Capital Insight: Recent Episodes
Jenny Kassan & Michelle Thimesch
Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch, securities lawyers and capital raising experts, will be interviewing fundraising veterans—both entrepreneurs and investors—and sharing success stories and cautionary tales of creative/outside-the-box capital raising.
Jenny Kassan is the author of Raise Capital on Your Own Terms: How to Fund Your Business without Selling Your Soul and served on the SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.
Michelle Thimesch is the CEO of Crowfund Mainstreet, a regulated investment crowdfunding platform.
Summary:
In this episode, Jenny and Michelle give an overview of securities compliance law and how to determine which compliance pathway might be right for you. Unpacking decision points such as if you want to advertise your raise publicly, how much you’re raising, where your investors are located, and more, Jenny and Michelle guide you through factors that will help determine which compliance options best fit your needs.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: What should you be thinking about when designing your offering to investors? In this episode of Capital Insight Podcast, Jenny and Michelle dive into the five decision points to consider when crafting your term sheet for investors. From how you structure your entity to choosing the economic rights of your investors, these decision points can help guide you in creating a customized offering that best fits you and your business. Listen to the full episode here.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode Jenny talks about what a Perpetual Purpose Trust is, the mechanics of using one, and why you might want to set one up for your company.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, co-host Michelle Thimesch interviews Pink Bench Distillery founders about their handcrafted business model that was designed to bring prosperity to north west Montana.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, co-host Michelle Thimesch talks about Local Economic Development and the dangers of mega-corporation greed.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, hosts Jenny and Michelle chat with Andy Posner, Founder and CEO of the nonprofit Capital Good Fund. The fund’s mission is to create pathways out of poverty and advance a green economy through inclusive financial services.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, hosts Jenny and Michelle chat with Rebecca Busansky, Senior Program Manager at Franklin County Community Development Corporation, about her role in supporting local investing in farms and agricultural businesses in Western Massachusetts.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, cohosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch share a method to boost your confidence to ask for investment.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, cohosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch explore the second step of designing your strategy to raise capital on your terms: identifying the right investors for your business.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast,hosts Jenny and Michelle chat with Will Stringer, Founder of Chisos Capital, about the innovative tool he’s developed to help entrepreneurs raise capital.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this Capital Insight Podcast episode, hosts Jenny and Michelle chat with Greg Brodsky, Founder and Co-Director of Start.coop, an accelerator for shared ownership companies. Greg shares his journey with cooperative businesses and his focus on promoting socially just businesses funding.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, cohosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch explore the first step of raising capital on your own terms: clarifying your goals and values.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary:
What would it take to achieve economic democracy? On this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, hosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch chat with Mica Fisher, the Managing Director of the National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) about how to create a healthy economy for all.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary:
In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, we chat with impact investor, Tom Abood about his journey with values-aligned investing.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary:
On this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, Tom Moroz, founder and director of Stonehedge Holistic Learning Center, shares his journey with grassroots fundraising and the challenges and surprises he’s encountered along the way.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary:
On this episode of the Capital Insight podcast, hosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch explore foundations as funders and whether their investment term sheets align with their impact missions.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, financial services professional, social entrepreneur, author, and angel investor, Logan Yonavjak shares what led her to impact investing and what she’s learned about raising capital. Throughout her career, she’s assumed many roles, but her goal has always been raising capital for change: “All along the way my focus has been asking this question: how do we change our economic system?”
Summary:
On this episode of the Capital Insight Podcast, hosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch are joined by social entrepreneur Pooja Mehta who shares her experience being a woman in the investment industry, what she’s learned as an angel investor, and how she’s supporting other social entrepreneurs.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode of the Capital Insight podcast, hosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch are joined by Steve Dubb, a senior editor of economic justice at Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ), to explore what it takes to build an economy that works for people and the planet.
Bio: Steve Dubb is a senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes and edits for Nonprofit Quarterly (including his Economy Remix column) and curates a monthly webinar series, Remaking the Economy. Throughout his career with cooperatives and nonprofits, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems and coauthor of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: On this episode of the Capital Insight podcast, Jenny and Michelle discuss recent important developments in crowdfunding regulations in light of significant fines issued against two major fundraising portals.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny and Michelle talk to Janelle Orsi who discusses whether retirement accounts in the U.S. are irreparably broken and new ways to think about retirement.
Bio: Janelle Orsi is a cartoonist, lawyer, and advocate focused on cooperatives, land trusts, housing justice, community-owned energy, and democratizing finance.She is Co-Founder of the cooperatively-structured nonprofit Sustainable Economies Law Center, which facilitates the growth of more sustainable and localized economies through education, research, and advocacy. Most of her time is spent learning and creating with inspiring groups who are advancing permanent community stewardship of land (check out the Radical Real Estate Law School) and channeling investments (especially retirement savings) away from Wall Street and into our local communities (check out The Next Egg). She likes to have fun conversations and make cartoons about abolishing private property, abolishing the legal profession, and abolishing private wealth accumulation.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.theselc.org/
https://www.thenextegg.org/
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny and Michelle talk to Devin Thorpe, who has been involved in crowdfunding since the '90s, about what is working well and what still needs to happen for crowdfunding to reach its full potential.
Bio: Devin is a bestselling author who calls himself a champion of social good. He travels extensively as a volunteer doing service, as a new-media journalist finding heroes, and as a speaker sharing what he’s learned. As a Forbes Contributor, he covered social entrepreneurship and impact investing, reaching an audience of over 2 million people. He has produced over 1,200 episodes of his podcast featuring luminary change agents, including Bill Gates. His books—read over 1 million times—help people do more good. He has helped nonprofits raise millions of dollars via crowdfunding. He draws on his experience as an investment banker, CFO, treasurer, and U.S. Senate staffer. He earned an MBA at Cornell. Frequently finding himself on airplanes, Devin is grateful to be middle-seat-sized.
Get In Touch: Website: https://www.jennykassan.com/
https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
https://www.devinthorpe.com/
http://devinthorpe.substack.com
Go here to get 50% off on admission to SuperCrowd22: https://www.supercrowd22.com/mainstreetmainstreet
Socials:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/devindthorpe
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/devinthorpe
thorpedevin@gmail.com
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode, Jenny and Michelle discuss some of the unexpected things that can come up when you get your first yes from an investor and some tips on how to prepare.
For more on mindset challenges in fundraising check out Episode 6!
In this episode, Jenny and Michelle use a hypothetical scenario to describe how they help entrepreneurs determine (1) their company valuation; (2) how to price stock; (3) whether to set aside stock for future early employees; (4) how to calculate percentage ownership; (5) how to create a capitalization table; and more!
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch discuss what community economic development is, how it can be done effectively, and the role of small business finance in a successful community economic development program.
Key quotes:
- “The minute we put public dollars into promoting [venture capital models], that’s taking money away from the 99.9% of businesses that are not VC-backable tech startups, that really need more resources just to survive, and that give so much back to the community: they create more jobs, they are more philanthropic, and they create that unique quality of life that keeps you from being a town where the only places to go are Wendy’s or Walmart.”
- “I’m seeing an uptick in interest in doing things like locally branded funding platforms that work in the community to educate. We have to remember that for the past 80+ years, it’s been really difficult for regular retail investors to participate in the small business and startup finance ecosystem…that’s what crowdfunding does in a really beautiful way.”
Socials:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Website: jennykassan.com
Additional Resource:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Voiceover Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch sit down to have a chat about creating an ecosystem for small business by taking seriously the adage that change moves at the speed of trust.
Key take-aways:
- “Lack of sufficient capital is the number one reason for business failure. Without adequate funding – and not just any funding but funding that allows them to grow their business without too much pressure – they’re probably just not going to make it. The tools are there to raise large amounts of money for any small business . . . but after 6 years of national crowdfunding being legal . . . we’re realizing there is so much more that is needed for entrepreneurs to get the funding they need.”
- “More than half of our country’s adult population consists of investors. The majority of people in our country are investors, but they don’t even think of themselves as investors. …That’s the third pillar: empowering people who have investment money to use that money in a way that is more consistent with what they want to see in the world.”
Get In Touch: Websites:
- https://www.jennykassan.com/
- https://crowdfundmainstreet.com/
- https://www.opportunitymainstreet.com/
Socials:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennykassan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennykassan/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekassangroup/
Additional resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit:
- Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Michael Shuman, economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, and a leading visionary on community economics. Michael is one of our nation's leading thinkers, speakers, and writers on the movement to move money from Wall Street to Main Street.
Key Takeaways:
- “What I see now are a number of unhealthy mutations in our capital system, where most of the money is going to Wall Street, even though Wall Street and the companies it represents are a relatively small fraction of our economy - and the vast majority of our economy, which is occupied by local businesses and institutions, gets little to none of our investment money. If we can fix that, I believe we can fix a whole bunch of other problems that we face.”
- “More than a million Americans of our 330 million population are actively involved in investment crowdfunding; that is significant, but it’s still less than 1% of the population. To go further, we need a lot of education.”
Bio: Michael Shuman works on community-based solutions rooted in local markets, small business and devolution and is the author of the acclaimed Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age. Former Co-Director of the Institute of Policy Studies, Shuman founded the Center for Innovative Diplomacy, an 8,000-member nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting global peace, justice, development, and environmental protection through direct citizen and city participation in international affairs.
Get in Touch:
Website: michaelhshuman.com
Twitter: twitter.com/smallmart
Facebook: facebook.com/MichaelHShuman
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mishuman
Additional resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Voiceover Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with David Lynn of Mission-Driven Finance, an impact investing firm created to fill the gap between philanthropy and traditional investments in order to accelerate positive social change.
Bio: David Lynn co-founded Mission Driven Finance in 2016 after spending 20 years working in the financial and philanthropic sectors and looking for a way to blend those two worlds. Prior to focusing on impact investing, David specialized in family office investment portfolios including both private investments and risk management through derivatives. Most recently, David has been the investment manager for the Price Group, a family office and charitable foundation environment, including directly running an actively managed equity derivatives portfolio and serving as a director with the Price Philanthropies Foundation. With a long dedication to community involvement, David has served in a leadership capacity for a variety of nonprofit and philanthropic initiatives, including San Diego Grantmakers, San Diego Impact Investors Network, Education Synergy Alliance, Mission Edge San Diego, San Diego Social Venture Partners, and San Diego Humane Society.
Key quotes:
- “If you’re a small business or social enterprise or nonprofit and you need 300 grand and you don’t own hard assets and you’re not on the venture capital path you’re really out of luck . . . we said that is a perfect place to be moving capital.”
- “It should be easy to invest in your community – that is really the goal. Our big focus is to create more opportunities to let non-accredited investors be able to invest in the things they care about. It’s still not easy.”
Socials:
- FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/MDFinanceSD/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MDFinanceSD
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mdfinancesd/
- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/mdfinancesd/
Website:
https://www.missiondrivenfinance.com/
Additional resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Voiceover Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Kevin Bayuk of LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm whose mission is to create, model, and share a racially just, regenerative, and locally self-reliant economy that works for the benefit of all life. Kevin shares about his journey from young tech start up founder in Silicon Valley to permaculture designer to social enterprise advisor and expert and what he learned along the way about how finance can be in service of the greater good.
Key quotes:
- “The cultural and structural mandates around capital…reinforce these patterns of extraction, the expectations that finance should generate a certain amount of return depending on which asset class it is and anything that doesn’t perform according to some culturally or structurally enforced market rate standard is therefore not going to receive funding. …I observe many projects that are intended to take care of humanity in ways that benefit nature and the rest of life, projects around food and water security, there are projects that exist that need resourcing. There is a tremendous amount of wealth, trillions of dollars of wealth globally…but the mismatch comes in the question of what is the potential of return in those projects.”
- “Where is it written in some law that that investor must expect liquidity in five-to-seven years? Where is it written in law that that investor has to expect 20% IRR? Culturally, that’s what’s normal to want or target, but that individual should have discretion to make different types of investment. But there’s this norm around early-stage venture private equity that says we should expect something different. I think it would be healthy for us all to admit that our notion of risk, in terms of the problems of our time, is different from the way that we thought about it 30-40 years ago.”
Bio: Kevin Bayuk’s roots are in entrepreneurship, having spent nearly a decade starting and growing technology companies, and activating projects and organizations that regenerate healthy ecosystems and socially just and joyful environments. After immersing himself in all aspects of starting and growing companies, Kevin focused his attention on learning about and teaching eco-systemic design. Now Kevin is merging his experience in business with his experience in permaculture to help businesses care for people while enhancing the earth. Kevin also serves as the Senior Financial Fellow at Project Drawdown, developing the business case to address climate change through existing practices and technologies. He frequently teaches classes, workshops, does public speaking, facilitates meetings, plans events and provides one on one mentoring as a founding partner of the Urban Permaculture Institute San Francisco.
Socials:
- FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifteconomy
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifteconomy/
Website:
- https://www.lifteconomy.com/
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Jonathan Coleman of Untours, an outside-the-box travel company that prioritizes immersion in local communities rather than funneling tourist dollars into big hotels that do not benefit small businesses owned and operated by locals.
Bio: Jonathan Coleman grew up in small-town middle America, in a family that didn’t travel much. Now, he has lived in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East while working in education and youth-focused initiatives. He received his MBA in International Economic Development and spent years at the helm of ASSETS, an organization that helps launch and grow social enterprises and diversely-owned businesses in Lancaster, PA. Their mission and values mirror those of the Untours Foundation, helping create jobs, boosting sustainability, and working toward economic inclusion. Coleman also runs Intentional Tours with my wife Kate, leading cultural immersion tours in the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Cambodia.
Key quotes:
- “We’re using this democratized ownership model to make sure that the benefits of this work goes directly to…impoverished regions. This is the kind of thing that no one else is gonna fund, and we’re willing to take that risk because we see that the impact, if it works, will be extreme.”
- “The need for capital, especially among smaller community-owned tourism operators that have the most downstream impact on their local communities are the ones that need capital right now…We see tourism as a huge lever for broader impact in the world. Travel accounts for 10% of global GDP, 10% of global jobs, and almost 10% of global emissions. We want to be part of the solution toward reimagining what that is.”
Socials:
- FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/untours
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/untours
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untours/
Website:
https://www.untours.com/
Additional resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Voiceover Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Nicole Middleton Holloway, a hands-on, nurturing CFP (certified financial planner) who helps progressive investors live abundantly and make a positive impact with their wealth – in their families, in their communities, and in the world – through socially responsible investing.
Bio: Prior to her work in finance, Nicole Middleton Holloway spent the first 10 years of her professional career working in the entertainment industry. She helped produce popular shows for FX Networks, and later served as a producer and communications director for actor and activist Danny Glover. As she took on more special projects related to social justice and female empowerment, she began to witness the power of money to accelerate positive social change. She also saw a greater need for more representation of women of color in professional advising roles within the socially responsible investment industry. Nicole took on her first role as an advisor in 2015, and after working briefly at a Wall Street firm, she quickly discovered that it was not the right place for her to build her career because the practices and culture there were not aligned with her personal values. In 2016, she co-founded Strategy Squad – an independent wealth management consulting business – with her co-founder, and father, Dennis N. Middleton, CPA. When Nicole is not advising clients, she stays involved in her local community by serving on an advisory board for East Bay Community Foundation, and is also a regular instructor with Uptima Business Bootcamp, a cooperative business based in Oakland that provides entrepreneurs from marginalized communities with greater access to education, mentorship and resources to create thriving businesses.
Key quotes:
- “I know that representation matters in this industry and not having a firm dictate to you about which clients you work with - for me to be able to have the final say - has made such a difference in the type of clientele that we’ve been able to reach.”
- “It’s good for business owners and entrepreneurs to know that [values-aligned] funding is out there and that kind of funding is receiving more support from individual and institutional investors. There are more opportunities for people to invest in funds that specifically target entrepreneurs who come from marginalized communities, people of color, and women.”
- “I operate within a capitalistic system and I have to honor the fact that I am a fiduciary, but I also try to think about risk…in a way that’s trying to deconstruct that capitalistic frame of mind that’s perpetuated by inequality.”
Socials:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaturalInvestments/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/naturalinvest/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/natural-investments/
Additional resources:
Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Morgan Simon, co-founder of Candide Group, an investment firm working with families, foundations, athletes, and cultural influencers who want their money working for justice.
Bio: Morgan Simon has two decades of experience making finance a tool for social justice. In that time she has influenced over $150B and is a regularly sought out expert on impact investing. Her book,Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change has been featured everywhere from Harvard Business School to the United Nations. She is a regular voice in media and an active investor as Founding Partner of Candide Group, a Registered Investment Advisor.
Key quotes:
- “How do we make sure that impact investment isn’t just another form of wealthy people getting to decide what the world is going to look like? That means being really intentional about community engagement, design, governance, and ownership - and seeing how to use investment models to encourage that transfer of community resources and control.”
- “Money is the source of independence and power…For instance, when we talk about poverty, that’s really more about autonomy and the ability to make great choices for yourself and your family and your community, versus any particular metric around how much money is in your bank account. When we address that more holistic view, it leads to very different investment approaches.”
Links/socials:
- @morgansimon1 on Twitter and Instagram
- @moneyandjustice on Facebook
Book:
- Purchase on Amazon
- Purchase from an indie
Website:
- The Candide Group
Additional resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you’d like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Voiceover Credit:
Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Check out past episodes here!
In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch attend the Force For Good 2022 investor webinar hosted by LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm whose mission is to model racially just and locally self-reliant economies that benefit communities rather than corporations. Today, they hear a presentation from the Guild, a socially minded real estate developer taking a systems approach to creating collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable communities with the aim of addressing the root causes of economic inequality.
Bio:
Avery Ebron loves opportunities to collaborate with under-appreciated communities to develop products and places that facilitate agency, equity, and symbiotic relationships. As Head of Community Products and Operations, Avery guides the design and delivery of The Guild’s mission to build community wealth in BIPOC communities. Prior to The Guild, Avery worked at Clearinghouse CDFI, where he led the design and development of financial products for businesses and nonprofits serving disinvested neighborhoods. Avery is also co-founder of the Dismantle Collective and the Healing Justice Collective, creating and curating spaces for healing for people of color. In his spare time, Avery enjoys teaching kids how to play chess and occasionally losing to them.
Key quotes:
- “Our focus is closing the racial wealth gap through real estate, entrepreneurship programs, and access to capital. After starting out with an accelerator co-living focus and working with neighborhood developers, we pivoted to understanding that ownership and community stewardship of real estate is the key to moving power into those communities, and so we moved into real estate.”
- “Our current flagship initiative is Ground Cover, and the mission is to seed and develop community-owned and -controlled real estate models that allow marginalized communities to collect assets in their neighborhood and develop power and self-determination.”
Get in Touch:
- Website: www.theguild.community
- Flagship initiative: www.groundcover.us
Links/socials:
- Community form: https://form.jotform.com/210667377881871
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guildcommunity/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/guildatl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theguildATL
Additional Resources:
Join us to discuss what you're hearing on the podcast! Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit: Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
In this episode, Annie McShiras and Ojan Mobedshahi discuss East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, a community-centered development coop that removes real estate from the speculative market to create permanently affordable, community-controlled commercial and residential projects. They share how they raised over $4 million for Esther’s Orbit Room, a historic venue in West Oakland, and plans to raise more under their Regulation A+ offering.
Key Takeaways:
"We've raised $4.3 million. We're about $600,000 shy of our goal. . . . The same seller who sold us [Esther's] owns 26,000 square feet of vacant property two parcels down. . . . This whole corridor is getting gentrified. Getting control of this whole block for community ownership is a real dream of ours."
"It’s an ongoing conversation, to work to transform not only the real estate system but the financial system and the ways in which we’re trying to galvanize non-extractive funding."
Bios: EBPREC Finance Director and Treasurer Ojan Mobedshahi and Investment and Funding Director Annie McShiras
Ojan Mobedshahi is a 2nd generation Iranian American, born and raised in the Bay Area. He has experience in healthy land use spans landscape design, restoration and education, real estate brokerage, construction and development, and political organizing. Ojan lives in a co-op in Oakland, and is also a landscape contractor and regenerative permaculture designer. You can reach Ojan at ojan@ebprec.org.
Annie McShiras works to actualize her bold vision of an economy where all people have enough to thrive through her work as a fundraiser, storyteller, and business development strategist. She has worked across fields including student organizing, worker cooperative development, popular education, impact investing, and transforming our financial system. A white queer organizer, Annie is dedicated to justice, abundance, and equity, and is committed to learning and growing as a lifelong practice. She remains steadfast in her approach to create parallel, democratic institutions that provide a more just alternative to corporate capitalism. Annie’s tenet belief is that there are enough resources for everyone to thrive as long as those resources are distributed equitably. You can reach Annie at annie@ebprec.org.
Get In Touch:
Website: https://ebprec.org/
The video mentioned in the episode: https://youtu.be/LC7D_boDd2Q
Socials:
Company Twitter: https://twitter.com/ebprec
Company LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/ebprec/about/
Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ebprec
Additional Resources:
- Angels of Main Street is a community of investors with no minimum wealth or income requirement to join. If you'd like to be part of a community of diverse investors who want to make a difference with their dollars, please join us in Angels of Main Street!
Episode Credit: Intro and outro are voiced by Marina Verlaine. She can be contacted at reel.peach.vo@gmail.com
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with attorney Jason Wiener about his work with clients to design and implement values-aligned funding strategies .
Bio: With more than a dozen years of experience as an attorney – including several years in Big Law litigation, and as a labor lawyer – Jason’s range of expertise and experience brings an innovative approach to solving client issues. He has served on executive strategy, human resources, finance and other management level teams and on the board of nonprofits, cooperatives and corporations. Jason has published more than six scholarly law review articles on international, human rights and renewable energy topics and speaks regularly about worker-owned and cooperative business model, non-extractive finance, the future of work, the contemporary and teal practice of law, distributed solar policy and sharing economy legal issues. Jason is an adjunct professor in Colorado State University’s Global Sustainability and Social Enterprise program, where he teaches an MBA course on business law and ethics. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Colorado Law School’s Entrepreneurial Law Clinic.
Key quotes:
- “As I learned more about the adversarial nature of labor law, it grated on me that there wasn’t a third path toward empowering working-class communities and lower-income people to gain economic power through income security and wealth creation.”
- “Venture capital is primarily focused on liquidity-based financing…that’s how they make their return, but for co-ops and other community-oriented businesses, they’re looking at providing investor liquidity through some other means.”
- “If perpetual growth is not a likely outcome, you’re only setting yourself up for conflict later to leave that option on the table.”
Links/socials:
- https://jrwiener.com/
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Maggie Kulyk of Chicory Wealth, an investment advisory firm that helps people align their values with how they understand their financial stewardship. Maggie shares insights about the diversity of investors she works with and what they care about.
Bio: Maggie Kulyk has worked in the financial industry since the early 2000s, but her main interest is in people – getting to know them, listening to them, and helping them balance their finances with the rest of their lives in a way that has meaning to them. She opened Maggie Kulyk and Associates in 2004, and in 2018 this business became Chicory Wealth, a fee-only financial life planning and sustainable wealth management firm. Maggie graduated summa cum laude with a BA in political philosophy from West Chester (PA) State University, then worked for six years in her family’s business, Rogers Brothers Corp. in Albion, Pennsylvania. She went on to receive an MDiv from Candler School of Theology at Emory, and finished ABD from the Graduate School of Religion at Emory. She is a CRPC® (Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM), a Chartered SRI CounselorTM, and a member of the Financial Planning Association and the Life Planning Institute. She’s also the author of Integrating Money and Meaning: Practices for a Heart-Centered Life and president of the board of the nonprofit Women Donors Network.
Key quotes:
- “If we were gonna be about helping to transform how money moves in this culture...particularly in communities that have historically had what little wealth they had extracted from them…then we needed to look not at investing in women entrepreneurs in the classic VC model, but instead look harder at what the model is and how it supports communities.”
- “Money is increasingly meta…money is this amorphous thing in the publicly-traded investment world; it is very removed from most investors’ experience of it. So for someone to be able to invest directly in someone’s business and see that business thrive and give root to a community, it means a lot to people.”
Links/socials:
- https://chicorywealth.com/
- https://www.integratingmoneyandmeaning.com/
- https://twitter.com/ChicoryWealth
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/chicorywealth/
- info@chicorywealth.com
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-host and securities attorney Jenny Kassan talks with Matt Kreutz about his experiences growing his business and raising values-aligned funding that grows worker wealth and allows the business to focus on the mission to provide good jobs to people that are formerly incarcerated and formerly homeless.
Bio: Matt Kreutz is the CEO and Founder of Firebrand Artisan Breads. Matt turned his lifelong passion for baking and working in the food service industry into Firebrand in 2007. Matt grew up in the kitchen, spending hours helping his mom make meals for the family. At 14 he got his first job in a bakery and has never worked outside the baking industry since.
Matt has a passion to create a great workplace culture of inclusion, hard work and service. Matt believes that a company has the responsibility to its employees as well as the community it serves. Being raised in a house where his mother went to jail as a teenager and having experienced homelessness himself, Matt aims to make Firebrand a place where people can create a better life for themselves, their families and their community.
Key quotes:
- “We set up a structure where, if the investors win, the employees win.”
- “Our goal is to make sure the workers get the benefit of all the hard work . . . we wanted to make sure the investors are aligned with that goal.”
Links/socials:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kreutz-15933118a/
- https://wefunder.com/firebrand.artisan.breads
- matt@firebrandbread.com
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
Summary: In this episode, Capital Insight co-hosts and securities attorneys Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch talk with Katrina Spade of Recompose, a full-service funeral home specializing in human composting. Listen to catch Katrina’s insight into the process of raising capital for a business that was still not legal when it started and how to stay true to your vision even when you need large amounts of capital to get your business off the ground.
Bio: Katrina Spade is a designer and the inventor of a system that transforms the dead into soil (aka human composting). In 2017, Katrina founded Recompose with the goal of offering earth-centric, participatory, and meaningful death care. Recompose has led the successful legalization of human composting in Washington State, Oregon, and Colorado. In 2020, Recompose began offering the service of human composting to the public. Katrina and her team have been featured in Fast Company, NPR, the Atlantic, BBC, Harper’s Magazine, and the New York Times. She is an Echoing Green Fellow, an Ashoka fellow, and a Harvard Kennedy School Visiting Social Innovator.
Key quotes:
- “I knew that the world wanted this, and I knew that it was going to take a pretty good amount of capital.”
- “One of the reasons I did not want to create a for-profit was that I was afraid of losing the values that I had set up in my non-profit.”
- “I founded Recompose as a for-profit company that has in its bylaws environmental or social goals that sit alongside profit goals. It was a way to start signaling to investors that we weren’t just about profit. Recompose is very much about an environmental and social goal: the environmental goal is creating new soil and saving carbon and reducing the pollution that happens with our [current] funeral practices - creating this beautiful ecological wealth-building practice instead. And the social goals have to do with accepting our mortality and thinking more deeply about how we’re connected to the natural world as humans. That was the first thing we did to signal to investors that this is a different kind of company.”
Links/socials/contact:
- Company website: https://recompose.life/
- Company instagram: @recomposelife
- Entrepreneur instagram: @katrinaspade
- Company twitter: @recomposelife
- Email: info@recompose.life
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
Summary: Dan Fireside is a key player in the world of creative financing strategy, but he does not come from a high finance or private equity background. After working as a program officer at Rights Action, a grassroots NGO based in Guatemala and Peru, Dan went on to work at Equal Exchange, the worker-coop, Fair Trade coffee company where he helped raise over $17 million in mission-aligned equity and debt. Now, he’s sitting down with hosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch to discuss how he applied the skills he learned as an activist to help co-ops and other mission-driven businesses raise values-aligned funding.
Key quotes:
- “Ninety percent of fundraising is storytelling.”
- “My biggest takeaway was the power of cooperatives.”
Bio: Daniel Fireside, founder of Uncommon Capital Solutions, is a fundraising consultant for co-ops and other mission-driven companies. He was the Capital Coordinator for Equal Exchange, one of the largest worker-owned cooperatives in the U.S. for over a decade. At Equal Exchange, Daniel raised over $15 million in investments and mission-aligned debt. He was elected to the board of Equal Exchange, as well as the Cooperative Fund of New England, and Namaste Solar. As the lead fundraiser for Downtown Crenshaw Rising, he has helped raise nearly $35 million for a Black community-led initiative to protect neighborhoods in South LA from gentrification and displacement by using community land trusts and supporting solidarity economy programs.
Daniel has worked with non-profits, social enterprises, and community development organizations in the U.S., Guatemala, and elsewhere. He holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and a BA from UC Santa Cruz. He also speaks regularly at universities and conferences, including: Harvard Law School, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern University, Slow Money, SOCAP, among others.
Social media and/or contact info for inquiries:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-fireside-74710220/
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
Summary: In today’s episode, Capital Insight co-host and securities lawyer Michelle Thimesch sits down with investment crowdfunding strategist Bill Huston to talk about the tools we have at our disposal to dismantle oppressive economic systems and build more equitable ones.
Bio: Bill Huston is an INC. Magazine top 19 global crowdfunding expert, author, speaker, and educator with over a decade of crowdfunding experience. He founded Crowd-Max, an investment crowdfunding accelerator and incubator to introduce and educate Black founders on how to successfully use investment crowdfunding to raise capital and build Black wealth with one goal in mind: to close the racial wealth gap. The organization’s core mission is to help Black entrepreneurs raise capital and scale via crowdfunding.
Key quotes:
- “I came up with this: the one fundamental rule of crowdfunding - and that’s if you don’t build an excited and engaged crowd, you will not get the funding that you are looking for.”
Links/socials:
- https://projectcrowd.co/author/bhuston/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/billhuston1/
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
In mid-October, Capital Insight co-host Jenny Kassan was asked to speak at the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce about the advantages of choosing community-based methods of fundraising rather than venture capital. In this episode, we revisit Jenny’s Berkeley presentation as she breaks down how to raise funding from the right investors.
Key quotes:
- “When people tell me I do non-traditional or alternative finance, I tell them no, venture capital is non-traditional and alternative. What I do is something that humans have done for a very long time.”
Bio: The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce is a private, not-for-profit organization established in 1900 to support business in Berkeley, California. The Chamber is a mostly volunteer organization, and remains dedicated to hosting educational and networking events.
Social media and/or contact info:
- Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBuKETZ_9jM
- Official website: https://www.berkeleychamber.com/
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
In this episode, Capital Insight co-host and securities attorney Jenny Kassan talks with Sean Campbell about his journey from Wall Street investor to regenerative finance expert.
Sean Campbell is the founder of Capital for Communities, an advisory and consulting firm that works to broaden access to capital and create a just, equitable financial system that supports thriving communities and works for everyone. His engagements include advice on fund and financial product structuring, strategic advice on the financial markets, and advice on and management of individual project financings; his clients include social enterprises, government agencies, financial institutions, and non-profit organizations. He is a Technical Advisor to Common Future, a network of leaders (re) building an economy that includes everyone; he is also the facilitator of the Real Estate Circle of the Inclusive Capital Collective.
Prior to founding Capital for Communities, Sean worked for 15 years in investment management, most recently as a managing director in the principal investing group at Macquarie. Sean has made and managed hundreds of millions of dollars of equity and credit investments, and has invested in debt and equity in the public and private markets. He holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
Key quotes:
- “I considered going into one of the more conventional investment funds that had started to spring up at the time, but ultimately I decided what I was interested in was more structural change.”
Links/socials:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-campbell-81aa705/
- https://www.commonfuture.co/people/sean-campbell/
Angels of Main Street:
- https://www.angelsofmainstreet.com/
David Ferran, Founder & CEO of the Torrey Project, shares his background in venture capitalism and his motivation for pivoting to conscious stakeholder capitalism. Together with Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch, David walks us through an understanding of stakeholder capitalism as a model for sustainable value creation.
Laina Greene is a Social Impact Investor & Tech Entrepreneur. In this episode, Laina shares her journey and background on social impact investing and why she believes in funding resilient and resourceful women entrepreneurs in indigenous communities.
In this episode, GO Box CEO Jocelyn Gaudi Quarrell shares her plans to eliminate waste for to-go food and drinks, her journey in fundraising, how her company's core value of sustainability impacts her management decisions, and her strategy to get investors on board.
Though Jocelyn is no stranger to fundraising, she shares why she approached Jenny Kassan and her team to be guided and gain more insights into the best way forward.
In this episode, hosts Jenny and Michelle interview Annie McShiras and Noni Session from EB PREC about how they are working to bring more equality to real estate.
In this episode, Angela Barbash shares her tips and strategies for those who are interested in economic development and enhancing their communities through investing.
Suzanne Andrews is an angel investor and an ecosystem builder in the finance innovation space, with a particular focus on women and money. In this episode, Suzanne shares her mission to empower women and teach them to shift their mindsets so they can see themselves as investors.
In this episode, hosts Jenny and Michelle are joined by fellow securities lawyer Elizabeth Carter as they spill the tea on regulation crowdfunding platform missteps they have witnessed as well as the first major compliance action against a crowdfunding platform. They discuss why this is a serious issue for small businesses gaining access to funding, and how crowdfunding platforms could work more collaboratively with lawyers who represent small businesses so that everyone wins.
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Jenny Kassan is a business attorney with decades of experience. She is also a certified transformational coach, social entrepreneur, and finance innovator. Her formula for mission-aligned capital raising has helped diverse entrepreneurs throughout the country raise millions of dollars on their own terms.
Learn more about Jenny Kassan, here >>>> www.jennykassan.com <<<<
Elizabeth L. Carter is a crowdfunding securities attorney who is passionate about restorative economics and community development.
Elizabeth assists investment funds, businesses, cooperatives, and nonprofits with the legal strategy and compliance of raising capital from both accredited and non-accredited investors (i.e. crowdfunding).
Learn more about Elizabeth L. Carter, here: elcesq.com
Babbie Jacobs is an experienced angel investor based in New York. In this episode, Babbie shares how and why she has centered her investing strategy around community and relationships.
In this episode, Claude Arpels shares the story of how he became an angel investor. When Claude sold his last business, he vowed not to go back into another luxury venture, instead deciding to seek out something that felt more meaningful to him personally — which turned out to be angel investing and the slow money movement.
Mickey Wiles began to raise capital for his first business with an investment crowdfunding offering on a Vermont-based platform called Milk Money offering. About a year ago, Mickey and his team wanted to grow the business and needed capital to do so, but realized the mainstream method of startup fundraising wasn’t appealing to them. That led them to seek out investors that were much more geared toward social impact investing.
Keren Flavell is a seasoned entrepreneur with achievements in media, tech, and community. In this episode, Keren shares her approach to the Steward-Ownership Investor Model and why it's beneficial for startups to explore non-traditional fundraising strategies to raise capital.
Laura Oldanie is a socially conscious wealth coach who blogs at Rich & Resilient Living, where she explores money and lifestyle choices for a regenerative future. In this episode, Laura shares how she got started investing, the ideas behind slow money, and the resources available to non-accredited investors.
In this episode, Host Jenny and Michelle interview Aunnie Patton Power, the founder of Intelligent Impact. Aunnie shares her views on why the traditional venture capital model doesn’t always work for small businesses and what alternatives she’s found to be more successful.
Did you know you have the legal right to invest your retirement fund however you want? In this episode, hosts Jenny and Michelle discuss the different options you have for investing your retirement fund.
“A woman in booze is quite different from a man in tech”. In this episode, In this episode, Absinthia Vermut discusses how she realized that the mainstream route of finding investors wasn’t the right fit for her business and why she decided to pursue a more customized approach. She shares how this journey of raising capital for her business has helped her become a more confident leader.
In this episode, hosts Jenny and Michelle define what an exit strategy is in regard to investing and why it’s important to create one that works for both your investors and you as the entrepreneur. Learn about the different models and strategies you can implement when it comes to paying your investors with or without selling your business.
In this episode, Michelle and Jenny interview Kai Nortey, a visionary and socially conscious Black woman business leader who is tenaciously building an ethnically inclusive food justice and health economy in the Oakland-Bay Area of California.
Kai shares how she built her business based on a triple bottom line model: restorative economics, racial and gender equity, and climate justice. Learn about how Kai sought out investors and how she raised capital to scale and grow kubé.
In this episode, Nancy Hayes shares the process she developed when deciding to become an angel investor. She breaks down the different factors that come into play for her when deciding what companies to invest in and tips for entrepreneurs on how to create an irresistible offer.
Brahm Ahmadi is a social entrepreneur working to build healthier and more equitable inner-city communities by bringing change and innovation to critical facets of the food system. When traditional fundraising methods proved an ill fit for his company, Brahm decided to look elsewhere to raise capital. In this interview, Brahm shares the unique challenges he and his team faced and how they targeted their messaging to attract investors that aligned with their mission and values.
In this episode, hosts Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch discuss the different skills and challenges they have seen entrepreneurs master during the fundraising process. Your hosts consider some of the mindset issues that could be holding you back from growth, including imposter syndrome, indecision, and over-attachment to one’s comfort zone. They also share suggestions you can utilize in order to overcome these mindset challenges so that you can successfully raise capital for your business.
Kristin Hull is the founder and CEO of Nia Impact Capital, a women-led Registered Investment Advisor leading the charge to change the face of finance by hiring and training women and people of color in sustainable and transformative investing. An impact Investor since 2007, Kristin oversaw the investment process for the first family foundations as they moved their endowment assets into 100% alignment with their philanthropic mission. In 2010 Kristin went on to found Nia Community, a 100% mission-aligned impact investment fund focused on social change and environmental sustainability in her hometown of Oakland, California.
When Shaun Chavis started her first company, LVNGbook, she decided to try the bootstrap method to fund her company. Shaun knew that she wanted to grow her company slowly, so she chose from the beginning not to go the venture capital route. Instead, it was important to her to grow the company to align with her values and fit with her vision of the company culture she wanted to create. That led her to look for angel investors or individuals interested in the company and its mission.
When Darren Smith started his business, there weren’t the same resources for non-technical founders trying to do technical things. After getting involved with some local organizations to help with the technical side, it became clear that revenue alone wouldn’t be enough to support the app to what they wanted it to be. That realization is what led them to try to raise capital. Darren has now been raising money on and off for several years, and he shares the challenges he faced, the tips and tricks he used along the way, and his advice for anyone looking to raise money for their business.
In this episode, Mike Hannigan shares his background and experience in building a value’s aligned business model and how that carried over to his investing strategy. Mike was born in Pensacola, Florida. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy from U.C. San Diego and his M.A. in Criminology from U.C. Berkeley. He began work for the Xerox Corporation and built his career in management for business products companies for the next decade until starting GSB.
Chel Loyd is the Co-Founder + CPO of the dopest Women-owned, Black-owned, and Veteran-owned coffee company in America. In this episode, Chel shares her experience with investment crowdfunding, not just once but twice. Chel’s first company went with the bootstrap method, which left them in a bad place. Once she and her partner launched Dope Coffee, she realized their mission and vision were much bigger than just the two of them. This led them to seek out investors in a new way. Chel shares the challenges she faced, the tips and tricks she used along the way, and her advice for anyone seeking investment crowdfunding.
Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch, securities lawyers and capital raising experts, will be interviewing fundraising veterans—both entrepreneurs and investors—and sharing success stories and cautionary tales of creative/outside-the-box capital raising.
Jenny Kassan is the author of Raise Capital on Your Own Terms: How to Fund Your Business without Selling Your Soul and served on the SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.
Michelle Thimesch is the CEO of Crowfund Mainstreet, a regulated investment crowdfunding platform.
Do you have questions for Jenny and Michelle to answer on the podcast? Call the PODCAST HOTLINE and leave us a message—866-J-KASSAN (552-7726) ext. 5.
Disclosure: Nothing herein should be construed as legal or investment advice.