Tag Archives: investment terms

Evergreen venture fund structure offers new strategy

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

“VC Bargain”: Capital in Exchange for the ‘Duty to Sell Company’

A post this summer from Jason Mendelson of the Foundry Group really caught my eye.  It is about the explicit “VC Bargain” that an entrepreneur makes when taking an investment from a venture capital firm.  Basically, the VC fund will need the founders to commit… Continue reading

Financial Audit Helpful for Financing, Funding, and Selling Your Business

My first financial audit was intimidating.  My company, Student Advantage, was preparing for its IPO in 1999 and the audit firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, needed to audit all of the material entities that had merged with Student Advantage during the prior few years.  My little start-up company,… Continue reading

You Are What You Eat (or Where You Get Your Investment)

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are,” said French lawyer and epicure Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.  Similarly, tell me where you got the investment for your business and I will tell you what is in store for your business. Each… Continue reading

Optimal Owner for a School — Not Private Equity or Wall Street

The School Business Finding a perfect match between a business and an owner is not easy.  This hit home to me last week at a gathering for private post-secondary schools in California where I heard an owner of a private, post-secondary school describe an epiphany… Continue reading

Buying a Business: Raise Money for the Search or Not?

Search Funds Last week I had a nice conversation with a mid-career person looking to buy a business.  He was contemplating using the “search fund” model to find and buy a business.  As a brief background, a search fund is a model where an entrepreneur… Continue reading

Asset Sale Versus Stock Sale (Purchase & Sale Agreements – a series)

Asset Sale = LLC and S Corporation If you are a business owner considering the sale of your business, please put yourself in a position for an asset sale rather than a stock sale by holding your business in a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or… Continue reading

Mezzanine Financing – A Guide for Business Owners

Mezzanine financing is a type of debt financing that sits between bank loan financing and equity financing in a company’s capital structure.  This post is meant to be a general overview of mezzanine.   I recommend that all business owners should know about this financing option… Continue reading

Company Founder Regrets Sale to Traditional Private Equity

Be careful to whom you sell your company, said the founder of Jimmy Choo footwear, Tamara Mellon.  In the Financial Times, Mellon was quoted, “What happens in private equity is they come in and they say we’re going to be a great partner.  We want… Continue reading

Facebook Governance and ISS — I Support Zuckerberg

For each unique company and unique situation, I believe they should utilize business structures, financing strategies, and all other tools that help them keep their company unique.  For this reason, I cheer on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook for their ability to utilize unique investment terms… Continue reading