Forget E-commerce. Focus on Brick and Mortar.
The Power of Bricks I heard an interesting statistic at the Decoded Fashion event in NYC last month — 95% of high fashion purchases are done in brick and mortar stores. This bit of knowledge may lead brands to believe that they should shutter online stores and focus on a brick and mortar only strategy. Think again. Betsey Johnson built her first brick and mortar store in 1978 and expanded her empire by approximately two stores per year. Currently, she is closing 95% of her stores. Oddly, despite a 20% decrease in store sales and a 50% increase in wholesale sales, the company was...
Read MoreIPOs Then and Now – 2007 to 2011
What a Difference Five Years Makes During 2007, we witnessed 86 VC-backed IPOs bring in $10.3 billion in fresh capital. Unfortunately, 2008 did not produce the same pay day. With only 6 IPOs yielding $470 million, many feared the party was over. Fear not, 2009 brought a sliver of hope as the number of IPOs doubled to 12, bringing in $1.6 billion. 2010 proved to be a strong year. We were blessed with 75 IPOs, bringing in $7.6 billion. Of course, 2011 would be more of the same, right? Wrong. The Year of Bloated IPOs In 2011, we had approximately half the number of IPOS as 2007, yet the amount...
Read MoreThe Devil Made Miuccia Prada a Multi-Billionaire
We all know the old adage, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” I joke. Of, course. I don’t believe we need to be “evil” to build wealth. However, I do believe we need to be focused on wealth creation to create wealth. It’s Not What You Make, It’s What You Keep Last week, when Angie’s List went public, Angie Hicks owned 1.8% of her company’s shares. This summer, when Prada went public, Miuccia Prada owned 33.2% of her company’s shares. Miuccia is a multi-billionaire. Angie is not. This is an important lesson for anyone building a company. I...
Read MoreLiquidity Landscape Q3 2011 – 30% returned more than 10x investment
M&A is Hot As the IPO market came to an abrupt halt, the M&A market rendered brighter returns. For the first three quarters of 2011, venture-backed M&A activity, by value, was up 43% compared to the first three quarters of 2010. During Q3 2011 alone, 101 venture-backed M&A transactions were reported with the average transaction valued at $181.3 million, up 17% from Q2 2011. The most important trend is improved returns to investors. During Q3 2011, 30% of the transactions returned greater than 10x the amount invested and only 6% returned less than the amount invested....
Read MoreHow to Raise Capital in Any Market
Regardless of market conditions, anyone can raise internal capital. Raising internal capital requires a deep look inside operations – physical, virtual and mental. During the recent downturn, many of the companies I advised were discouraged by the lack of capital available. As the number of VC funds declined 30% to 1,183 in 2010, companies looking for capital were left with limited options. Of course, a lack of resources always leads to resourcefulness. That is what led me to develop the three step approach to raising capital in any market. Let’s walk through the three step process...
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