Tag Archives: Investment Strategy

Wonderful Competitive Advantage Through A Unique Distribution Channel

October 9th, 2014

Sustainable competitive advantage — a goal which will be always sought and ever elusive in business.  It is difficult to define. Yet, we often know it when we see it. People attempt to draw-up lists in an effort to understand and remember the types of… Continue reading →

Warren Buffett’s Strategy, Selling Your Business, and Other Topics in Podcast Interview

September 28th, 2014

I was interviewed recently by a very good business broker, Jim Cumbee of the Tennessee Valley Group.  I have gotten to know Jim this year as we worked on a transaction and we had a fun discussion about several topics including: Lessons learned about selling… Continue reading →

Berkshire Hathaway: If You Love the Management, Set Them Free

April 20th, 2014

Private equity investors often take the “father knows best” approach to working with their management teams.  To me, this is crazy — particularly when the management team has years of experience with the business, the investors are new to the business, and the track record… Continue reading →

6 Pitfalls Between Letter of Intent and Closing the Deal

March 23rd, 2014

When selling your business, it is so much work to find the right buyer and to get to a letter of intent.  That may feel like the hard part.  It is not.  It is just as hard to manage everything that comes next and get… Continue reading →

Evergreen venture fund structure offers new strategy

February 27th, 2014

Heartening to read a blog at Axial about the Evergreen Venture Fund Structure that we use at my Greybull Stewardship:  http://www.axial.net/blog/evergreen-fund-structure/ Thanks to Billy Fink and his M&A blog, I’m excited to have the conversation about how the traditional fund protocols are changing with new… Continue reading →

Perfect Business Financing — Maybe No Outside Equity

February 20th, 2014

Many of the businesses that I end up working with in my investment fund, Greybull Stewardship, do not need outside equity capital — of the traditional sort.  They are growing and profitable and creating real value already. I learn about perfect business financing from them.… Continue reading →

Invest in Strength Rather Than Work on Weakness

February 18th, 2014

For your business, do you believe it is more important to spend more time on your challenges or your opportunities?  Similarly, do you believe that you should invest in your strengths or work on your weaknesses? The answer, of course, depends.  If the challenge in… Continue reading →

New $20 Million Investment Fund Looking for Profitable, Fast-growing Businesses

February 5th, 2014

Greybull Stewardship, L.P., an investment fund, completed in January 2014 its $20 million round two capital commitments. Since the fund’s January 2010 inception, annual returns have realized 23 percent after fees. As a result, existing Limited Partners (LPs) increased their commitments and new LPs were… Continue reading →

Align Your “Loss Ratio” Expectations with Your Investors

January 30th, 2014

In early stage venture capital, the best investors expect that 40% of their investments will become worthless.  Thus, they focus on companies that could be worth billions because the winners have to make up for all their losses.  They want every company to shoot for… Continue reading →

Investment Returns Are Not Greener by Changing Industries

January 26th, 2014

It is easier to earn outsized investment returns in some industries over others — I agree with that conventional wisdom.  As an investor or entrepreneur, it often pays off to think hard about which industries to enter.  If you have a choice, why not increase… Continue reading →