The Company that Grew too Fast

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Brian Le Gette and his Wharton classmate and business partner Ron Wilson could not finance the spectacular revenue growth of 180s, a Baltimore-based sports apparel company which had once place 32nd on the INC 500 listing of fast-growing small businesses. Le Gette ultimately had to give up control of the company, and get help from Patriarch Partners, a private equity firm specializing in companies with distressed debt. John Anderson’s story in the November 2005 issue of INC. Magazine gives all of the details.

When VC Funds Not Likely, Consider Bootstrapping

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Ilana DeBare tells “San Francisco Chronicle” readers two ways that they can start a business with no cash through bootstrapping: 1) time-shifting your payables into the future, 2) bartering for services that your business can provide now in exchange for goods or services you need right away.

Fundraising Advisor Helps Zoe Foods Prez

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Zoe Foods founder and president Tori Stuart tells Entrepreneur magazine readers how she is staying focused on running her business by outsourcing the fund raising process as she seeks $3 million to fuel the growth of her $2 million natural foods company. “As a small company owner, I find raising capital is a big time-sink,” Stuart says. “And nobody’s going to do my job if I’m raising money.” Patrick Vaughan of Triarch Capital Partners concurs with Stuart: “It’s a significant distraction to raise money yourself. Once you publish your numbers to a prospective investor, they’ll start tracking how you do. That’s the wrong time to stub your toe.” An investment banking advisor can help a small business owner complete or polish a “deal book”, create a “data room”, help decide whether the money raised should be equity or debt, and help price the deal.

Angel Investing Explained at Wharton Club Event

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Angel investors want entrepreneurs to demonstrate that they can “build someting and sell it,” Ellen Sandles, Executive Director of the Tri-State Private Investors Network, told the Wharton Club of New York. Angel groups are more forgiving (than venture capitalists) of a not-filled-out management team, but would rather pass on a deal than invest in a company that is at risk of running out of cash before breakeven is achieved.

NY State Ranks Near Bottom in Small Business Survival Index

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New York state ranked 44th amonth the 50 states in terms of policy environment in the 2005 Small Business Survival Index released by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Raymond Keating, chief economist for the council, and the survey’s author told the “Westchester County Business Journal” that “politically, New York has a big-government philosophy, which leads to high income and property taxes. The costs of the state’s policies are real and obvious, but it appears the policymakers talk themselves into ignoring the consequences of the economic choices they make.” South Dakota, Nevada and Wyoming ranked at the top of the 2005 index, with the most small business friendly policy environment.