Tag Archives: equity investment

Identify Specialty Before Looking for Investors

Posted on by
Holly Bradshaw Eakes

Holly Bradshaw Eakes, Principal, The Holly Company Business Consultants

The greatest challenge an entrepreneur may face is finding capital to launch a business, especially when the business idea is related to high-cost startup such as that found in the technology sector. For an entrepreneur with realistic plans for rapid business growth and the potential to scale to larger markets, trading partial ownership for capital may be the only option.

Venture capitalists currently fund about one out of every thousand startups. With the odds stacked against obtaining equity capital, an entrepreneur must identify the investors most likely to invest in his business. Determining which source to pursue depends largely on industry focus, business stage and the amount of money needed. A handful of equity investors have offices in New Mexico and actively pursue investments in the state.

Continue reading →

Venture Capital: It’s More Than Money

Posted on by
Kim Sanchez Rael

Kim Sanchez Rael, General Partner, Flywheel Ventures (at time of writing)

Jim Collins, author of Built to Last and Good to Great, and an old friend of mine, has written that the critical questions in life are who-decisions, not what-decisions.  “The primary question is not what mountains to climb but who should be your climbing partner,” he writes.  As professional investors, our evaluation of each potential investment opportunity emphasizes the entrepreneurial team more than market strategy, technology or financial projections. When evaluating the pros and cons of bringing on an investor as a partner in your business, your considerations should be similarly weighted toward who-decisions.  Professional investors should provide assistance and value in many areas beyond financial resources.  Here are some key areas to consider when selecting an investment partner:

Continue reading →

Entrepreneurs Beware the Valley of Death

Posted on by
Richard T. Meyer

Richard T. Meyer, SCORE

Business owners know it takes money to make money; production expenses must be paid before products are sold and revenue is received. Entrepreneurs with a business idea have an even greater need for up-front cash. They must have enough capital to cover negative cash flow in the early months or years of new business creation and growth. Without adequate initial investment, they risk falling into the so-called valley of death – the deep and wide gulf that separates a company’s need for capital and investors’ willingness to supply it.

Also known as the grand canyon of capital need vs. availability, the valley can be shallow or deep depending on the amount of money needed to develop the idea or product. Continue reading →

Consider Strategy Before Seeking Equity

Posted on by
Tom Stephenson

Tom Stephenson, Managing General Partner, Verge Fund

Once an entrepreneur decides that equity capital is the best way to finance his business, the next questions are how much and when should it be raised? One approach is to determine from the business plan how much cash shortfall is projected early on and raise that amount. But raising money in multiple rounds is often a better choice, allowing the entrepreneur to retain a greater portion of ownership.

If a business plan calls for $3 million in total financing to achieve profitability in three years, a startup raising that money all at once will give up a large portion of the company — perhaps as much as 75 percent. New companies are high risk; if investors put in less at the beginning, they will be willing to bet more money on a promising venture later, taking fewer subsequent shares of the business in the process. Continue reading →

Businesses, Like Life, Have Stages

Posted on by
Paul Goblet

Paul F. Goblet, Financial Advisor, NM SBIC

Few businesses follow a predictable path and timeline from one stage of life to the next. Some linger for a long time as startups, while others dash directly from startup to rapid growth. Knowing the life cycle of a typical business can help an entrepreneur know where to find capital to reach the next stage.

The seed or startup stage starts with an idea or a prototype for a product or service. At this stage, entrepreneurs either tap friends, family members or other personal contacts for funds, or they seek angel investors, SBIR grants, micro loans or very early stage venture capital.

When a company is preparing its product or service for a market launch, it’s in the early stage of life. Continue reading →

Investors Bring Benefits Beyond Capital

Posted on by

 

Les Mathews

Les Mathews, Mesa Capital Partners

Business owners who obtain outside equity – whether from family, friends or institutional investors – quickly learn money has strings attached.

Most outside equity providers want to get repaid over a reasonable period of time and at a very good rate of return. In exchange for providing capital, they obtain a piece of the company, thereby becoming business partners.

Continue reading →

Looking for Equity? Seek the Right Specialist

Posted on by
Tom Stephenson

Tom Stephenson, Managing General Partner, Verge Fund

Specialization is common within the equity investment world, with investors generally focused on specific stages of business development. A “seed” stage investor, for example, has a different specialty than a firm that provides expansion capital.

An entrepreneur who knows the terms used to describe development-related types of equity financing is more likely to seek the investor right for her venture and increase the chance of obtaining funds.

Most investor specialization terms fall close to the following:

Seed-stage venture capital refers to investments made in firms with products under development or recently introduced to the market. Continue reading →

Loans for Legacy, Equity for Growth

Posted on by
Tom Stephenson

Tom Stephenson, Managing General Partner, Verge Fund

Anyone looking for a business investor must examine their personal goals before looking for funding – different reasons for starting a business mean different ways of finding money.

Venture capitalists classify entrepreneurial businesses into two groups: growth businesses and lifestyle, or legacy, businesses. Only growth businesses will be attractive to venture-capital firms.

Lifestyle businesses are those started by people who want to have control over what they do and how they spend their time. These businesses tend to be focused on a local market, and entrepreneurs expect to own and run the business indefinitely. Continue reading →

Private-Equity Investors See Promise in Young NM Ventures

Posted on by

 

Stephanie Spong

Stephanie Spong, Principal, Epic Ventures

Entrepreneurs looking for additional funding to launch or build a business have numerous options in New Mexico. Those with experience, skills and passion can choose from a number of potential sources of private-equity capital, whether they are “angel” or institutional equity investors. Determining which source to pursue depends largely on industry focus, business stage and the amount of money needed.

Continue reading →

Equity Funding: Milestones That Matter in the Life of Your Businesses

Posted on by

Creating a road map with meaningful milestones for the development of your business will help you determine how much equity capital to raise and when to raise it in such a way that you maximize ownership of your company over time.

Many entrepreneurs who decide to share ownership in their companies in exchange for capital investment identify goals that substantially increase the value of their business when reached, and they schedule financing rounds to follow these achievements.

If your product requires pre-approval from a federal agency such as the Food and Drug Administration or United States Department of Agriculture, for example, clearing this hurdle represents a success that makes your business more valuable and attractive to investors. If you raise just enough money to accomplish this goal and carry you through another three months — until you can complete your next round of fundraising and deal with unexpected costs — you can increase the amount of equity that you and your earliest investors maintain in the company.

Reaching these milestones also means you’ve reduced the risk for investors and greatly improves your chances of finding new partners and greater amounts of capital.
Continue reading →