Archives / January, 2021

The Importance of the Democratization of Capital

The democratization of capital may be messy at times, but it’s much better than the alternative. And it’s long over-due. Robinhood’s actions to restrict trading in GameStop stock, as well as several other issuers, was completely the wrong response to an increasingly active capital class. It’s time to give up this old notion that small investors somehow need to be saved from themselves (as they claimed was the reason they halted trading in GME and other issues *). For years, capital investment has been the sole purview of the wealthy in the United States and elsewhere. We’ve long had a series of laws that restricted people’s abilities to invest in private stocks and at that same time, given fee structures…

Startup Communities | Rural Entrepreneurship

I’ve always loved Brad’s Startup Communities – it’s long been my favorite of his books, built upon ideas that are clearly stating the test of time. In it, he talks about the key ingredients to building a startup community and talks about our experience in Boulder – one of the first startup communities to really thrive outside of the traditional tech hotbeds of the coast (but certainly not the last). He’s recently come out with a new version of the book, as well as a companion book called The Startup Community Way. They are outstanding. In the nearly 10 years since the original book was published, the Startup Communities landscape has changed quite a bit. Robust startup environments began to develop…

Declaring Victory for The Finance Assistant Network

Back in April, not long after COVID-19 hit, Lew Visscher from Lew’s List, Phil Vottiero from High Plains Advisors, and I launched the Covid-19 Finance Assistance Network (FAN)  The network partnered volunteer CFOs with small businesses that were in need of financial guidance on carrying their business through the crisis and navigating the Federal programs from the CARES Act. Recognizing that smaller operations were at a huge disadvantage because they didn’t have access to the legal and financial resources that larger firms do, we wanted to do something to help them. Establishing FAN was a way to provide pro bono support to smaller businesses that were the most vulnerable to the shutdowns happening throughout the country. We had 80 financial…