The stock price of King Digital Entertainment fell over 15% on its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange, despite the great success this mobile game maker has enjoyed from Candy Crush Saga, one of the biggest hits in the social mobile gaming industry.1 The drop was not surprising, however, as investors expressed fears…
Tag: Entrepreneurship
Startups, Secrets and Patents
Should your startup file for a patent or keep its invention a trade secret? A patent essentially grants rights to exclude others in the making, selling, or using of a certain invention.1 Patents are granted for a limited term.2 A utility patent, the most common type, will expire twenty years after the earliest priority date.3…
Demand Dividends: An Emerging Alternative to Equity Financing
Definition of Demand Dividends Demand dividends are an investment vehicle where the investee makes periodic payments to the investor based on a percentage of free cash flow, up to an agreed upon multiple of the investment.1 Demand dividends factor the fact that an enterprise can grow revenue without generating cash. Payments are made after a…
Convertible Notes and the Golden Age of Seed Financing
What is a Convertible Note? A convertible note is essentially short-term debt that converts into equity at the closing of a Series A round of financing.1 Essentially, an investor will loan a certain amount of money to a startup in return for a note with terms defining how the equity distribution will work.2 Generally, the…
Venture Capitalists Target Untapped Markets in the “MidBest”
Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have recently started to make an unexpected move east from Silicon Valley to put down roots in an unlikely location: the Midwest.1 Historically, the majority of serious entrepreneurs from around the country have flocked to Silicon Valley and New York in search of easily accessible and trendy tech industry jobs.2 The…
The Popping Bubble of Starting Startups
So you have a great idea, an idea that will change the world. But you have a few problems: no money, no experience in managing any project, and absolutely no connections whatsoever. What do you do? Believe it or not, there are some companies (or startups) that actually deal with these types of startup problems….
Marijuana and Banks II
On August 29, 2013 Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued a memo concerning enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act “in light of state ballot initiatives that legalize under state law the possession of small amounts and provide for the regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale.”1 The memo noted that “the federal government has traditionally…
South Korea’s Grand Plan: Startup and Venture Capital Steering the Future Economy
Start-ups have been a new force for the economies of many technologically advanced countries in recent years, more notably after the beginning of smartphone/ applications era with the many application start-ups that have an expansive platform to connect with customers. The number of Korean start-ups has almost doubled to over 28,000 from just over a…
Royalty Financing: An Emerging Alternative to Equity Financing
Definition of Royalty Financing Royalty financing is an investment vehicle where the investor lends money to investees against its future revenue streams.1 The investor is repaid via royalties, a regular stream of payments that are typically calculated based on a percentage of the company’s gross revenue.2 Since repayments are based on a percentage of revenues,…
Marijuana and Banks
On January 23, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government was taking steps towards making it easier for depository institutions to do business with marijuana sellers.1 Holder cited “public safety” concerns noting, “substantial amounts of cash just kind of lying around with no place for it to be appropriately deposited is something that…