Investor Types: Angels, Friends, and Family
A new, creative business idea caught your eye? Perhaps you can become an angel investor to look things over. As an angel investor, you’ll not only provide support for the budding startup, but you can also have more direct access to a company with high growth potential.
Talking about angel investors, Steve Distante invites David S. Rose as he talks more about his experiences as an entrepreneur and as an angel investor. He recalls how he founded New York Angels and how he helps make the process of angel investing easier for startups and investors.
In this conversation, David Rose discusses his experience as an angel investor, including how he got started in the industry and his work to organize and manage angel investor networks. He also talks about his book on angel investing and his active involvement in answering questions about startups and angel investing online.
Who’s The Guest?
David S. Rose is an Inc. 500 CEO, real estate developer, financial technology investor, and serial entrepreneur. He founded or funded more than 100 pioneering companies. He has been described by Forbes as “New York’s Archangel”, by BusinessWeek as a “world conquering entrepreneur”, by Crain’s New York Business as “the father of angel investing in New York”, and by Red Herring magazine as “patriarch of Silicon Alley”.
David is the New York Times best-selling author of both Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups, and The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business.
Why Systems Matter
Steve Distante and Mike Caito discuss Mike’s experience as a CEO and going through different crises in business. Mike shares his advice on how to handle a crisis, which is to cut quick and cut deep, and to panic sooner. During their conversation, Steve and Mike discuss the importance of having a Plan B, especially for startup entrepreneurs. They emphasize how having a system in place, like MAP, is so important and can help you avoid flying blind.
Who’s The Guest?
Mike Caito is the owner and CEO of Management Action Programs, Inc. or MAP. As a visionary, nose-to-the-grindstone leader, his entrepreneurial roots go back to the early 1990s when he joined two parties in launching Restaurants on the Run. After 20 years, he scaled the business, which they sold in 2015, valuing at 12x EBITDA and scaled 10 markets, 600 people, and $40 million in revenue.
Mike is also known as the “metrics guy” as he’s pretty big on data and uses it to measure progress and get results. He’s been a member of the Entrepreneur’s Organization for more than 20 years.
Why Scaling Matters
A company without a system is one without a compass in a jungle. Implementing processes and systems within your business can help ensure success and allow for continuous growth. In this episode, Steve Distante welcomes Verne Harnish to discuss how you can build systems in a business, even for startups. Verne talks about how having a system in place can help businesses scale and grow. He shares his own experiences in scaling successfully. Additionally, he narrates how he founded his companies, the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Scaling Up, and how they have progressed over the years.
Who’s The Guest?
Verne Harnish is a world-leading speaker, author, entrepreneur, and expert in the field of business growth and scaling. He founded the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company with over 180 partners on six continents. With his experience and expertise in high demand, he chairs annual Growth Summits in North America, Europe, and Asia and continues to teach in the MIT-based executive program he founded. He is also a private investor in many scale-ups.
Deal Structure 101
Steve Distante welcomes expert deal-maker, strategist, and attorney Corey Kupfer to discuss the importance of striking deals in the business. Corey talks about the EO 2030, an initiative to help diversify and value people of all backgrounds in business, as well as mastering the CDE in negotiations: Clarity, Detachment, and Equilibrium. Additionally, he explains how deals can help people become more clear-headed in their business dealings and why it is an important skill for entrepreneurs.
Who’s The Guest?
With over 35 years of experience under his belt, Corey Kupfer is an expert deal-maker, strategist, attorney, and consultant. He runs his own New York-based law firm, Kupfer & Associates, PLLC and is also the host of the #DealQuest Podcast where he interviews executives, entrepreneurs, and experts to share their stories of making deals.
Corey is also a co-founder and member of the Board of 1+1+1=ONE, an organization committed to using art and civic dialogue for positive social change in race relations and young women’s empowerment. He is a published author of the book Authentic Negotiating: Clarity, Detachment & Equilibrium – The Three Keys to True Negotiating Success & How to Achieve Them.
Crypto 101
Is cryptocurrency the future of banking and currency? Why are more and more companies, including big ones like Tesla and Apple, now treating bitcoin as the currency of the future?
In this episode, Steve Distante welcomes bitcoin Expert Don Weidner, the founder of Formidable Ventures, an investment business built upon exponential technologies and aggressive growth. Don talks about how he invests in things that excite him and how cryptocurrency, in particular, helped his career and investments take off. He also shares the benefits of bitcoin for entrepreneurs, and why more and more companies are making the big switch and investments to cryptocurrency.
Who’s The Guest?
Don Weidner is the founder of Formidable Ventures, an investment business built upon exponential technologies and aggressive growth. He’s actively consulting for a $30B financial exchange company and has been asked to speak about cryptocurrency, FinTech, and Bitcoin at different events such as the Global Investors Virtual Summit, World Economic Forum, and Seattle’s Columbia Tower Club.
Don has been interviewed about his expertise in the field by the IEEE Spectrum, International Business Times, and Seattle Times to name a few. He has been quoted by Investors Business Daily and appeared in Luxe magazine and Seattle Metropolitan magazine.
How to Tell Your Story
Jack Lane discusses his experiences as a producer on Broadway and the not-for-profit world. He describes the process of raising money for a show or project and the importance of involving co-producers in the process. He also talks about how he is now engaged in bringing capital to Broadway shows, and how his goal is to help people believe in themselves and their stories.
Who’s The Guest?
Jack Lane is the Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Stages St. Louis. He produced several top-rated shows on Broadway such as The Prom, The Play That Goes Wrong, The Humans, and Fun Home. He also won two Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Musical.
Purpose-Driven Companies
In this episode, Steve Distante interviews Tripp Baird, co-founder and managing partner of The Builder’s Fund. The Builder’s Fund is a growth-stage private equity fund that invests in high-growth businesses that are trying to solve social and environmental problems. They also discuss the Impact Classification System, a tool used to help align a portfolio based on the business models within it and the sustainable development goals that they contribute to. Additionally, Tripp highlighted the vision of The Builder’s Fund, which is to help solve the environmental and social challenges of our time through the profitable deployment of capital into more conscious businesses.
Who’s The Guest?
Tripp Baird is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Builders where he also sits on the investment committee. Previously the founding principal of Partnership Capital Growth (PCG), he helped create top-quartile returns across four funds at PCG and North Castle Partners. His prior experience includes NCP, a leading consumer middle market private equity firm focused on the health/wellness markets, Bain & Company, and Goldman Sachs Global Equities Management.
Perfect Pitch Decks
Speaking as an expert in the field, Steve Distante welcomes Max Fleitmann, a serial entrepreneur and investor, to talk about how he got started in the field. Building businesses is not new for Max, having built his very first internet company at just 13 years old. He also discusses the role of fundraising when starting, as well as the different processes of raising capital without blowing up your business. Additionally, Max shares more about BaseTemplates and how it can help companies and entrepreneurs scale up their businesses.
Who’s The Guest?
Max Fleitmann is a serial entrepreneur and investor who built his first internet project when he was just 13 years old. He is passionate about building tech companies and meeting amazing people. Max is also the founding partner of Wizard Ventures bought, built, and invested in great online businesses such as BaseTemplates, VCStack, PitchDeckHunt, and StartupandVC to name a few.
Be an Investable Entrepreneur
As an entrepreneur, you’re always looking for new challenges and ways to grow your business.
However, in the first few years, as business owners start their business, they come up against different challenges. Some even harder than others are overcoming, resulting in almost 77% of new companies going out of business every year.
In this episode with Michael E. Gerber, we explore his journey as an entrepreneur. We also discuss the different transformations happening in business now and why entrepreneurs are creating equity, not income. Additionally, we examine the four different personalities of an entrepreneur and what a great result should be. Michael also shares more information about his book, The E-Myth Revisited, and how it provides insights that can help you transform your business and achieve success.
Who’s The Guest?
Michael E. Gerber is a legend of entrepreneurship. He is the author of the mega-bestseller “The E-Myth Revisited” and 28 other business coaching books. Michael is also the co-founder and chairman of Michael E. Gerber Companies, a group of highly unique companies that is dedicated to creating world-class entrepreneurs and start-ups from every economy and industry. They help transform the way small business owners are growing their businesses for nearly three decades.
Who is Steve Distante?
Switching places with Pitch Decks expert Max Fleitmann, Steve Distante looks back on his entrepreneurial career and what drove him to the man he is today. He shares the different passion projects he has, especially the Cally Farms, and how they got started. Steve also defines what success means for him now and what tips he can give to people when it comes to storytelling.
Who’s The Guest?
Max Fleitmann is a serial entrepreneur and investor who built his first internet project when he was just 13 years old. He is passionate about building tech companies and meeting amazing people. Max is also the founding partner of Wizard Ventures bought, built, and invested in great online businesses such as BaseTemplates, VCStack, PitchDeckHunt, and StartupandVC to name a few.