Karen Rands, Compassionate Capitalist

Karen Rands and Precious Williams discuss the Power of the Pitch to attract growth capital from investors and revenue  dollars from customers.  The 'pitch', when done right, is the most effective tool for raising capital, getting customers, growing your business to get to the first 6 figures, and then scaling beyond to 1M. It is the prime opportunity to tell your company story, explain the value proposition, and engage with your audience to get what you need --whether that is investment capital or customers.  Listen to learn how to prepare and change your messaging for your audience so that you will have a winning pitch. Precious L. Williams, affectionately known as the #KillerPitchMaster, is a 13-time national business elevator pitch champion. She was featured on Season 8 of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” with Forbes Magazine, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, and the Wall Street Journal. Williams is a graduate of Spelman College and Rutgers School of Law, with over 26 years of experience in creating unique speaking and public speakin

Karen Rands is joined by Dr. David Cunic of UCS Advisors, on this 'Cannabis Capitalist' segment of the Compassionate Capitalist Show. Karen & David talk about the explosion of innovation in an already fast growth sector, and the opportunities that are available to entrepreneurs and investors. They weave in the history, the politics, the current status, and the legal mind field that drives the level of risk associated with each cog of the supply chain wheel. Dr. David Cunic began his professional life as a licensed physical therapist and personal trainer in sports medicine and earned his Doctorate in health care management and physical therapy. He launched UCS (Use Cannabis Safely) Consultants in 2012, as a modern day pioneer in the cannabis industry to use his wellness knowledge and experience to educate a national market on the health benefits of cannabis consumption. This expanded to include UCS Advisors which advises businesses expanding into cannabis, investor relations for cannabis companies directl

Karen Rands is joined by Nick Fredrick of Rebar Technology to discuss the business process management and best practices for business owners and investors to consider implementing to retain customers, prevent charge backs, maximize customer lifetime value, and protect their merchant processing capacity when offering a subscription based SaaS platform or application. SaaS businesses risk losing business and merchant service processing when they don't know what they don't know about charging subscribers and make these mistakes. Nick Fredrick is an experienced operational and technology leader with a deep focus on enhancing customer relationships. Currently, he is the president of Rebar Technology Solutions, LLC -- A subscription Management Software Service.  Rebar Technology Solutions, LLC  was created to help companies needing support with subscription technology and operations. Nick and his team of 12 have processed billions of dollars in transactions. His expertise brings his clients improved revenue and re

Matt Thiry joins Karen Rands on the Compassionate Capitalist Show to discuss the legal steps Founders and Investors can take to protect their interest in the event of an unexpected change of status in the company.  Nobody enters into a marriage expecting it to fail. Neither do they start a business or invest in a business expecting it to fail.  Although it may seem 'negative' to enter into a pre-nump before getting married, getting these legal docs and contracts in place before your business gets complicated by success is a wise move. Contract law isn't exciting but can be the source of fireworks when suddenly a business finds itself in the situation with a founder or key operational person suddenly exiting the company, either over a disagreement or catastrophic event. Listen to learn about the tips and tools entrepreneurs and investors use to protect their business interests and mitigate the risk of trigger events that can lead to business failures. As a business lawyer, found at http://mattthirylaw.com, M

Listen to this lively conversation with Compassionate Capitalist Show Host, Karen Rands &  Industry Expert, Brett Putter talking about Creating & Preserving Corporate Culture in the New Normal of Remote Working. Working remote and virtual teams have become the new normal.   How do you create and maintain a corporate culture and do you actually need one?  Brett and Karen explore how a startup can control their chaos and set the stage for success or failure in how the build their culture in their team work and in their hiring practices. Brett Putter is the CEO of CultureGene, a culture leadership software and services platform--- uses a powerful software platform to conduct multi-person workshops in real time to guide the team through a rigorous process to define and embed a corporate culture. In 2018 he published his first book, Culture Decks Decoded and his second book Own Your Culture: How to Define, Embed and Manage your Company Culture in September 2020.  More info: https://www.culturegene.ai/ K

Incubators aren't started over night, and there isn't a shortage of incubators and accelerators in Atlanta area, or for that matter in every major city. The Cranium Incubator is the inspiration of Joe Beverly. After years as a successful entrepreneur and angel investor, Joe became increasingly aware of the lack of access to capital and resources many startup companies  founded by people of color and women are challenged by.  He opened Cranium Incubator in 2019 with the specific intent to change the landscape of resources available to minority and female founders as they start and grow their business.  With quarterly co-horts and investor showcase events, underrepresented founders increase the chances for getting their startups funded and learn critical lessons about running there business successfully. Joe Beverly joins Karen Rands on the Compassionate Capitalist Show (TM) to share insights about starting his own business and his path to becoming an active angel investor.  Joe and Karen also talk about the e

Karen Rands builds upon her 3/9/21 podcast The Art of Raising Capital (https://www.karenrands.co/karen-rands-explains-the-art-of-raising-capital-on-the-compassionate-capitalist/) and the 4 Universal Laws of a successful business.  In this video / podcast, Karen digs into the one of the most critical factors an angel investor considers before investing in a startup:  Who, What, Why.   Customer Discovery is critical to a business success... from the start.  When done right, it is iterative like a science experiment until you find the right solution.   Watch/Listen to learn more.... also a couple of inside secrets on how Angel Investors think.    Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/TXJkGBiammw To learn more about the services Kugarand Capital Holdings offers for entrepreneurs and investors to create wealth through building and investing in successful businesses visit http://karenrands.co  Spend some time looking our at customer projects and testimonials.   Hit the contact page and sign up for the Compassionate

Karen Rands has a very frank and informative talk on what it takes to successfully raise capital in this segment of the Compassionate Capitalist Show.   With over 20 years experience in working with entrepreneurs to provide access to capital, originally through pitch events to the angel group, Network of Business Angels & Investors (NBA&I) she managed and rebuilt to be one of the top 50 in the country according to Fortune Mag List of Angel Investor Groups, and at the big mult-day conference Southeast Private Equity Conference (SPEC) and now through general solicitation (crowd finance), and teaching entrepreneurs to be self sufficient in raising capital, she knows what she is talking about and does not sugar coat it.   Entrepreneurs from idea stage to growth stage will benefit from this information, of course, but also investors that are working with startups as mentors or active investors.   She gives specific examples and offers practical how to information.   In this episode, you will learn the 4 q

Working remote and virtual sales teams have become the new normal. Can you establish trust with your customer through a computer screen?  You would be surprised what you can do with a high tech, high touch approach.   Chris Beall of ConnectAndSell joins Karen to talk about innovative ways to reimagine the sales process and address the biggest productivity killer and motivational challenge sales reps have:  traditional customer telephone engagement.  Here is a high-tech high-touch approach that overcomes the productivity challenges and enables sales rep to do what they do best -- talk to customers, establish rapport and trust, and sell.  Chris Beall spent 35 years in Silicon Valley working with technology companies from startup to exit  He joined ConnectAndSell 10 years ago as the Chief Product Officer, and as CEO he is taking them to new heights, He is also the host of the popular podcast www.marketdominanceguys.com Learn More, watch a demo, get the ebook home based selling best practices: https://connectan

Listen (or watch) as Shachar Oren of Sound Media Ventures shares his journey from boot strapped startup to successful exit to lead a Media Tech VC firm in Atlanta. Karen first met Shachar nearly 2 decades ago when he was raising capital for Neurotic Media and wanted to present to her angel group, the Network of Business Angels & Investors.  Shachar's journey as an entrepreneur gave him keen insights into the concepts of growth hacking, lean start up, boot strapping, raising capital, and getting to a profitable exit. His experience has provided an unique perspective as an angel investor and venture capitalist sitting on the opposite side of the table.  Shachar also shares his insights as to what he looks for when considering investments in the emerging field of Media Tech. Enjoy their conversation and learning moments. Shachar Oren is the Founder & CEO of Sound Media Ventures, a VC firm that invests in companies at the nexus of media and technology. Previously, Shachar founded Neurotic Media, a high-t

Karen Rands is joined by Cliff Holekamp, managing partner and co-founder of Cultivation Capital, to talk about the growth in entrepreneurism as a stimulus to local economies.   Cities out of Silicon Valley and the Boston/New York corridor struggle to cultivate entrepreneurs and community based sources of capital to grow the jobs in their community and fuel economic development.   Boutique VC firms like Cultivation Capital seek to change that narrative by investing their time, knowledge, resources and capital to partner with those founders who are poised to make significant impact on the local economy with job creation and cultivation of ecosystem to plant seeds of prosperity. Karen & Cliff also discuss industry trends and best practices for entrepreneurs to achieve success.  Cliff Holekamp, heads up the Cultivation Capital VC Fund in Greenville SC, as a secondary office to their HQ in St. Louis.  The fund was started in 2012 and has expanded to offer capital in 4 areas: Software, BioTech, AgTech, GeoFaci

The very nature of investments is speculative -- Real Estate, Stock Markets, even Angel Investing, can all lose value based on factors outside the control of the investor.  Jonathon K. DeYoe joins Karen Rands to discuss the concept of Mindful Money -- having a plan for investing so emotion doesn't kill your wealth and you can hedge against unforseen and unexpected black swan events that can cause investment sectors and assets to collapse in value.  During this podcast you will learn that investors do not have to choose between a tremendous financial outcome and living a happy, meaningful life.  With these simple principles, you can accumulate and protect your wealth, and avoid the stress and worry about your financial future.  Jonathan DeYoe started his own financial services firm in California after a storied career on Wall Street.   He saw value in helping families build a beachhead against the invevitable financial storms, regardless of what administration is in office or financial malfeasance has been co

During this episode of the Compassionate Capitalist Show, Mark Parrott joins Karen Rands to discuss how economic data helps predict markets and customer engagement.  According to Parrott: "Meta-Trends teaches you how to peer into the future through economic forecasting, and learn to adjust to the coming economy."  In the absence of a 'black swan' event, such as the Covid 19 Pandemic, business growth and customer engagement can be predicted and business owners and investors can anticipate market shifts or necessity of a business pivot.  Listen to learn how this can be applied to your business and investments.  Mark Parrott is a 31-year veteran of the financial services industry. After spending his formative years on Wall Street, Mark moved on to teach captains of industry as well as the common man. He has presented to, or directly counseled more than 10,000 companies totaling more than 320 billion in revenue.  Mark’s book. Meta-Trends & the Next Economy is the highest rated econometrics book on Amazon. 

As host of the Compassionate Capitalist Show, Karen Rands shares her perspective on the "Cancel Culture" phenomena within a world were Cash is King and "enlightenment" is rewarded with Compassionate Capitalism and Conscious Capitalism. Up until very recently, shows were cancelled, subscription agreements were cancelled, celebrities got cancelled from shows --frequently in response to poor performance or some some cost benefit analysis.   Bottom line, whatever the reason, there was a financial justification.  Boycotts happened in response to or done to influence a company's business practice that causes harm to person(s), animals, and/or plants. Compassionate Capitalism deals with how individuals, investor groups, investor funds such as VC or Family Offices direct their investment dollars to include equity or stocks of a private company for the purpose of helping that company succeed through the financing and resources offered. Conscious Capitalism deals with how a business and its leaders operate that busi

Private Equity is the 3rd type of investment capital business owners use to grow their business, but often founders focus on attracting angel investors or VCs for growth capital.  PE Funds are also the primary acquirer of private companies.   Today, Domenic Rinaldi of Sun Acquisitions, will join Karen to discuss the role of Private Equity Funds as growth capital and also as an exit strategy for many closely held private companies.  Additionally, they will discuss the latest trends for private equity, and how to qualify for PE funds.   Domenic Rinaldi is the Owner and Managing Partner of Sun Acquisitions - a Chicago based mergers and acquisitions. Dominic is also a speaker, author and host of the M&A Unplugged Podcast, available on all major podcast platform.  Learn more at:   www.sunacquisitions.com  Schedule a free consultation.  Karen Rands, the leader of the Compassionate Capitalist Movement, and author of the Best Seller, Inside Secrets to Angel Investing. Karen is successfully informing the next g

Frankly, the reason to be an entrepreneur is to create wealth. Revenue and Profit is critical to that outcome. As you will discover in this conversation between Karen Rands & Paul D'Souza, revenue plays a huge role in the decision criteria for acquirers and is key factor in establishing the value of a business.  With so much hype on 'unicorns' and tech companies with huge valuations, it is important to note that the majority of exits are through acquisitions and grounded in tangible and measurable factors. Paul & Karen discuss why investor/funds look to the predictability of revenue flow, pipeline, and process management when identifying good acquisitions. Listen to learn what you need to do get your company on track to generate the revenue you need to achieve your goals and prepare your company for a successful exit. Paul D'Souza is a Venture Advisor to Loyal VC in Silicon Valley and a mentor at Founder Institute. Previously, he was the sales executive at RWD selling medical communication to the pha

With more people working from home and future of work likely to continue to be distributed, it is very important for Business Owners, CTO & CIOs to consider the vulnerability of their IT infrastructure, networks and data.  It isn't just the computer that employee is using, it is the home network they are on and all the other people in their household using the same network creating cracks that hackers, viruses, and malware can enter.   Shamil Mendis, VP of Sales & Marketing at Evicio, a business solutions provider focused on security, automation & staff augmentation, joins Karen Rands on the Compassionate Capitalist Show to discuss the challenges and solutions for maintaining the security and integrity of business owners' data and operations with a remote workforce.    Prior to joining Evicio, Shamil Mendis had decades of experience at the intersection of leadership, customer engagement, and business consulting. As a graduate of the University of Southern California, and a Gallup Certified Coach

In this Compassionate Capitalist Podcast, Karen Rands is joined by Jonathon Bragdon, Founder of Capacity, to discuss Revenue Based Investments as a non-dilutive capital source gaining in popularity with entrepreneur founders and investors. Revenue Based Investments, also known as Royalty Financing, is a hybrid of debt and equity in that it can be converted to equity, unlike cash flow lending, yet is paid back as a percentage of revenue on a predictive basis until an agreed to multiple of the original amount is returned to the investor.  When the agreed to amount, usually 2x - 4x the investment, is paid back to the investor, the entrepreneur's obligation is fulfilled and the company retains any equity used as collateral on the financing.  The unique characteristics of Revenue Based Investments is well suited for businesses seeking growth capital to expand and have a long term vision for the future of their company to remain private. Investors accustomed to re-occuring revenue streams from their investments, ca

Sarry Ibrahim joins Karen Rands on this segment of the Compassionate Capitalist Podcast Radio Show to help listeners understand how to pursue a purposeful investment strategy that minimizes risk and maximize the value of your portfolio to meet your evolving financial needs.  Sarry will share how one particular misunderstod financial management and investment tool could enable private investors and business owners to 'bank on themselves'. After getting his insurance licenses and working in the traditional insurance agency, Sarry Ibrahim’s saw an opportunity to exploit the unique framework of this one investment vehicle and founded the Financial Assett Protection program, a member of the Bank on Yourself Organization. FIN Asset Protection is a business that helps high net worth individuals, real estate investors, business owners and retirees grow and protect their wealth predictably and safely.  For more information about Financial Asset Protection, visit  https://finassetprotection.com/ Karen Rands educates

Renata Marino joins Karen Rands on the Compassionate Capitalist Show to discuss the expectations women, particularly women of color, face and the challenges they overcome to break glass ceilings from corporate to getting funding as a female founder, and even when they move to the other side of the table as investors.   Karen and Renata discuss why is it that more women haven't made that same crossover to angel investing and even in the VC realm?   They also talk about best practices for female founders to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, and specifically to raise capital from their own experiences.  Renata Merino is a 20 year operator, x-investment banker, Chicago Booth MBA merit based scholar, Latina serial entrepreneur turned investor and venture capitalist.  As a female and Hispanic and one who has faced the roadblocks in raising capital, her mission is to be the "access to capital" for female and minority founders.  As a 20 year operator and serial entrepreneur, Renata brings firsthand knowledge and