Kevin T.

Awesome new initiative Aviel Ginzburg!! When Sean Sternbach and I launched Venture Out, Aviel and Pablo Brown-Rodriguez were silent cofounders. Aviel freely shared his words of wisdom from years of building community in Seattle. He and Chris DeVore were the first money into our community, followed quickly by Flying Fish Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and a huge list of Seattle angels. After growing to 1200+ members in <3 years, running multiple pre-preseed accelerators, a few learnings about building great community and the Seattle Founder Ecosystem: In the early days, no one knows what they are doing. Seek outside advice and guidance from people just ahead of you. Unicorn founders and tech moguls have great stories, but the woman who left amazon six months ago, launched an MVP, and crashed through her first 2 dozen investor discussions will have golden advice. Be open, honest, and vulnerable. Our best events and discussions happened when people let their guard down. No one will spend their life (which a startup requires) to build your idea. They might build something similar and tackle the same problem, but only your life experience and decision-making will make the difference. Share ideas often. Give first. As a ~10 year Techstars mentor, I saw this as the best part of the community. In my opinion, they have lost this completely. Don't come into a community and take. Give all you can, even when it feels counterproductive. Something might eventually come back that changes your life and direction. Even if it never does, you will 1000% feel great about the decision. Play long-term games with long-term people. Naval Ravikant was the first person I heard say this. Surround yourself with committed doers, makers, and visionaries. There are a lot of want-entrepreneurs in the world (which is a good thing; we need more people to take risks), but spend the most time with people in the ring, putting their time behind what they are doing. Learn how to give advice and direction without being evangelical, condescending, or a jerk. Learn to be direct but helpful. It's what you want on your journey, so invest in being a great thought partner for others. A final few notes: 1) No, you likely will never get paid the same amount or make as much money as a founder as you would as an L7/L8 at Amazon. If that is why you are starting a company, you're already in trouble. But knowing Aviel, he is already filtering for this 😂 2) You will likely learn in 6-18 months in the ring as a founder, than the rest of your life combined. Start to write, share your experience, find a therapist, and get ready to unpack a LOT as you go. The only way to make space for new information is to process it, store it, and then let it go. 3) The relationships are the most important part of the journey. I will always remember meetings with Matt Ehrlichman, Asha Sharma, Kyle Sandburg, and Matthew Neagle and the rest of the Porch Group team. Go Aviel!!!

42

4 Comments

Today's Boring Biz (# 97): The Worm Farm - Northern California - $2.5M Revenue - $1.4M Cashflow - $1.7M Ask Price - 1.2x Ask Multiple Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What does the company do? 1. Sell fishing and composting worms 2. Supply landscaping + homeowners w/ soil 3. Worm castings, worms, fertilizers, nutrients Investment highlights 1. 30+ years in operation, established 1995 2. Diverse revenue streams 3. Owner retiring Investment risks/concerns 1. Owner dependency risk 2. Supply chain + distribution complexity 3. Customer concentration risk #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #worm #farm #composting #california Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party.

4

1 Comment

Exciting news for startups! California accounts for about 50% of all venture investments. The not-so-secret reason is that non-competes are illegal in California, so engineers at FAANGs can build competitors without fear. Today, the US Federal Trade Commission declared non-compete agreements illegal nationwide. This means that engineers at big tech companies can now leave and build their own companies without fear of violating a non-competes (legacy agreements for executives are still enforceable - talk to your lawyer), this is a step in the right direction for fostering innovation and competition across the country. A variety of big-business groups have vowed to sue to bring non-competes back, but at least for now, they're gone! #startups #innovation #competition #noncompete Official Announcement: https://lnkd.in/gRXUpgDy Impending lawsuit: https://lnkd.in/gqSiVuTd

50

2 Comments

♥️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 One of the most meaningful aspects of my work at Garlic Equity Capital is meeting business owners and listening to their stories. These stories often go beyond the numbers, revealing the deep emotions tied to their businesses. 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺: • Owners facing health challenges or stepping into their silver years, deeply concerned about the future of their team. • Owners experiencing personal transitions, like relocating to be with a partner or navigating custody arrangements in a divorce. • Owners who feel they’ve reached the limits of their capabilities, striving to ensure their employees have opportunities for growth. • Owners who took over their family business out of a sense of responsibility, but now want to pursue their own career paths. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲. It’s about protecting legacies, nurturing teams, and honoring the sacrifices that built these businesses. 👉 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘺.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳-𝘢-𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭. Let’s work together to ensure these businesses endure for generations to come. 💡

73

1 Comment

Interesting read from the Wall Street Journal to enjoy with your morning coffee ☕ Mansion taxes—shorthand for taxes on high-end real-estate sales, usually in the form of a one-time payment at closing—are becoming more common as cash-strapped local governments look for new funding sources. In New York, buyers typically pay the mansion tax; in other markets, like Los Angeles and San Francisco, sellers are usually on the hook to pay such fees. Often popular with voters, these taxes face vehement opposition from the real-estate industry and business groups, who say such measures will cripple the residential real-estate market. The impact is often much more nuanced.... thoughts? #taxes #realestate

1

Over the last year I've been digging into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - arguably the most significant law ever passed for energy transition globally. The IRA is complicated, but it represents $1T+ of federal funding for clean technologies. Today I'm proud to announce the launch of Giraffe Financial - a business focused on helping organizations of all types take advantage of IRA incentives. Our theory of change is that while dealing with the IRS can be challenging, getting IRA tax credits doesn't have to be. Giraffe helps any organization deploying electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, renewable energy, or energy storage access IRA funding. We streamline the process of determining eligibility, ensuring compliance, and completing IRS paperwork. Please take a look at our press release (https://lnkd.in/eu-V59su), visit our website (https://giraffe.financial/) and email me directly with any questions or interest ([email protected]). I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the incredible ecosystem of partners and investors that made this all possible: Skyview Ventures, Momentum (BuildMomentum.io), Andy K., Shawn Garvey, Matt Hart, Wallace Kyle Jr., MBA, Homer Robinson, Oktay Kurbanov, Alexander Scammon, Steven Eisenberg, Lewis Wagner, Sean Carney, Michael Greten, Jonathan Burnston, Tyler Lancaster, Skip Dise, Titiaan Palazzi, Sarah Valdovinos, Jordan Ramer, Richard Matsui, Bill Van Amburg, Dedrick Roper #InflationReductionAct, #IRA, #TaxCredits, #RenewableEnergy, #EVs, #EVCharging, #emobility, #electric, #solar, #electricvehicles

226

38 Comments

Sometimes I just become despondent with how people think about CO2. Although I welcome the good intentions of "leveling the playing field" for CO2 removal, IMO this VERY lucrative newly introduce Bennet & Murkowski bill would suck all the oxygen out of the room for many/most nature-based solutions which are the one class of options that have real affordably scalable potential. Unwittingly, my first reaction to this proposal is it will make the silly things so lucrative that the real things can never happen. Although it has several "issues" upon my first read, first and foremost is the 1000+ year "permanence" - a well-intended and seemingly obvious but misguided goal IMO. Those that follow me have heard it before, but at some point we must get it of our mind that the goal should be to lock up mean, evil carbon away forever in a deep dark vault like gold in Fort Knox, and replace it with the goal of accumulating more and more carbon as it is put to work in enabling all life on Earth. Let me state it clearly again - permanence of a molecule is actually the wrong goal. Not that it works this way (even in the inhaling and exhaling of life), but if all CO2 left its storage every night and returned each morning, it would be no different than if it stayed inside all night. Actually staying put doesn't matter. What matters right now is that we shift the total balance from the atmosphere to the lithosphere and biosphere - the latter meaning all life. I wish I could keep my attention on just helping real carbon removal happen instead of thinking about how I might game such a system, but here we are... I sometimes feel like Don Quixote, but I sleep well knowing that with physics and thermodynamics on my side, my cause is just. But IMO, we may all end up dead if we don't learn to understand this. My bigger near-term worry now is that it may just get harder for real solutions to compete with lucrative incentives for (many, but not all) fantasies. And some of these fantasies will even make the underlying problem worse (e.g. perverse incentives to remove biomass that could actually help life capture even more carbon). Ugh. h/t: David Lawrence for bringing my attention to this new bill.

40

9 Comments

2025 tax deadlines for startups 🔽 As we approach the end of another calendar year, I wanted to reshare a blog post outlining which tax filings startups should care about + when they are due. For US startups, the key dates/filings to monitor are as follows: 📋 1099s: send copies to all contractors, service providers, and qualifying vendors by January 31st ☑️ DELAWARE FRANCHISE TAXES: file and pay by February 28th 🗂️ INCOME TAXES (Federal & State): file your returns (or extensions) by April 15th if you’re a C-corp, or March 15th if S-corp 🧑‍🔬👩‍💻 R&D TAX CREDIT: most tech and life sciences startups can save big money via this credit. File it alongside your income taxes if you qualify. The easiest way to relieve tax stress is utilizing the Essential Filings Package from OpStart. Our tax team will identify every filing that applies to your business and create a blended quote to handle them all. You sign up in January and forget about taxes for the rest of the year. Reach out today to get your tax needs covered and remove this distraction for a full year! More details here: https://lnkd.in/gu4jTigZ (Note: I excluded sales and payroll taxes here because they should be on autopilot. Your payroll software should file 941s. Use Taxwire.com for sales tax. Don’t try to file these yourself or waste time/money hiring a CPA to do them.) #Startups #Taxes #VentureCapital

11

Debating Subsidies, Debt, and Policy Reform We unpack the complex web of U.S. subsidies, government debt, and policy reform, touching on everything from rural broadband to cannabis legalization. • Rural vs. Urban Subsidies: Jason argues against subsidies for both rural and urban areas, advocating for market-driven solutions like Starlink for broadband access. Alex pushes back with the political and economic realities of cutting subsidies, such as agricultural support. • The National Debt: The conversation highlights the growing concern over U.S. debt, with Jason emphasizing the need for bipartisan austerity measures and the role of business leaders in driving fiscal responsibility. • Cannabis Legalization: A candid discussion reveals how political calculations have delayed federal cannabis reform, despite shifting public and bipartisan support. A deep dive into the tough choices America faces—balancing innovation, fairness, and fiscal discipline.

16

3 Comments

💡 Ever heard of a bullet loan? It’s a unique financing option, but it’s not without its risks. For late-stage startups, especially in biotech, it can offer much-needed liquidity upfront but be prepared for that big payment at the end! 😅 Understanding these loan structures is crucial for making informed decisions. Check out the full details—link to the article in the original Kruze Consulting post. #StartupFinance

2

Having clean monthly financials is underrated and overlooked. Without monthly financials, it’s extremely difficult to measure performance and create feedback loops to improve If you don’t have a bookkeeper, hire one

18

1 Comment

I’m working with 4 brands under $5M in revenue that manufacture their own products. Here are some key things I have seen across the table: At under 50% utilization, manufacturing product margins are below 40%. Fixed costs such as rent and production management are a drag to margins in the early stages. The same amount of line workers are needed whether you do let’s say $300k vs $500k in revenue. If this holds true, margin scales up quite a bit as you reach the max capacity of those workers on a single line / shift. Automation equipment can cut labor significantly if the operation is highly manual to start. A 6-7 figure investment can cut workforce down by 30-50%. Having your own facility also means you can use it as a warehouse and use an internal employee for fulfillment. This cuts down the cost of shipping to a 3rd party 3PL and paying high 3rd party fees. In order to achieve high utilization of the facility in a shorter amount of time, private label should be looked at which can come with solid contribution margin to your bottom line Max Capacity is a real thing. If a facility can do $20M in revenue, ensure there is a plan for your next stage of growth. There are a ton of other comments / variables. Everyone chime in the comments!!!! #cpgindustry #manufacturing #scaling

104

36 Comments

🌱 For founders taking on venture debt, covenants are the fine print you cannot afford to ignore. 📃 They set the boundaries for how you can operate and manage your company’s finances. If you don’t play by these rules, the consequences can be pretty dire. It’s all about negotiating terms that align with your startup’s financial health. Be sure to read the original post by Kruze Consulting to get the full breakdown. Link in the 1st comment. 👇 #StartupFinance

7

1 Comment

Many founders get sloppy around venture debt. A potent tool for growth if used correctly but could be quite deadly if not. Sheel breaks down well here:

20

In 2024, 736 AgTech startups raised a total of $5.7B. There were 37 AgTech exits last year, 36 M&A transactions and one IPO. This is up 32% from 2023. See all the data in my latest CropLife.com article.

113

8 Comments

I have a podcast. If you’re into that sort of thing. It’s not good. But it is consistent. Every week. Wherever you listen to podcasts that are actually good. #podcast #pdx #portland #startups https://lnkd.in/g3gAhurv

11

Hey founders! 🚀 APIC might not be top of mind, but it's a part of your startup's financial health. It’s a good idea to know what APIC is and how it’s calculated. 💼 Check out the original Kruze Consulting post for the full article link and get your financials in top shape! #StartupFinance

6

1 Comment

Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

24

1 Comment

Confession: I wonder all the time if I'm good enough. If I have what it takes. If I'm "worthy." We were doing some strategic planning this week, looking ahead to Q1. We've closed a bunch of business lately, as firms are making budget decisions for next year. And like any good entrepreneur, I responded by spending the bulk of the time scenario planning. Who do we need to add? How do we need to evolve? What could go wrong? Only the paranoid survive etc etc. Paul chose that moment to provide some encouragement. "If you've proven anything this year, it's that people want this. We closed a deal in an 8 minute call this week. Almost every client continues to renew. I'm hopeful you can take some time next week and just feel gratitude. And I'm hopeful you can put any insecurities you have about this down in 2025 and just lean into it. We're really good at this. And they can tell." It was well timed. And it got at something deep inside of me. When I stepped away from my former company a few years ago, I had a ton of anxiety. And I didn't have a plan for what was next. I spent 18 months coaching others on how to live more intentional lives, but at the same time was experienced my own dark night of the soul. Who was I? What did I want to be when I grew up? And was I good enough to do whatever that was? When I put the stake in the ground and said this is what I'm building, I was nervous. I knew I could help professional services firms grow, because I had done it. But it was still a big departure from how people knew me professionally. And I'd always had partners. Was I good enough to be The Guy? I've since learned that I had these issues since I was a child. The question of being good enough. It is a potent source of fuel. But it makes it hard to enjoy the journey. It's a difficult chip to remove once it gets firmly lodged in one's shoulder. Part of the 🍾 ritual is a recognition that I'm really bad at celebrating. I celebrate for 5 minutes, and immediately jump to how we're going to do it. I had to bake celebration into the DNA of the company, otherwise I wouldn't do it. Next year, I need to learn how to do it without the crutches. As we close out 2024, I'm going to try to listen to my colleague. To spend a big chunk of next week just feeling gratitude. To continue to scenario plan and think ahead, but to try and do so not from a place of insecurity. To rest in the knowledge that we are good at this. That I am good enough. And that 2025 will be even better.

55

15 Comments