An Entrepreneur who made it to the other side

It is inspiring to listen to entrepreneurs who have succeeded in taking their idea from start up, over the chasm and managed to get to the other side. Their stories can teach other early stage entrepreneurs a great deal but also inspire them to take the risks to get to the other side.

Ron Close is such an entrepreneur. He sold his company to AT&T and is now sharing his lessons with Ivey MBA students and MaRS entrepreneurs.
When you hear Ron's comments on how he lead his company through the ups and downs, it becomes clear that he was always someone who cared very strongly about the people. I particularly liked his comment that he knew his staff were smart and would act if given the information. It is tough being a boss but believing your staff might be able to surprise you means that they will - and often.

It is great to see nice guys finish first. Thanks, Ron.

To Listen to Entrepreneurship, Ron Close, MaRS, Ivey: Financial Post Executive.

Do check out the MaRS blog and Twitter.

What Private Equity Does For Your Business

For those of you who missed our recent CEO Roundtable, you can listen to the podcasts with the main speakers. Loewen & Partners and the Richard Ivey School of Business recorded interviews exclusively for the Financial Post Executive by BusinessCast (http://www.businesscast.ca/).
First up is McKinsey chatting about how they see private equity working for business owners and why this leap frogs bank money:
The Financial Post Executive: What Private Equity Does for Your Business - Sacha Ghai, McKinsey & Company
Then we have an entrepreneur who made his fortune and is now entrepreneur-in-residence with MaRS which incubates about 400 companies.
The Financial Post Executive: How Entrepreneurs Can Make the Leap - Ron Close, MaRS

Housing impact on the public markets

Not all private equity firms are White Knights

A cookie company crumbled with its private equity firm now piled high with law suites. It is a great example of how only 20% private equity firms actually add all the huge value you read about in the media.
Here is a case with a bad private equity firm in the NYT by J. Crosswell. To all business owners out there, be very careful how you pick your private equity partners. Loewen & Partners works with business owners to match them with ethical partners and we know these players who take advantage of bank leverage.
Here's what the company had to say:

“What soured me on this experience is that these private equity firms that come in and buy companies don’t look at a company to grow it. Whether it sinks or swims doesn’t really matter to them,” Mr. Pfeifer said. “They don’t think about the people whose livelihoods depend on that company. I hope I never have to go through that again.”

And here is a quote I got from Catterton's website to sum it all up:

Establishing a close working relationship with the management team of a portfolio company is a critical element in our operating philosophy and a key driver of our success. As a rule, we do not involve ourselves in the day-to-day operations of a portfolio company. Rather, we seek to create equity value in a company by assisting management in identifying the key strategic, operating, and financial priorities, and the resources needed to successfully execute against those priorities. We generally hold at least one seat on the Board of Directors and on key sub-committees of the Board.

Issues Facing Women Raising Capital

It has been suggested that limited access to "old boy" networks and a male-dominated financial industry has posed challenges for women seeking growth capital. Those conditions partially explain why women gain just 6% of the $69 billion of venture capital available in the U.S.,” says Ilse Treurnicht. “Still, women don't make it easy on themselves, either. A passive style, conservative attitude and inability to "talk the language" are just some of the factors holding women back.”
The good news: perceptions are slowly changing and there is money available for solid, high-growth firms that can adequately communicate their promise to investors. If you are female, grow some thick skin and deal with the stereotypes early on in your conversations. Here are a few:
• Woman entrepreneurs do not want to grow their business as quickly as men do.
• Female entrepreneurs just don’t ‘get’ how to source funding.
• Lack of networks is one reason for women’s challenges. When women were asked about their networks, they listed various men’s names. When those men were asked about their networks, they did not mention the women.
Before you write to your local newspaper to complain about the above list, take a breath. Let's go to the facts to verify these issues. What is true are the statistics on male- versus female-run businesses which illustrate that female companies may grow at a slower clip, but they tend to have a higher survival rate.
Understand that, when it comes to accessing private equity, Fund Managers favour the growth versus survival factor. It’s only logical that when you go about raising capital, your pitch must be at growing the business, otherwise leave private equity to the more aggressive CEOs. Keep on doing your slow growth but do not expect private equity investors to invest.
Barbara Orser, professor at Carlton, reiterates that critical point, “Here’s the bottom line for women: only entrepreneurs who start robust, high-potential businesses - and communicate that promise - will get the money they need.” Smart women understand that thinking, and reassure investors by spending more time on illustrating their ambition when reaching out to the VCs.