When the going got tough (2020)
On the first trading day of 2020, a typical headline was “Dow jumps 300 points to start 2020, continuing last year’s big rally.” The S&P 500 was up 28.9% in 2019. US GDP was up 2.3%, not quite the growth seen in 2017 and 2018, but still pretty good from where we stand today. Our […]
Time is on whose side?
The refrain of the song popularized by the Rolling Stones goes “time is on my side, yes it is.” How time is used in a negotiation, who manages the timetable and who benefits from a faster conclusion to the negotiation can be influential factors in the outcome. Time is usually on someone’s side in a […]
The myth of the handshake deal
It’s routine in nearly every movie about business — the scene where the two parties hash it out, reach agreement and shake hands. At that point, the deal is all but done and the details are left to the lawyers to work out. Of course reality is somewhat different. Coverage of the hit show “Shark Tank” […]
What’s Next (after the sale of my business)?
After years, and often decades, of building a business, the sale and transition from day-to-day ownership responsibilities are life changing events. With the sale comes liquidity and the freedom to pursue interests beyond the business world. The transition from ownership responsibilities can be dramatic, even for those owners who stay on with the business. One […]
Beware the Spike
The Real Risk of Venture Debt A couple of years ago I was with a med-tech CEO who referred to venture debt as being like a super charger for your car. Strap it on and you get immediate low-end power to accelerate your efforts. Along with the super charger, he explained, a spike gets placed […]
Mind the Funding Gap
THE SERIES A CRUNCH I recently published a whitepaper on the challenges that early stage therapeutic device companies are having raising money, along with what I hope is some meaningful advice on alternative funding options. The gist of the article is that friends and family money is still fairly easy to come by. Initial seed round funding […]
Small Business Investment Incentives – US vs. UK
As reported in the Angel Capital Association news-letter last week, The House passed the “Tax Increase Prevention Act” (TIPA) that amongst other things would exclude 100% of capital gains on the stock of small businesses acquired in 2014 and held for more than five years. It also eliminates the gain as an Alternative Minimum Tax […]
Smaller Software Companies Enjoy Increased Options Based on Growing Private Equity Interest in Technology
Over the last five years the technology sector has attracted an increasing number of private equity investors. More specifically, platform investments (financial) and follow-on acquisitions (hybrid) have grown 25% and 30% respectively over the last five years, based on our analysis of CAPIQ data. When we parsed the data to identify the most active private […]
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