AGBeat Columnist: Hoyt David Morgan
Hoyt David Morgan is an entrepreneur, angel investor and business strategy leader. He is an investor and/or adviser to a handful of exciting and high growth companies, and has been a part of several high-value exits. He is passionate about customer experience, smart business and helping innovative companies grow... and sailing.
Entrepreneurs must balance optimism and realism
What entrepreneurs have in common If you are an entrepreneur, chances are that you are intensely driven, totally in love with your chosen profession or borderline insane, and I’m betting it is a combination of all of the three that led you to take a leap of faith and start your business. It’s not too hard to start a business, ...
Selling your business: strategic vs. financial buyers
Different types of entrepreneurs and investors Most small business owners will sell or attempt to sell their business. Lifestyle entrepreneurs eventually want to retire and serial entrepreneurs want to cash out and fund their next venture(s). There are many iterations to the types of deals that can be done to exit a business, but two major categories of buyers exist: ...
What entrepreneurs can expect during due diligence
Kick starting with capital In the present business climate, it is very difficult to get a business started without capital – either from the founders themselves, friends and/or family, or outside investors. Most entrepreneurs know that at some point(s), fundraising will be an important part of their role. What many don’t know, however, is what the process is like and ...
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Five very common mistakes entrepreneurs make
The entrepreneur’s journey Navigating the business start-up process, through funding and foundation building, into a high growth stage and to a potential exit, is a journey wrought with challenges. Every experience is unique – just as every founder is unique – but there are common mistakes we see throughout history. Understanding these pitfalls will help entrepreneurs overcome and avoid them. ...
3 things every founder should look for in an angel investor
Founders’ relationships with investors The relationship between a founding team and seed investors is an important one. When done well, it is a dynamic relationship in which the business benefits tremendously. When done poorly, it can put stress on the business and even lead to diminished productivity. Founders carry full responsibility for the business, so they have full responsibility to ...
A beautiful road map for securing an early-stage investment
Startups and fundraising Startups almost always must go through the exciting, excruciating, time consuming, eye opening, and ultimately important step of fundraising (at least once). It’s a horrific experience on one hand – taking too much time and work, requiring significant legal preparation and trust me, you hear “no” a lot, just to name a few of the fun things ...
Differences between a small business and a startup
Start-ups are sexy Start-up businesses are exciting. They are chaotic. They are risky. They are responsible for much of the innovation in our social and professional lives. They provide an opportunity for substantial financial gain. Let’s face it – start-ups are sexy. Many people call themselves “entrepreneurs” and/or state on their resume that they are starting a business or have ...
How treating your real estate company like a corporation can increase profit
Varying perspectives on running a business Owners, managers and employees have different perspectives on running a business – and rightly so. These three groups have job descriptions that are defined differently, their compensation incentives are varied, and they often have a business and work mentality unlike one another. In order to maximize the potential these three groups have to work ...
The least sexy side of marketing is the biggest money maker of all
Analytics will buy you a BMW Our culture celebrates multi-million dollar Super Bowl ads and the creative marketing campaigns (as well as the freewheeling culture) of Mad Men, which makes it one of the most acclaimed and popular television shows on television. In real estate, the prevailing marketing tactics reach back into the past with billboards, benches and print advertising ...
Crushing your competition requires a deeper level of research
Friends and enemies Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Yes it’s a cliché but it’s got a lot of merit too. Andy Grove of Intel wrote one of the best business books I have ever read, Only The Paranoid Survive. It has a broad scope of lessons and insight, but the overall theme of the book is that ...
Raise your profits by understanding and optimizing gross margins
Seeking ways to cut costs? As a business owner or an independent contractor, you are always looking for ways to cut costs and optimize your profits (and/or increase your take home pay). At least I hope you are doing this – so let’s assume yes you are. There are basically two different types of expenses that you can cut: costs ...
Your secret weapon in business – setting up your SWOT matrix
Setting up your SWOT The S.W.O.T. (Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats) matrix is a traditional business marketing process used to benchmark your company versus the market and competition. It is a valuable exercise to put yourself through annually and will help you refine your strategy and align your efforts well for the upcoming year. The process is simple ...
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