Business Plan Software

Monday, 31 January 2011

Entrepreneurs need freedom says private equity boss

With entrepreneurs increasingly turning to private equity in their quest for business finance, business funders are being warned that dealing with new businesses are a entirely different game in comparison with funding the corporate sector. Entrepreneurs need freedom to implement their strategies and ideas in the entrepreneurial way. The countries economy and ongoing recovery of this depends on a more entrepreneurial way of conducting business. So from a private equity investor point of view its important that the business plan and strategies of the entrepreneurs is respected. Yes of course you can comment, make amendments and add your expertise but don't try to dominate entirely as this will end up driving entrepreneurs away.

In his recent role as boss of the private equity industry's trade body, BVCA, Kolade suffered a roasting by the Treasury Select Committee when he tried to defend the sector against accusations of entrepreneurial ventures and the greed that often may go allong with this, asset stripping and loading some of the finest names in corporate Britain with insupportable levels of debt.

Though seen as one of the 'good guys' of private equity, Kolade was turned over by the Press and public outings became tests of endurance.

Now safely back as managing partner of ISIS Equity Partners, specialising in small to mid-sized investments, Kolade is reserving his skills as an eloquent and polished speaker strictly for rather more cerebral university audiences (he is a governor of the London School of Economics).

But with the looming General Election and a sense that an incoming government will launch an emergency Budget, Kolade is venturing back into the spotlight.

'None of them seems to realise how important entrepreneurs are to this country,' he says.
'Big business isn't going to be the backbone of recovery - they employ comparatively few people and can always shift their assets overseas. It is the smaller entrepreneurial businesses that will create the jobs and the growth that we need.'

But Kolade, 43, thinks he is already seeing a queue of entrepreneurs wanting to sell up rather than expand because they fear a huge rise in capital gains tax from 18%.

Sunday, 30 January 2011

The real benefits of sourcing private equity for entrepreneurs

More and more entrepreneurs are viewing private equity and venture capital as sources of small business finance for their business plan a recent report has found. With bank increasingly becoming more risk averse when it comes to SMEs the next best option - and in my mind a much better one as it also provides you with experience and support from entrepreneurs who have been there and done it successfully - is that of private equity, venture capital or Angel finance.

With LinkedIn recently announcing it will be the first social networking site to launch an IPO, while other venture-backed companies like social network Facebook and discount retail site Groupon have attracted heavyweight investors. One in leading entrepreneurs will be looking to private equity and venture capitalists to raise capital in 2011, according to a survey by Investec.

Forty-four per cent of those interviews say they are expecting to launch new ventures and a further 31 per cent believe it is “quite likely” that they will do this.

However, their plans could be put on hold because many still fear that access to capital could be difficult. Only six per cent expect it to be easy to raise funds during 2011.

But what are the real benefits of sourcing private equity for entrepreneurs? Theo o'Brian from http://privateequityblogger.com/ talks about hither following advantages for business owners:

Companies that are backed or acquired by private equity firms are often made more efficient and produce higher profits, which benefits now only the private equity firm but also the company.

Private equity firms use skilled management teams to correct the problems and ineffective parts of the company and many times this intervention prevents the company from further declining or even failing.

The management receives carried interest, a portion of the profits, so managers and their staff are motivated to produce good results to investors. Although carried interest is often criticized for taking money from the investors, it is a very big incentive for managers.

By definition, private equity firms work outside the public eye and do not have to follow the same transparency standards that public firms and funds must adhere to. This allows private equity firms to reform the companies without the constraint of having to report quarterly to the SEC or similar distractions.

Private equity firms generally perform very rigorous due diligence on potential investments. By utilizing a team of researchers the private equity firm is able to identify most risks that would not otherwise be found.

Private equity managers are paid very well and so it is easy to attract high calibre, experienced managers that tend to perform very well. The same goes for lower level employees at private equity firms, they tend to be the top young business school graduates.


Looking at these, its not surprising that so many business owners are opting for this solution when it comes to raising finance for their businesses and if the trend persists we may see this percentage rise even further

Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Private Equity in South Africa alive and well

With private equity in South Africa alive and well, many of which supported by outstanding digital marketing consultants. We look at some of the recent news and movement in the South African market. Recent news that Goldman Sachs has valued Facebook at $50-billion makes it tempting to look at the business plan and prospects of some of SA's innovative and successful internet ventures.

A recent Times Live article explores the opportunities and threats in the SA Private Equity market quite wonderfully:

    " 'Entrepreneurs here generally don't have deep enough pockets for the time it takes to break even' "

    * Yola, which has secured $20-million from the Luxembourg-based Reinet Fund (controlled by the Rupert family), recently signed a distribution deal with California-based IT firm Hewlett-Packard, which sells more than 60 million computers a year. A similar deal is set for early this year with AOL.

Yola was founded in 2007 by South African Vinny Lingham and is a website-building and hosting service, helping small businesses develop their online presence. In March 2008 it moved its headquarters to Silicon Valley in California but still has offices in Cape Town.

Lingham said there were no plans to list or take on a private equity partner. "We see Yola as a global business that was started in South Africa."

    * MXit is a free online mobile chat service that also provides music downloads, movie clips, sport and quizzes and facilitates obtaining quotes for travel and insurance, as well as quick access to news and weather.

MXit South Africa has been profitable since September 2006 and since then has not required any funding.

"We hope to increase revenue even more as we explore new fields such as m-commerce and wallets, and when we launch the best version of MXit ever, Version 6," said Herman Heunis, the founder and CEO of MXit who is based in Stellenbosch.

MXit International is still in an investment phase and the shareholders are Naspers (30%) and Heunis. MXit has more than 30 million registered users, many of whom are from SA.

Online travel agency Travelstart, founded in 1999, posted 30% growth in transactions in the first seven months of last year in the face of the global economic crisis.

Stephan Ekbergh runs the company he founded 11 years ago in Sweden but which is now headquartered in Cape Town.

"This is as good a place as any to run an internet company," he said.

The site has 25000 unique visitors daily and about 120000 customers are on the business's database.

Wholly owned by Ekbergh, the company's options include listing in SA or London or both, or taking on a private equity player.

Travelstart launched in Tanzania three months ago, is setting up in Kenya and has plans for Egypt and Turkey.

    * Zoopy is an online and mobile social media community that was launched in 2007. Users visit the site to upload, share and discover videos, photos and audio files.

"We thought that to have all three media in one place is a lot more beneficial," said Zoopy co-founder Gerry da Silva. YouTube, for instance, offers only video.

Zoopy has 120000 registered users and more who view the downloads. It is 75% owned by Vodacom.

"We would consider listing but not right now," said Da Silva. Users, mainly from SA, also span the US, Germany, Nigeria, India and the UK. At one stage about 40% of Zoopy's users were from the US.

Small countries (apart from Israel which has had multiple listings on Nasdaq) battle to create internet models that are internationally successful.

"America is so successful because internet usage is prolific and ideas catch on quickly in larger markets," said Allon Raiz, the CEO of Raizcorp, the privately held business incubator that supports more than 200 enterprises.

"Entrepreneurs here generally don't have deep enough pockets to sustain the time it takes to break even."

The Silicon Cape initiative is trying to build an ecosystem for entrepreneurs, but has yet to see notable successes.

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