Category Archives: Finance

BusinessWeek: Startup Solutions – Dividing the Equity

BusinessWeek SmallBiz

By Monica Mehta

Building a business is not unlike baking a pie, except that the ingredients aren’t sugar and flour but intangibles such as a great idea, strategy, and execution (cash helps, too). But with multiple founders showing up with different contributions at different times, it’s hard to know how to split the pie, especially before it has been baked. How much should be given to the guy bringing the sugar vs. the one with the strawberries? What about the gal who came up with the idea to make dessert in the first place? (Read More)

BusinessWeek: Wise Policies for Risky Times

BusinessWeek SmallBiz

By Monica Mehta

One casualty of a recession is trust. In better times, you’re confident longtime customers will pay their bills. But for businesses dealing with rising inventories and account defaults, once-solid partnerships can suddenly seem risky. (Read More)

BusinessWeek: Buy Your Loan Back From the Bank

BusinessWeek SmallBiz

By Monica Mehta

Trouble for America’s lenders could mean opportunity for you. As banks scramble to shore up their balance sheets, savvy business owners have found it the perfect time to buy back debt at a substantial discount. (Read More)

BusinessWeek: Why Customer Credit Reports Are Your Business

BusinessWeek SmallBiz

By Monica Mehta

Entrepreneurs, by nature, are a wildly confident lot. When you dream of things that don’t yet exist, then leave a good job, raid your savings, and sacrifice family time to make it happen—well, confidence is a prerequisite. But an overly optimistic attitude can impair your judgment when it comes to your company’s financial health. Right now, it’s time to wave the yellow flag of caution. (Read More)

BusinessWeek: When to Raise Money

BusinessWeek SmallBiz

By Monica Mehta

It’s the ongoing irony of early-stage investing: Just when your little-engine-that-could startup desperately needs funding, sophisticated investors have no interest in parting with their money. Not for a startup, not right now. But once your company has traction, customers, and revenue, those same investors are all over it. The timing couldn’t be worse…or could it be perfect? (Read More)