Posts Tagged ‘equity financing considerations’
Short Term Equity Financing
October 15th, 2010
“Especially In Growth Situations, Short Term Equity Financing or Quasi Equity Financing Can Be a Preferred Financing Approach”
For the purposes of this discussion, short term equity financing is defined as capital that is acquired in exchange for a portion of ownership that will be paid back in 5 years or less with the original ownership being restored in the process.
This type of equity financing approach is best suited for growth companies with good margins that can afford to pay the higher cost of capital associated and can in turn secure the capital they need to effectively grow and scale their business.
Too often business owners are hung up trying to find high risk debt that will require debt servicing which can drain cash flow and cause implosion if things don’t go exactly as planned.
At the same time, its also understandable why business owners are apprehensive about selling off part of their business and potentially giving away too much of their future.
The business financing solution to high growth, high margin situations where there’s a good probability that the plan to grow will succeed, can be satisfied by equity investors or forms of convertible debt financing that share the same objectives as the business owner, only in reverse.
For the short term equity investor, the goal is to put funds into a company in exchange for ownership and have the company execute its plans and generate the expected return in the shortest time possible at which point the money invested is paid back with a healthy return and ownership sold back to the original owners.
Short term equity investors are looking for opportunities to flip their money in and out of a business and double it or better in three to five years. They are not interested in long term ownership and the risk and administrative complexity that can entail.
Some business owners may feel that paying an investor back double what they put in as an excessively expensive form of financing. But when confronted with this opposition, I will paint the picture of the business owner sitting on some sandy beach 10 years from now, after reaping the success of getting their business scaled up to its potential as quickly as possible, and revisiting this decision to use short term equity capital. Will they really be saying to themselves, dam I gave away too much in cost of capital 10 years ago to build my wealth? Not likely.
The long term benefits can far out weigh the costs, provided everyone goes into the equity financing arrangement with a well defined beginning and end to the relationship.
Click Here To Speak Directly With Business Financing Specialist Brent Finlay
Business FinancingEquity Financing Exit Strategy
September 27th, 2010
“Equity Financing Considerations Are Similar To Marriage With Some Added Twists”
When business owners are looking to raise capital through equity financing, they are planning to sell off a portion of the ownership of their business to someone else in exchange for a cash payment. This sale of ownership can be of a controlling or non controlling nature, but unlike debt financing where you pay back the money borrowed, ownership can have very long term connotations.
That’s one of the reasons why many people equate equity investing to marriage in that you’ve got to plan whether you want to be in the relationship for an extended period of time and under what conditions.
And while marriage agreements can be made going into the relationship in the form of prenuptial agreements, business financing scenarios involving equity capital should go one step further and have both an entry and exit agreement in place.
Especially for small businesses, it makes very little sense to take on an equity partner with no clear exit strategy for either partner. Many businesses get trapped in a situation where either a owner wants to leave the ownership group or the owners can’t get along anymore and someone needs to buy out the other.
Without an upfront agreement as to how an owner can exit, the process can be grueling to complete and financially damaging to both parties, but particular to the trusting and naive that get taken advantage of by the remaining owner or owners.
While any equity investment will clearly outline what you get for the cash you’re paying, it also should have its own form of prenuptial agreement and states exactly how things ARE going to end. There is no misconception here that everyone’s in it until death do us part, and even if that was the case, what happens to the ownership shares on passing? Failure to plan out the end right at the beginning is a bad idea in virtually any situation I’ve come across.
But in the hast to secure financing and the excitement of getting going or getting things back on track, the exit strategy is many times over looked or over simplified.
And the exit strategy you’re prepared to consider will also better align you with sources of financing that are better fits for what you’re looking for. For instance, there are many equity investors out there that want to double their money in three to five years and then get all their money back along with the required gain. This speaks to a very specific exit strategy that has to work for both sides at the outset of discussing the deal.
For investors that want to ride the wave of opportunity there should still be an exit plan to really protect both sides as the longer the relationship goes on the more likely something is going to happen with respect to ownership and ownership objectives.
The other part to keep in mind is that the more sophisticated the investor or investor group, the more the exit plan is going to be stacked in their favor, taking advantage of the entrepreneurs financial ignorance or sheer desperation.
So, yes equity financing is very much like marriage, but with a contract going in and one going out with the divorce or funnel preplanned.
Click Here To Speak With Business Financing Specialist Brent Finlay
Business FinancingEquity Financing Considerations
September 5th, 2010
“There Are Many Things To Consider When Looking Into Equity Financing Options”
When seeking equity financing for an existing or future business, its important to make sure you have a clear understanding of what you’re getting into.
Many times business owners are either in too much of a rush or pressed against a wall to consider the pros and cons of any equity financing options they are considering, being more inclined to take what they can get. Even if there is more time available to consider the “goodness of fit” of a potential investor into the business operation, the key issues and considerations can still be easily overlooked or glossed over.
The primary thing to remember is that taking on an investor is like marriage. You could be involved with this new person or person for a long time, and breaking up the relationship at a future point in time may not be very easy or even possible to accomplish under terms you can live with.
That being said, one of the first tenants when considering taking on an equity investor is start with the end in mind.
The reality is that anyone who gives you their money is going to want it back, so it only makes sense that the ending of any proposed investor marriage is clearly lined out from the outset in a manner that is acceptable for both parties.
From the business owners point of view, the goal may be to be able to buyout the investor at a specific point in time for a clear dollar amount, or at least for a dollar amount that is calculated by an acceptable formula.
This creates a structure where both sides can size up the value to each other of getting involved in a transaction in the first place as well as providing some level of protection to both parties.
Selling off part of your company without doing this is dangerous to say the least. Everything can seem nice and light at the start of the business relationship, but things can change radically in a very short period of time.
And regardless if the business is ahead or behind on its financial projections created at the time equity financing was secured, there is a defined process for either party to deal with any changes in circumstances or expectations.
Once the honeymoon is over, its hard to predict where the relationship will go so it only makes sense to provide both sides with a way out that doesn’t potentially kill the business in the process.
Click Here to Speak to Business Financing Specialist Brent Finlay
Business Financing