Sheltowee Business Network Blog

All Posts Blog: Sheltowee Business Network
All Posts Author: Alex Day

Sheltowee Business Network Partners With Louisville Business First to Expand Ecosystem

Jul 19 2019
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Sheltowee Business Network Partners With Louisville Business First to Expand Ecosystem

The Sheltowee Business Network has partnered with Louisville Business First to assist in establishing the Entrepreneurs and Innovators section.  Entrepreneurship in Louisville has more momentum than ever.  Louisville Business First has always done a great job of covering business news in Louisville, but Alex Day, the founder of the Sheltowee Business Network, believed that recent developments in the entrepreneurial space deserved a more focused approach.   

How to Make Raising Capital Easier

Jul 05 2019
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 How to Make Raising Capital Easier

For the last several years in Louisville, MetroStart (formerly Metro Startup Launcher) has worked to make it easier for startup companies in our area to raise capital and get started. With a lot of trial and error, we believe we have figured out a much easier way for startups to raise capital. The same method allows investors to invest smaller amounts and spread their risk, which statistically produces huge returns compared to typical stock market returns. 

Five Things to Know About Getting Involved in Angel Investing

Jul 05 2019
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Five Things to Know About Getting Involved in Angel Investing

Making money by investing in early stage companies has generally been reserved for the ultra wealthy through venture capital funds.  Early stage companies (or Startups as they are known) represents an equity class that is not understood by many people, and not available to many people.  Unfortunately, for those few who do attempt to invest in this asset class, they often have a bad experience because of an extreme lack of experience. 

An SBN Pointer: What is an accredited angel investor?

Jul 05 2019
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An SBN Pointer:  What is an accredited angel investor?

Sources: MillionaireDoc.com and Wikipedia

If you meet an accredited angel investor, you know they have the funds to invest in your company or startup.  Although they usually are, angels do not have to be accredited investors as designated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Accredited individual investors, as defined by the SEC, have to make at least $200,000 in income for two years, and have at least $1 million in assets (exclusive of their home residence).  The broader definition of an investor is loosely defined as a person that allocates capital with the expectation of a future financial return.  An angel investor is known as an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.

How does one become an accredited investor?  There is no exam. In the United States, the definition of accredited investor is put forth by SEC in Rule 501 of Regulation D. An entity is an accredited investor if it is a private business development company or an organization with assets exceeding $5 million.

Accredited investor types generally look for higher rates of return in private placements and want diversification on their portfolios.  This can shield the investor from market swings, offering lower volatility, and a solid upside.

SPOTLIGHT INVESTOR: Lessons Learned from Phil Mason, A Louisville Investor

Jul 05 2019
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SPOTLIGHT INVESTOR:  Lessons Learned from Phil Mason, A Louisville Investor

A common question from entrepreneurs in Louisville is “Where are the angel investors?” Many, like Louisville’s Phil Mason, are hiding in plain sight. Phil Mason, an area angel investor, has been a regular attendee at area organizations interested in entrepreneurs for about 40 years. He currently attends Venture Connectors, the Sheltowee Business Network, and LEAP (Louisville Entrepreneurial Acceleration Partnership) meetups for angels, for example. He quietly takes note of entrepreneurs with new ideas as he travels the city doing his own business consulting, via MCO Business Advisors, LLC, which he founded in 1991. (He started his first business in August of 1973.) His background in business runs from retail to marketing to proprietary education, to modeling agencies to hotel brokerage to temporary employment agencies. The investments that he recalls quickly are those involving inventions, like underwater electrical tape, dry kiln operations, and ethanol production. I ...