Vicinity Views
News, education and insights on investing in public offerings through the Vicinity platform and private early-stage offerings with VentureSouth.
-
Profits, and Losses, and EBITDA…oh my!
One of the main financial statements you can use to analyze a business is the Profit and Loss statement (aka the income statement, the…
-
“Going local” is more than buying a cup of coffee
I’m the type who turns buying apples into an arduous process. I’ll skeptically compare the fifty-cent difference between apples, assuming the proper scrutiny stance:…
-
Investor Insights: Prophets and Pro Formas
Before we talk about the future, let’s mention a bit about the past. Business owners, sales leaders, finance executives and other stakeholders are all…
-
The Who Economy
I’ll never forget pitching two angel investors with my first fully thought-out business plan. I’ve always been a dreamer, a creator, and an aspiring…
-
Investor Insights: Debt vs. Equity Investments
First, the disclaimer: If you can’t afford to lose 100% of your investment, then you shouldn’t invest – hard stop. Now the TLDR: When…
-
I Invested Local with Reg CF! Now what?
Two weeks ago, we discussed some reasons to invest local via the JOBS Act and Reg CF. Last week, we answered how to invest…
-
Investor Insights: Robinhood & Vicinity
If we’re talking about new and innovative ways to invest, we have to talk about Robinhood. Robinhood has become synonymous with the democratization of…
-
How do I invest in small businesses?
Let’s be honest for a moment. When we eat out, 99% of us (disclaimer: fake stat we made up) don’t go beyond leaving a…
-
Investor Insights: Investor Accreditation
So, what’s an accredited investor anyway? Are you one? Does it matter? As to the first question, it’s pretty simple. An accredited investor is…
-
Reasons to Invest Local with Regulation Crowdfunding
If you’ve read our stuff before, you know Regulation Crowdfunding provides a new-to-you business investment opportunity. An avenue to invest local that has been…
-
Time Travel, Reg CF, And The Justice League
When you hear the term “crowdfunding for small business,” it might sound like a recent phenomenon. But put aside Reg CF and tech startups…
-
How can I increase cash flow as a small business?
Spreadsheets, bookkeeping, cash flows, balance sheets, financial statements…it’s tough to manage your finances as a small business. You may be a passionate owner with…
-
Myth #8: There aren’t enough unicorns in the southeast
This “myth” is true – there aren’t many unicorns in the south east, and none in the Carolinas. There are also virtually no IPOs…
-
Myth #7: It takes too long to reach exits
This is too often, unfortunately, true. Startup companies take a long time to mature into middle market businesses that large companies are interested in…
-
Myth #6: It costs too much to be an investor
Finding deals yourself; conducting your own diligence; negotiating a deal; paying attorneys to create a suite of transaction documents; paying accountants for tax returns…
-
Myth #5: Angel investing is for philanthropy or fun, not making money
Angel investing is about making money. VentureSouth itself is a private business (a SC LLC), not a government entity and not funded with public…
-
Myth #4: You need to be an expert
Nope. Most people (nearly two-thirds) that join VentureSouth tell us that they are becoming angel investors for the first time. This is not deliberate:…
-
Myth #3: It takes a long time to build a portfolio
It simply does not take a long time to build a portfolio of angel investments. When we published the first article, there were 13…
-
Myth #2: You need to invest a lot of money
Following the math in the original article, you can create a portfolio of investments as a VentureSouth member for $50,000 (10x $5,000 investments) to…
-
Myth #1: Not many people can be angel investors
Anyone can invest in early stage companies. (You can invest as an “unaccredited investor” in certain situations or platforms, subject to limits on how…
-
Myths of Angel Investing: This Month’s Posts
In my last two Upstate Business Journal articles (here and here), I’ve tried to debunk a few myths and clear up a few misconceptions…
-
What To Do With An Idea
I read children’s books every day – admittedly, not always for pleasure, but definitely by choice. My wife and I have a bunch of…
-
Baebies receives FDA approval
Congratulations to Baebies for announcing it received clearance from the FDA for its SEEKER platform – the first Lysosomal Storage Disease newborn screening platform.…
-
Matt’s Upstate Business Journal column – Creating the Future
Enjoy Matt’s UBJ column from this week’s issue here – Since you can’t predict the future, you should try to create it.