Posts Tagged ‘princetoncorporatesolutions.com’

Raise Capital: PIPE, DPO, PPM, OTCBB, Pink Sheets or Reverse Mergers

December 13th, 2009

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:

 PIPE: Private Investment In Public Equity this is used primarily by mutual funds and private investment firms where they buy discount stock in order to raise capital, there are two types of PIPEs traditional where common and preferred stock is issued at a set cap to raise money for the issuer and a structured pipe issues convertible debt.

 DPO: Direct Public Offering is when you sell equity shares directly to customers, suppliers and employees.

 PPM: Private Placement Memorandum is also known as an offering memorandum takes advantage of Regulation D rule exemptions 504, 505 and 506. This process came into existence with the’33 securities act and popularized in the late’80s, companies can raise money from the public via private placement; there is virtually zero interaction with the SEC after you file form d as long as you stay legal. (most popular form of fund raising).

 IPO: Initial Public Offering: extremely expensive, need SOX 404 audits, must have board of directors, quarterly financial reports to shareholders, report heavily to the SEC and 1 out of every 1000 companies that want an IPO actually qualify. I love participating in these but most companies just can’t qualify for one reason or the other.

 OTCBB: Over the Counter Bulletin Board is an electronic quote system that is the next best thing if you can’t go public via ipo, there is minimal red tape to startups and small businesses and is legitimized by the stringent ongoing reports to the SEC which keeps investor confidence high (these are extremely solid and I suggest this structure to companies when I am hired by their company or legal team as a consultant as a fast, easy way to raise big capital from the public otc)

 Pink Sheet: you can look at pink sheets as the Burger King, while the OTCBB is McDonalds, they are competing otc mechanisms. Pinks sheets are commonly referred to as penny stock and notorious for ‘pump em’ and dump em’ controversies and a lot of crooked people are involved with this platform. This is not a long term process that will allow one’s company to grow, pink sheets companies are typically short lived but it is cheap to set up but not a professional structure that could be upgraded in time to an IPO.

 Reverse Merger: a group funds the filing and creation of a public shell, they then sell that shell to a company that wants to go public, the established company merges it’s entity into the public shell. The sellers retain around 30% equity after they charge an upfront fee of 300k to 1m. 99% of reverse mergers are successful with the merger, but unsuccessful to bring them to trade and the entity basically just fizzles out.

Taking your company public is actually quite simple and inexpensive when you have the right consultant putting the structure together for you. There are countless ways to raise capital quickly and easily. It’s important that you understand your options before you waste time entering into the red tape infested banking system for a loan.

Want To Go Public With Your Company, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!


Private Placement Memorandum (PPM): An Art of War Approach To Raising Capital

December 13th, 2009

The psychological profile of business proprietors and entrepreneurs in general boasts the critical ‘Risk Taker’ element which allows one to take the leap from the financial security of a 9 – 5 job to the dicey waters of action based, success based income generation meaning: No Sales = No Money and No Food.

Many of these risk takers function within the realm of right brain communicative as opposed to left brain analytical which passes over the critical detail oriented solutions that are mandatory for raising capital. It is crucial for someone of this profile to hire a professional to come in and cross the t’s and dot the i’s in preparation for corporate fundraising efforts. After this is facilitated the entrepreneur needs to prepare mentally and emotionally for the turbulent road ahead.

Raising capital is no easy task and after the company is properly structured and you have an investor finder service, market maker or broker dealer in place to sell or promote your funding cause, you must step back, take a deep breath and prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. This preparation should start with the concept of ‘objectivity’ when you talk to investors, some will love your business model while others see an investment in your company as a waste of time. You must take these critiques, good and bad with a grain of salt. Don’t get caught up in the habit of emotionally reacting to these ideas from outside sources, don’t allow your mind to attach itself to an investor’s idea of your company or it will drive you insane and you’ll find that these emotional ups and downs will find their way home as your family will quickly be affected by your emotional fluctuation.

The second thing you must do is read and absorb the knowledge in such books as “The 48 Laws of Power” and “The 33 Strategies of War” by Robert Greene and of course “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. These books deal with strategy that can easily be translated into the business world and can help you prepare mentally for the art of fund-raising. Read these books cover to cover and then read them again. Absorb the intricacies and strategies that these books offer and make it a point to use these concepts in your daily professional life; believe me, you’ll be glad you did.

The next thing you want to do is to study great strategists like Napoleon and Machiavelli. One thing that you will realize almost instantly is that these investors are out for their own gain, period (Why wouldn’t they?). They will try to attract your attention with the right hand while their left hand is reaching in your financial records looking for chinks in your corporate armor to make their case for more equity for less investment. You need to be able to analyze, not just the words of the investor but also all the other elements of their expression such as: intonation, facial gestures, eye movement, standing and sitting positions and other ‘tells’ that can give you an insight to what they are truly trying to communicate so you can anticipate their next move. These are just a few things to consider before entering the world of venture capital. Raising money for a business is a daunting task only to the unprepared.

Corporate Consulting, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!


Go Public Fast, Easy and Cheap! Take Your Company Public Now!

November 24th, 2009

There is a misconception that the process of taking your company public has to be costly and stressful. The truth is that it’s the ‘learning curve’ that makes it stressful. By learning curve, I mean dealing with industry sharks that will con your company and take every dime you have while simultaneously never having the ability to take you public in the first place.

On a daily basis I hear one tragic story after another about how a pink sheets facilitator took them public and then dropped them without passing them to a broker dealer or market maker or someone to sell their stock to the public so they were left to fend for themselves. Another reoccurring story I hear is how a company sold a small start-up a shell company for a reverse merger but the shell had liens and shareholders that were ready to dump the stock as soon as the transaction was completed.

All this said, after the sharks and the scumbags there are many good consulting firms that love the industry and take joy out of helping a corporation fulfill the ultimate dream of a public offering through IPO or OTCBB or legitimate reverse merger (oh, the money is a nice benefit as well haha). The boutique firm is your best bet, if you can’t find one then find a small securities lawyer.

These people are in this for the love of the industry and the massive plethora of industries they get to work with. Personally, I love hearing from an executive that owns a company and is completely stressed, he’s been lied to, conned and feels helpless. It is an amazing feeling when I can calm his nerves and say, “All this is in the past, let’s talk about how we are going to make this work!” The relief in their voice after a statement like that is such a reward for me its difficult to put into words. I will customize a public offering strategy that falls within their affordability capacity of their company and put together a path to get them trading as quickly and efficiently as possible. I am happy to say that there are many consultants and attorneys that do the exact same thing.

If you are trying to figure out a quick, affordable way to take your company public here are some ideas to consider: most likely you won’t qualify for an IPO (that’s ok, most companies don’t) but you will qualify for an OTCBB offering which is just as rewarding and you can evolve that structure into the IPO phase if you so desire in the future. If you lack the capital for a public offering, consider raising a quick round with a Regulation D 504 (Private Placement Memorandum), its fast, easy and cheap. Raise the capital you need to pay your fees for going public and allow a group of eager investors to flip the bill. If you want to grow your company and take it into the ‘public’ arena this should be an exciting time, don’t ruin it by being stressed. Find a consultant that you feel comfortable with who will take the burden off of your shoulders and carry it for you; this is the job of the professional public offering consultant!

Want To Go Public With Your Company, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!