Get ready for a deep dive into early-stage fundraising, essential for every startup. With this intimidating lesson comes an even more intimidating pop quiz, a first for the daily challenges this season. While some Bloxers are literally unable to put their money where their mouth is, others show us the money and head to the Blox-Off. With some new faces seeing their first pod wins, the leaderboard becomes tighter than ever as the race comes down to the final day. Get ready to cheer on your favorite Bloxer as they face off for the final time in episode 7.
As we wake up with the Bloxers, we see last night’s pod winners enjoying their special breakfast, and we get introduced to some more contestants’ stories. Afterward, The Bloxers face a right of passage in the game: a class on fundraising. This lesson focuses on the most critical time for fundraising – the early stages. Although many entrepreneurs have misconceptions about what fundraising looks like, the lesson clears away any myths for them. After class, we check in with some of the contestants who admit that the class wasn’t as terrifying as they were preparing for, and we also see them have some major lightbulb moments.
Next up is something different for the daily challenge: a pop quiz! Along with that, they’ll need to apply the day’s lesson to their business by describing what stage they are at in their business – and as we see, our contestants really run the gamut of stages in their companies. The challenge sees many Bloxers struggling to grasp the concept of resourcing money, but the consultations with the judges provide many opportunities to rectify that along with some clear solutions.
With a few near-perfect scores and one judge announcing that they had never given out so many zeros, it appears that the Blox-Off will be anyone’s game tonight. The pod winners are tasked with role-playing in a fundraising scenario, which not only separates the entrepreneurs from the wantrapreneurs (just kidding!) but also provides some comic relief. After the incredibly hard pitch-on-a-dime scenarios, the rankings are announced, and the leaderboard switches up once again before the final day.
Today’s lesson discusses realistic fundraising structures for early-stage entrepreneurs. The stages of a business include the aspiring entrepreneur stage, idea stage, building and testing stage, product/market fit stage, growth stage, liquidation stage, and corporation stage. We emphasize the importance of understanding the support available at each stage in a city’s startup ecosystem, but the timing of fundraising is highlighted as more important than the specific individuals or resources involved. Startups often struggle to qualify for angel or venture capital financing, and therefore need to utilize all available financial tools to progress enough to attract such investments.
There are several tools available at the early stages of fundraising, including support from friends and family, crowdsourcing, grants and pitch competitions, traditional accelerators, high-net-worth individuals, and credit cards. There is a need for careful deal structuring, taking into consideration the motivations, timeline, and risk appetite of potential investors. Deal structure tools mentioned include loans, equity, convertible debt, gifting, revenue or profit sharing, and licensing. Examples of deal structures in a friends and family round are provided, highlighting different approaches such as donations, loans, payback starting at breakeven, interest-free arrangements, percentage of sales, and traditional angel investment structures.
The concept of a convertible note is introduced as a tool for valuing a company in its early stages when seeking investment from high-net-worth individuals. It is explained that a convertible note is technically debt but converts to equity at the time of the next financing round. It may include a discount or cap on valuation, making it an attractive option for investors concerned about valuation.
Would you rather be on it?
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Brittany Garth is an award-winning business coach & international social media consultant, coworking space owner, and owner of a business development agency for women-centric brands. Brittany has worked with brands including Disney, Microsoft, Harvard University, Bank of America, and Hyatt Hotels. Brittany has provided coaching and consulting to small and mid-sized businesses nationally and internationally within the US, U.K, South Africa, India, Dubai, and more. Brittany was selected by Forbes Magazine as a top professional Coach for the Forbes Coaches Council and was selected by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of their top 50 social influencers for 2017. Brittany is an experienced TEDx speaker, has provided corporate training to Microsoft, and has spoken on “Global Entrepreneurship for Female Minorities” at Columbia University. She is a former contributor for the Huffington Post and Forbes.com and has been featured nationally and internationally as a leading life coach for women in Essence Magazine, MTV, CBS, and other major media outlets. Brittany is a 2x best-selling author of her books “Dear Pinq” and “The Plan C”. In 2018, Coach Brittany was honored with a proclamation from the Governor of Virginia for “National Life Coaches Week”, to honor her work in the industry of life coaching. She is the first person to receive this honor within the industry of Life Coaching nationally. Presently, Brittany is the owner of Pinq Inc. a global brand that provides business development services for women-centric brands and corporations where she is the CEO and lead corporate consultant.
Courtney Carini is the creator, co-founder, and chief marketing officer of Fresno, CA-based Crazy Go Nuts, where she and her team manufacture a variety of walnut snacks and walnut butters. Coming from a musical theater and comedy background, Carini is self-taught in the food manufacturing industry. She now wears many hats at Crazy Go Nuts—from graphic design, and photography, to R&D and sales. Raised among walnut and pear orchards as a native of Lake County in California, nestled in the mountains just above Napa Valley, Carini is a life-long advocate for the environment and healthful practices, and she is proud to incorporate these values into Crazy Go Nuts. When not cooking delicious treats, Carini enjoys performing in many television shows, writing sketches, and telling inappropriate jokes on stage, along with educating and advocating for ADHD.
Farhan is the Founder and CEO of Nue Holdings, a leading real estate private equity and management firm specializing in multifamily, single-family, coliving, and vacation rental real estate. With a focus on providing investors capital-protected growth and income opportunities, Nue Holdings also operates StayNue.com, a management brand that offers flexible accommodations for guests and enhanced income for property owners and developers. Farhan holds an Advanced Management in Real Estate Development degree from Harvard University’s AMDP program and serves as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence with Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs. Prior to his current role, Farhan excelled as a Manager and CPA at Ernst & Young LLP, overseeing global teams and serving Fortune 100 clients such as State Street Bank, Charles Schwab, and hedge/private equity fund complexes. He also contributed as a MassChallenge Judge and Mentor and served on the MIT Enterprise Forum Board, enhancing innovation across industries.
John Allen started his first company, Attingo, as a junior at Temple University. Attingo is a social media marketing agency that helps companies build brand awareness. Following Attingo, John and his partners launched Boho Outfitters, an online jewelry retailer that quickly grossed up to $40k monthly. John and his partners leveraged Boho into the creation and launch of Ivory Ella, a $30M online brand that has donated over $2M to saving elephants and other charitable causes. As the company’s CEO, John managed operations, including 150 employees. John then served as an investor and the interim COO of Proof Ice Cream, a company revolutionizing both the food and alcohol industry before he moved on to become the CEO of Alta Gracia, the only independently certified Living Wage apparel company in the developing world. Alta Gracia’s products are sold in over 500 University bookstores. After successfully exiting two companies John and fellow entrepreneurs launched Calibrate Network a funding and operations group looking to help other online businesses get through the hardships brought on by the pandemic and vastly changing digital marketing landscape. John has been recognized for his entrepreneurship, employment, and charitable efforts by Apparel Magazine winning the Top Innovator award and sits on the Forbes Advisory Council.
Kaitlyn has been leveraging her expertise to help companies create structure around their ideas and scale their businesses for over a decade. In her signature program Money Mindset & Magic, she and her team coach entrepreneurs on how to create systems that support growth at their unique starting point. She is known for her raw, authentic coaching style and encouraging her clients to connect to their authentic selves so they can elevate at exponential rates. After signing her first major publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing, Kaitlyn’s work was featured on Disney’s “A Cinderella Story”, Rebecca Black (It’s Friday!), as well as HGTV shows.
Luke, an energetic and adventurous individual who’s always on the lookout for exciting new experiences in his city, started his business when he was frustrated by the lack of engaging activities and quality events. What began as a small initiative has blossomed into an incredible success story, with over 51,000 participants engaged in diverse activities like Sand Volleyball, Basketball, Pickleball, Cornhole, kickball, softball, and more, spanning the entire city. He also orchestrated one-of-a-kind events such as a Grilled Cheese Festival, an Underachiever’s Run, and a Zombie Crawl, attracting a staggering 16,000 attendees. These endeavors not only allowed Luke to leave his conventional job five years ago but also enabled him to foster a thriving, interconnected community. His once-small initiative now boasts four full-time employees, 40 part-time officials, and an office that has transformed into a bustling arena. Driven by his desire to make a positive impact, Luke is committed to helping others cultivate vibrant in-person and virtual communities. His dedication has earned him numerous accolades, including the 2018 25 under 25 Award from Thinking Bigger Business Media, the 2017 Innovation Partnership Program award, the 2017 Social Sports Industry Association Product Innovation Award, the 2016 Social Media Club Trailblazer of the Year Award, the 2014 Mayor Sly James’ Challenge Cabinet recognition, the 2014 Rising Star Award from NonProfit Connect, and the 2013 Urban Hero Award from the Downtown Council.
Peter Busch brings over 20 years of industry experience in film production, technology growth stage and go-to-market. He started his career in traditional 2D and 3D animation with Warner Bros. and Paramount respectively. He previously worked with computer vision company Image Metrics in 2007, where he was instrumental in the initial adoption of its facial animation technology, used in the Academy Award winner The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Nominated in 2015, for a Scientific and Technical Academy award, Busch’s other notable accolades include Kong vs Godzilla, Horizon, Call of Duty, Madden, FIFA, Halo, and Destiny. Peter helped co-found facial animation B2B Faceware Technologies in 2012, helping expand its reach to nearly 4,000 studios in 90 countries around the world. The company’s technology was used on numerous projects in Film, TV, AAA Games, VR, AR, and MR before its acquisition by Facebank, Inc. in 2021. Known for his adeptness in crafting brand strategies, shaping corporate vision, orchestrating product releases, and implementing effective growth plans, Peter has also mastered press and marketing strategies. With a history of managing teams ranging from 5 to 45, he has achieved remarkable results, boasting over 170% revenue growth since 2019. Armed with a unique blend of artistic appreciation and technical prowess, he successfully marketed tech products, tools, and services to the realms of AAA Gaming, CG Animation, VFX, and Academia, fostering relationships with over 250 key industry accounts. Renowned as a speaker, Peter has delivered keynote presentations at international conferences and earned two SciTech Academy Award nominations, along with securing adoption by major entertainment franchises. Peter’s influence has extended globally, orchestrating B2B growth across 3,500 studios and academic institutions in 85 countries, culminating in an 8-figure exit collaboration with Facebank, Inc. in April 2021.
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