies including Nike, Backcountry.com, and Adobe.
The convertible SAFE note offering provides athletes the opportunity to invest in DAISI at a much lower minimum investment than through the planned Series B. DAISI also will offer influencer marketing opportunities for most athlete-investors.
Jonathan Hankins, Defensive Tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders and an early investor in DAISI/TheDrop.com, served as an athlete-investor/influencer this past NFL season, wearing clothes from TheDrop.com during his weekly ‘walk-in’ into the stadium. “I am constantly thinking about when the game is over, and that has served me well with how I am approaching the different ways I invest,” said Hankins. “When you look at the athletes who are making the major money and creating real wealth, there’s still a big disparity. Essentially we’re CEOs of our own companies and we need to start owning, or taking stake in companies to own a piece of them.”
Jeff Staple, founder of the brand STAPLE, creator of the Nike ‘Pigeon Dunk’, and Advisor to the DAISI Inc. board of directors, shared his thoughts on the importance of athletes diversifying investments early in their careers. “If athletes are active on social media and they’re really into fashion and sneakers, then they should look at investing in companies like TheDrop.com [DAISI Inc]. They can also get a modest Influencer check while growing their equity at the same time. A double win. The standard influencer check is short-term, small money [in the grand scheme of things]. The return on their equity investment will dwarf the sum of the checks. Forget the short-term cash. The real wins are in the long-term equity play.”
DAISI Inc founder Matt Falcinelli explains why the company is opening this Note raise so close to its Series B. “In over four years of building the DAISI platform and TheDrop.com marketplace, I’ve spoken with many athletes and their financial advisors. Many athletes only see ‘investing’ as investing in real estate or the stock market. They ultimately miss out on hundreds of opportunities to participate in the equity of early stage tech companies that have incredible upside. There are too many stories of athletes going broke after their careers end. If I can help some of them make small, targeted investments in DAISI Inc. or other startups in my network and then orchestrate influencer marketing campaigns where they can leverage their influence to grow their actual wealth, then it’s ultimately a win-win for everyone. Our pre-Series-B status signifies reduced risk because we are past the initial start-up stage, have developed a solid business model, and have accomplished certain milestones. In opening this ‘Athlete Convertible Note’ we would like to serve as a case study for how athlete-investors can diversify their investments and follow the success of Shaq, Andre Iguodala, and others who are leading the way.”
The early-stage company highlights new “Services” revenue channels post-Series B similar to that of Farfetch’s marketplace platform services in the luxury market. With an eye on global scale, this has DAISI Inc and TheDrop.com bringing a unique value proposition to the entire $200+ billion Youth / Streetwear fashion market.
About TheDrop.com
DAISI Inc dba TheDrop.com is the first marketplace platform of its kind in the U.S. to aggregate and curate products which are targeted to the Millennial and Gen Z consumer. Through its proprietary platform, DAISI synchronizes 100’s of brands and retailers to TheDrop.com marketplace as well as serve as a platform from which Merchants may launch their own localized DTC sites in global markets. TheDrop is now the strongest source of real-time trend intelligence in a $200 billion Youth / Streetwear fashion market.
