Raise Capital On Your Own Terms

This book explains alternative capital raising strategies available to mission driven entrepreneurs and provides a six-step process for finding and enlisting investors.

Fund and Fuel Your Dreams! You're an entrepreneur with a great idea. But your business needs money. So, do you max out your credit cards, borrow from friends and family, and do everything yourself? Or do you make a devil's bargain with some venture capitalist who'll demand a tenfold return and could easily take your business out from under you? No and no! You don't have to bootstrap, and you don't have to sell out! Jenny Kassan says the landscape of investment capital is far larger and more diverse than most people realize. She illuminates the vast range of capital-raising strategies available to mission-driven entrepreneurs and provides a six-step process for finding and enlisting investors who are a match with your personal goals and aspirations. The plan you create will inspire you, excite you, and help you achieve your dreams!

A helpful resource that helps business professionals navigate the murky waters of capital formation--offering actionable strategies to overcome challenges at every phase of the growth cycle. Leveraging his years of experience as a strategic and legal entrepreneurial advisor, author Andrew Sherman provides useful advice for entrepreneurial leaders looking to grow their funds and expand their business. Raising Capital does this by providing the tools for building business plans, preparing loan proposals, drafting offering materials, and more. Entrepreneurial leaders in any industry will learn how to: identify their best sources of financing, treat their investors with respect and integrity, decipher legal documents, and gain the skills and patience to see their way successfully through the long haul of raising capital. Including updated checklists, charts, and sample forms, this book gives insights on the latest trends in the domestic and global capital markets, an overview of recent developments in federal and state securities laws, and strategies for borrowing money from commercial banks in today’s credit-tightened markets. Whether your business is a fledgling start-up, a rapid growth company, or a more established organization, Raising Capital will help you stay the course and take it to the next level.

Most small businesses cite lack of capital is a major constraint on growth. "Raising Capital" focuses on non-bank sources of capital since banks only lend to companies that fit a very narrow profile. The topics covered include: (i) capital sources entrepreneurs can tap when they are too small or unusual for banks, (ii) angel investors and venture capital, (iii) where to look for angels, venture capitalists and other capital sources, (iv) how to pitch your company and close the deal, (v) deal terms and issues that arise when negotiating a deal, (vi) going public through an IPO or little known small public offerings, (viii) asset based lenders, and (ix) other financing vehicles including: bond, commercial paper, PIPEs and securitization. The scope of the book ranges from capital for entrepreneurs who have little more than an idea, to capital for top rated companies.

Learn a detailed strategy to acquire, secure, and protect private money in your next real estate deal. Grow your real estate business and raise your game using other people's money!

This radical and rigorous rethinking of the traditional MBA program combines solid business principles with a commitment to environmental and social justice. Many current and aspiring entrepreneurs are looking for a solid business education that also deeply aligns with their progressive values. Based on a course field-tested with over 500 students, this book fills that gap. It covers traditional topics such as business strategy and structure, finance, marketing, recruiting, and branding from a socially just and environmentally regenerative perspective. And it also touches on topics such as strategies to reverse climate change, nonviolent communication, self-managing organizations, locally self-reliant economies, racial justice, and more. Traditional MBA programs are based on outdated principles that were developed during the Industrial Revolution-and they can be hugely expensive. Sustainable MBA programs, while laudable, are too incremental to make a sufficient impact. The Next Economy MBA is for entrepreneurs seeking to make business an active force for good. It draws on the authors' experience of working with over 300 social enterprises, from small organizations like Winona's Hemp and Heritage Farm to household names like Ben & Jerry's and Patagonia. Our current economy, what the authors call the Business as Usual Economy, has created a massive wealth gap, a climate crisis, racial division, and needless housing, food, and healthcare shortages. This book shows how businesses can pave the way to a Next Economy that meets the basic needs of all people and restores and protects the planetary ecosystem.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I: Choose Your Limitations -- Chapter One: What Is a Tiny Business? -- Chapter Two: Work with What You've Got and Make It Work -- Part II: Let Your "Why" Speak -- Chapter Three: Taking Tiny Steps -- Chapter Four: Listen to Your Tiny Voice -- Part III: Practice Your "How"--Chapter Five: Be Ready for Takeoff -- Chapter Six: Tiny Business Is Lean Business -- Part IV: Breathe-and Thrive -- Chapter Seven: Walk to Work (Even If You Work from Home) -- Chapter Eight: Share Your Tiny Story -- Notes -- Resources -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Acknowledgments -- About the Author

“As so many Americans feel powerless to confront a financial system designed to serve the few, Shuman offers us real choices: tools that align our lives with our values. That's power. I love this highly readable, timely, surprising book.” —Frances Moore Lappé, author of Daring Democracy and Diet for a Small Planet Americans agree on very little these days, but red state conservatives and blue state progressives can agree on one critical point: Wall Street can no longer be trusted. Yet most of us continue to invest our money in the stocks and bonds of Fortune 500 companies, transferring our capital far from where we live and work. Local investing expert Michael Shuman offers another alternative. He shows how we can use two well-established—but rarely used—investment tools to keep our money close and get a return as good as or better than what we'd get investing in distant, indifferent corporations. Shuman explains the nuts and bolts of self-directed IRAs and solo 401(k)s and how they can be combined with other recently legalized local investing tools. He details how to set these accounts up, identify and evaluate a whole range of local investment opportunities, and make sure account holders stay on the right side of the law. While the book is written for people without a lot of investment experience—Shuman explains concepts like “liquidity” and “diversification” in simple terms—even if you're as experienced as Warren Buffett, this book will make you rethink everything you know about investing. With Shuman's expert advice, you can strengthen your investment portfolio and your community, neighborhoods, and schools at the same time!