As the unfortunate recipients of a bastardized economy whose immediate future is as grim as the past two years there is a massive economic shift. Banks are crumbling towers of cards and executives in charge of this so called ‘rebound’ effort are about as qualified as a blind, deaf, mute, quadriplegic trying to win the iron man. In short, at this rate we’re in big trouble.
If you own or run a company that is trying to raise capital in the current economic conditions you’ve undoubtedly been challenged by the limited funds available. Investors are more difficult to find and the individuals that are actually willing to part with their cash are even tougher to find. You’ve talked to friends, family members, your cpa and your attorney but trying to get them to invest is like drawing blood from a stone, it’s just not happening.
There are many ways to use capital without using bank loans, lines of credit and other shady methods like shelf corps and bogus platform scams. If you are truly trying to raise capital for your company here are some simple breakdowns of your options with a quick definition for each one:
Many entrepreneurs dream of taking their company public and expanding their venture into an international enterprise that begins to hemorrhage investment capital and profits from the get-go but then reality sets in as one begins to navigate the dingy, shark infested waters of the ‘go public’ market place.
So many companies dream of going public both as a growth and exit strategy but unfortunately few succeed with this process. The third party audit, sponsoring of the S1 and 211 by a market maker and SEC comments stage is just one of the obstacles involved with taking a company public. The attempt at going public and actually achieving a symbol are two entirely different things and if you are lucky enough to achieve a symbol there’s a completely separate area of expertise needed to keep your stock trading and to preserve a company’s longevity in the marketplace.
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Many entrepreneurs and executives want to move forward with the process of going public merely for the ability to raise capital through the sale of stock. They usually don’t think of the strategies necessary to keep the momentum going such as how much equity to give up initially, how much equity to sell ongoing, how to capitalize off of the use of the securities as collateral for loans and lines of credit and so on.
Going public, the ultimate in the evolution of companies who are seeking access to powerful global finance options for rapid expansion, deepening corporate roots and gaining industry prominence as a true powerhouse and player. The process of going public is technical yet pretty straight forward: business plan, Private Placement Memorandum, Direct Public Offering, Financial Audit, S-1 filing, SEC comments phase, SEC approval, FINRA approval, symbol and then you’re public.
Your company is growing. Now you are ready to start raising serious capital and you here the public fund raising markets. Here are the basics of your S-1 filing. Know the lingo before you hire a consultant. Because companies must adhere strictly to SEC regulations, initial prospectuses are similar in their organization. Each S-1 generally consists of the following sections:
Private Placement Memorandums and Direct Public Offerings, the most common mistakes made. When gearing up to raise capital it is typically a business owners first instinct to simply throw together a business plan and find the cheapest company to put together the private placement memorandum and then seek funding. What these professionals don’t realize is that they are doing things in reverse and often times a PPM is not a standalone solution to financial needs.