Saturday, May 14, 2011

Bruce Rector: How to Attract Outside Capital Successfully


A colleague of mine has been kind enough to allow me to reprint here an article he wrote recently on how to attract capital. This is a bit outside the arena in which I work directly, but for some companies finding investment or a debt package may be the right way to go. Often it can work well with an AR / PO facility too.

Bruce Rector is the President of The Rector Group. He has worked with large and small companies across a wide variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, biotech, distribution, utilities, and consumer product manufacturing.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, with an MBA from the Wharton School, Bruce has established an enviable business consulting record in the areas of strategy, finance and operations, with a proven track record of value-adding engagements. therectorgroup.com

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I've been having many conversations lately with CEOs and management teams about how to best position themselves to raise growth capital for their businesses. Companies are ready to start investing in their future again rather than just trying to survive. The good news is, with the right strategy, there is plenty of money out there ready to be put to work. Last month I did a quick tour around the state and visited with several venture capital and private equity shops. We discussed what companies should know when they are looking for capital. This article that I wrote for The South Florida Business Journal sums it up nicely and is a must read for business owners and entrepreneurs. While it is focused on early stage companies, the principles apply to all stages. Enjoy!

Are you ready for venture investors? You’ll have to prove it first.

Many early-stage companies seek outside investment capital in order to grow the company through additional infrastructure – both physical and human resources. I have met many companies through the years that eagerly sought funding and could explain why they deserved funding.

Passion is admirable, but regardless of how passionate you might feel about the opportunity the company is addressing, there are several criteria that management should consider in assessing the probability that they will actually be successful in attracting outside capital. Remember that any outside investor is going to take a very hard look at facts before deciding to invest. What are some of the facts they will consider?

Read more.

Thanks Bruce!

Fed Data Dump Part III: Elizabeth Duke's speech at the 2011 IFA conference in DC

Interestingly enough the good governor did not have much to say that had anything to do with factoring or PO funding. Did she realize that the International Factoring Association focuses on, mainly, non-bank lending? Apparently not. Her speech was all about the statistics related to traditional bank lending and had no bearing (or much interest) for those in attendance. Let me rephrase: I didn't get much out of it other than the impression that Ms. Duke was not very excited to be with us. She was pleasant for the most part, but did tend to deliver her presentation in a rather robotic and disengaged read-from-the-textbook manner and she danced around the pre-screened questions during the Q&A without actually answering them. Not too surprising.

Long story short: Bank lending is trending a bit upward year on year, but the recovery is fragile. Quit asking questions about Fed policy.
 
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