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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Personal Gifts & Funding a Business

The Types 5 of Personal Gifts
• Cash (direct to you, paid on your behalf, etc.)
• Discounts (letting you piggyback on a deal…)
• Freebies (free use of something or someone)
• Sweetheart Deals (overpayment, 1st choice…)
• Loan Forgiveness (from debt to gift)

Making Personal Gifts Work
• Gifts always cost time, usually cost aggravation, and sometimes even money
• Gifts work best when leveraged
• Most start‐ups depend on gifts, but don’t notice them
• Restate them as “in‐kind payments” to realize their value
• Get it in writing, e.g. a promissory note, see: www.inc.com/guides/2010/10/how‐to‐write‐a promissorynote.html

A possible source of grants for small businesses is the White House Faith-Based and Community Initiative funding that comes from federal agencies like HUD down through to churches and non-profits, to which you apply for a grant for your business. Do not be misled by the name, the program is for any for-profit or non-profit business that qualifies. You can view the program at http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/

Investment Styles

I have a variety of companies that ask me what certain terms mean as it relates to investment styles, thought this may help.

Business Angels
Accredited angel are worth more than $1M
– Professionals, wealthy families, more established
– Think your church, schools, network from work

Everyday angels are people like you
– Friends, family, people in your neighborhood who might be willing to take a chance

Lists of Angel Groups:
http://bit.ly/g7xOqW

Private Equity
The investment focus of a private equity fund is generally on a specific style of investing, largely determined by either the portfolio company’s stage of development or industry focus. A key feature is that investments involve equity ownership in a business, in contrast to loans.

Equity investors generally receive a seat on a company’s board of directors and are involved in management and strategic decision-making. Private equity investment funds can be classified into the following three styles:

Venture Capital
Venture capital invests in companies early in development, ranging from seed
investments designed to develop a concept, to funding complete development of a product, to late stage investing where expanding a firm’s customer base is the investment goal. Venture capital is frequently deployed in technology-oriented companies. This investment strategy carries the highest risk; early stage companies are subject to numerous risk factors, including financial, market, operational, and technology. Venture capital investing can also provide spectacular returns.

Buyout/Corporate Finance
Investments in existing operating businesses make up a large portion of the private equity investment universe. These investments may include helping new owners finance the acquisition of a business (generally as a result of a sale by a corporate parent or a generational change in the ownership of a family business); finance expansion for an existing business, allowing it, for example, to acquire smaller competitors; or to recapitalize a business to provide it greater flexibility to operate. Buyout and growth equity investments frequently involve organizations with substantial
employment and prospects for job growth.

Mezzanine
Mezzanine investments are a form of corporate finance where the investment has
characteristics of both a loan and an equity investment. These investments are at the point in a company’s capital structure between debt and equity (hence the term “mezzanine”). The fundamental difference between private equity investing and investments in public securities is the manager’s participation in the growth and development of the portfolio company. The investment manager’s ability to devise strategy, hire key staff, implement an optimal capital structure, seek new customers, and identify possible acquisitions set private equity apart from passive investments in public securities.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Open call for roundtable interview subject

Generation X Documentary

Name: Manny Merchan (Feature Documentary)

Email: manmadefilms@me.com

Deadline: 07:00 PM EST - 9 April

Query:

The groundbreaking documentary film, “Xingularity: a film about gen X” (genxfilm.com), is having an open call for roundtable interview subjects. We are looking for both individuals and/or small groups of friends (3-4 people).

All applicants must have been born between 1965 and 1980, and lived a majority of their lives in the United States. For these particular sessions we are only looking for people who live in and around the Los Angeles areas!!!! These experimental interview sessions will take place in one sitting in unique locations around Los Angeles. This unique small-group approach, will deal with a variety of heavy
personal topics of the era including interpretation of historical events, opinion regarding our identity, occupational issues and cultural turning points. Before applying please be aware that we will need for you to incorporate a couple of personal traits.

You must be comfortable expressing unique opinion in front of camera and be willing to delve deep into personal aspects of your life both among friends and strangers. The heart of Generation X lies solely in the attitudes, opinions and honesty of its
members. This experiment is our attempt at effectively deciphering who we are, where we are and why we are. If you feel like you might personally have an opinion to express or think that maybe your small group of GenX friends have a dynamic that
is unique to our age group…please feel free to apply for inclusion in this unique event. How do you apply? You might ask… If you are an individual, email a short description of who you are. (Age, sex, occupation, a summary of your outlook or
angle) What makes you unique or relevant to the birth range. It could be as simple as being an unemployed student, single mom or youth pastor. If you are part of an applying group, give us a sense of the collective dynamic and the individual details of each member. Our email: manmadefilms@me.com

We are all a part of something that is much larger and more powerful than any single one of us. Be a part of our attempt at unlocking this lurid undercurrent. Thank you for your time. Please take a look at the films official website at: www.genxfilm.com

Wanna Go to Beauty School?

IMMEDIATE CASTING NEW PILOT FOR A MAJOR CABLE NETWORK - THIS WEEK!

Shannon McMahon Lichte (Major Cable Network)

Deadline: 07:00 PM EST - 7 April
Query:

BEAUTY SCHOOL? ALWAYS WANTED TO GO? THIS SHOW MAY BE YOUR FREE
TICKET IN! Casting fun/opinionated characters from around the
country who dream of one day making it HUGE in the beauty
industry! This series will be airing on a prominent cable network
and we're casting young adults, 18 to 25 with strong
personal/family stories who have the drive and passion to REALLY
make it! How to apply: casting happening this week! Email:
CastforReality@Gmail.com the following things to be
considered… 1. Recent photo(s)/facebook link 2. Contact
Information (cell & email) 3. Persona bio & WHY you would be
perfect for this show! 4. If you are really passionate about
changing your life, send us a link to you tube or vimeo with a
video showing us your big personality telling us why beauty
school?