Karen Rands, Compassionate Capitalist

Karen Rands, host of the Compassionate Capitalist Show, is joined by Vernon Lee, Jr., co-founder and managing partner of The Marathon Fund to talk about the shift in paradigm toward the realization that diverse founders of funded startups outperform traditional venture  backed companies led by white male founders.  The data is clear but the process for diverse founders to get funding to get started is muddy. The good news is that conversations started pre-2020 helped to shine the light on the challenges for access to capital for diverse founders that crystalized in 2020 and opened up the doors for more dedicated funding allocation in corporate equity, venture, and angel funds.  Karen & Vernon dig into the topic and discuss the elevation and availability of capital for underserved for companies from start to growth stage: past, present & future.Mr. Vernon Lee, Jr is a Partner and Co-Founder of The Marathon Fund, an early-stage equity fund primarily investing in high-growth innovative businesses. The fu

Donna Griffit, the Corporate Storyteller, joins Karen Rands on the Compassionate Capitalist Show to share the why, what, & how of pitching investors and compelling them to invest in your company, innovation & opportunity. In this segment, Karen and Donna enthusiastically discuss the Art and the Science of pitching investors.   They talk about what must be in a pitch deckWhy -- vision statement, passionWhat -- what is your product -- we do x for y for zHow -- demo within a user story.  Do you know what the language of love is for Investors? Do you know the formula for delivering a pitch that predictable in its success but unique to your opportunity? How do you create FOMO with investors (Fear of Missing Out)?Is there a difference to delivering a pitch online vs in person? Is pitching investors in Silicon Valley different than the rest of the world? How can women pitch male investors and have a positive outcome? Listen to hear the answers to each of these thought provokers. Donna Griffit,  Corporate Sto

Karen Rands brought back this dynamic and highly informative interview with Dave Savage from 2019 because when the content is good it is timeless.   This show will provide entrepreneurs and investors insights into what can & must be done, and how to do it, before a company hires an expensive patent attorney (patents do not = a company) or spends a chunk of change on a prototype or begins looking for investment from angel investors.  Karen and Dave also discuss the ins and outs off bringing an invention to market and determining the best course of action, whether to startup a company or license the innovation.   Dave Savage is a successful inventor and patent holder himself, and former President of the Inventors' Association of Georgia, Dave advises inventors and product developers through his firm, Pointer Consulting.   Dave offers a wealth of free resoures for inventors at DaveSavage.com/for-entrepreneurs-and-inventors.html and a free 20 min consultation.  Karen offers a coaching program for entreprene

Self Directed Retirement Accounts (IRA and ROTH) have long been a means to put retirement funds to work creating greater yield by investing in alternative investments -- LLP for Oil & Gas, Minerals, Real Estate---AND private ventures.  Many long term employees have climbed the corporate ladder and earned matching funds from their employers to accumulate their golden 'nest egg'.  The wealthy get wealthier because they know this Inside Secret: converting some or all of their 401K golden nest egg into their own venture fund with a specific diversification strategy for short term and long term gains, plus a steady feed of Earnings and Capital Gains that go back into the retirement account tax free or tax deferred, depending on the structure.  It is not common knowledge, and why it is an 'inside secret' that Karen covers in her book Inside Secrets to Angel Investing.  Listen to how to use this as an entrepreneur seeking investment capital or as an angel investing seeking better returns than offered through tr

Failures are common in business and investing.  "Failures" are lessons we learn from so we can be better, smarter, stronger... my guest today Rod Khleif calls them "SEMINARS".  The seminars of life to learn from. Some people are able to learn from those experiences and others seem to carry them around like a ball and chain, struggling to be free of the fear that those failures will happen again. In this episode of the Compassionate Capitalist Show, Rod shares the means and methods he used to overcome the devastating loss of his business, to rebuid bigger and better. It requires Focus, Goal Setting, and Mindset. Those three things seem obvious and part of any Success Strategy. Listen to hear the 'more' and how you can use your pain from failure to fuel your trajectory toward new positive outcomes with the psychology to win and overcome any fear you have in making angel investments, real estate investments, or investing time and money in starting a business.  Rod Khlief joins us today to explain how he used t

Kate Kordsmeier shares her tips, tactics, and insights into generating revenue from a blog -- as the primary business or as a lead generating machine. "Blogs" have been around so long, that 'bloggers' aren't cool like 'micro-influencers' these days. Yet, as Kate Kordsmeier discusses with Karen Rands on this episode of the Compassionate Capitalist Show, blogs are so much more than the daily journal, or weekly article most associated with term 'blog'. Blogs are websites and all websites should have a blog (even if it isn't called a blog). Blogs connect people to your company's purpose, product, and people... all the things that establish trust and value. When done right, blogs can become a direct source of revenue and lead magnet---particularly when you learn how to integrate an 'evergreen funnel' into your blog's conversion process. Listen to learn why and how. Kate Kordsmeier (http://katekordsmeier.com) became a fulltime 'blogger', leading to multiple 6 figure revenue streams, when a personal health and fami

Time is precious. No matter how much money you make, you can't buy more time. Once it passes, it is no longer a resource to be tapped to enjoy leisure, get work done, or spend with loved ones. Everything revolves around the concept of time. Why is a workweek 40 hours and normal work days are Mon-Fri and so many 'working for the weekend'?  Side-hustle aside, why do we have laud entrepreneurs' "hustle culture" mentality in which working 70 - 80 hours to get the job done on your business is considered a strength not a weakness?   Listen to Karen Rands and Joe Sanok, author of the breakthrough book, "Thursday is the New Friday: How to work fewer hours, make more money, and spend time doing what you want." We discuss the WHY & the HOW TO laid out in the book, and how Joe coaches entrepreneurs to master their internal inclinations and work style to create a four-day work week that boosts innovation, results, and personal well being. Learn the tactics the most successful entrepreneurs have incorporated to unloc

Karen Rands shares the 'inside secret' to her business venture review process.   For over a decade she used this proprietary method for assessing the risk of investing in startup and early stage entrepreneur business opportunities for the angel investors in her angel investor group, Network of Business & Angel Investors.    Using this approach, Karen's team creates a report to share their findings and insights with a recommendation for a Red, Yellow, Green Light for moving forward.  Companies earning Red or Yellow reports also recieve recommendations on what to fix and modify.   Karen reviews and explains the key elements of the summary report created from interviewing the Founder and reviewing the company business plan, exec summary, pitch deck, financial forecast and offering terms.  Key categories of the report and explained here are:  Overall packaging and presentation of information Accuracy & Currency Target Market & Market Positioning Unique Selling Proposition Competition & Barr

Florida's Commissioner and the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), Russell Weigel, III, joins Karen Rands to talk about the challenges to access to capital for Florida businesses from private investors that has created barriers rather than making it easier to raise capital through crowdfunding in Florida. In many ways, Florida has a vibrant angel investor community and a growing presence of venture capitalists expanding into Florida to invest in high tech startups. Florida's SCORE - Small Company Registration program is under review and Commissioner Weigel and OFR are seeking feedback for a legislative initiative to modify SCORE with the goal is to promote Florida’s economy through the creation of a self-sustaining, in-state capital market where many newly formed businesses can obtain seed or expansion capital. Commissioner Weigel is an AV-rated securities attorney, with more than 30 years of legal experience including experience as an enforcement attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a

Whether you call it a self-fulfilling prophecy or expectancy effect, your internal view of yourself doesn’t let you exceed your "deserve" level – we get in life what we (subconsciously) believe we deserve. Henry Ford described it aptly, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't—you're right.”  Ed Bohlke, Creator of Deserve Level Coaching, joins Karen on this episode to talk about the hidden barriers, their source and process to break down those barriers that entrepreneurs and executives experience in pursuit of their dream that can cause their business to plateau and derail. This is important for investors to also understand because it can impact their return on the investment in that company. Ed Bohlke (edbohlke.com DeserveLevel.com) had direct experience in creating success as CEO of Serious IP, Inc, with an IP portfolio of over 140 patents in 60 countries with $25M guaranteed license revenues, raising 35M in financing along the way.  Ed has been perfecting the idea of 'Deserve Level' as he appli

Tom Perrone of New England Consulting Group of Guilford (NECGGINC) joins Karen to talk about the business blue print to go from a startup's Survival Stage to the Growth Stage and ultimately to the Transition Stage for a positive exit that brings the founders and their investors the wealth they seek. Without a blueprint, a clear plan a move through the universal stages of business growth, a company may find themselves stuck, or in the slow death of inefficiency, stagnation, and ultimate loss of value, revenue, bankruptcy.   Karen & Tom share ideas, strategies, and techniques to help business owners grow their operations with efficiency to maximize the greatest future value for their business and protect it from the four major causes of an abrupt exit.  In addition to NECGGINC, Tom runs the Business and Planning Benefit Planning Group (http://bbpgrp.com), the podcast Your Business Worth http://yourbusinessworth.com and the author of Unlocking your Business DNA - Cracking the Code to a Better Business, Bigg

Few people predicted a global pandemic would be the black swan event of the decade, even a generation.  It has forever changed many business processes, the future of work, and the perception of a company's greatest asset.  The pandemic has taught us a very valuable lesson-- people are a companies biggest asset -- not the real estate their building or plan it on, not the machinery or trucks they use to make and deliver their products, its the people. In this episode Karen talks with Ron Rock of Microshare.io about the evolution and benefits of IoT and how Microshare uses LoRaWAN low power, wide-area gateways to solve the greatest need business owners faced during the pandemic- protecting their people and customers from exposure to COVID19. Before "FOUNDING  Microshare.io, Ron spent about a third of his career with Fortune 500 companies, and the other two thirds with entrepreneurial startups. Microshare.io helps businesses establish new operational models that enable the capturing, tracking, tracing, and stor

Sharon Lechter, coauthor of Exit Rich, joins Karen Rands to talk about the 6Ps and how entrepreneurs can start right and build a business that will enable the founders and their investors to exit rich from when it is time to sell their business.  An unfortunate reality of business ownership is that 8 out of 10 business owners will sell it for pennies on the dollar or not be able to sell their business at all.  This is frustrating and a profound disappointment for those founders and investors that invest time, money & resources into the business in the hopes of a strong ROI.  Listen as Sharon and Karen talk about the 6P Method as a road map for entrepreneurs to start right or get their business on track to be able to maximize the value and sale price for their business. Get your copy of Exit Rich and valuable bonuses (while they last) https://exitrichbook.com/ Sharon Lechter is an internationally recognized financial literacy expert, keynote speaker and business mentor. She is a New York Times Bestsellin

Chris Larson of Next Level Income joins Karen Rands to talk about building a wealth portfolio that includes real estate and private equity from innovative entrepreneurs - Angel Investing. Karen & Chris discuss how Chris built a substantial real estate portfolio, which includes syndications valued at over $225 Million real estate acquisitions. Chris shares his 'inside secret' for making your money work for you with his 'Infinite Banking' concept to establish a family bank and supercharge investments. Learn what metrics are most important when evaluating investments. Chris Larsen is the Founder and Managing Partner of Next-Level Income. Chris has been investing in and managing real estate for over 20 years and expanding into development, private-lending, buying distressed debt as well as commercial offices, and ultimately syndicating multifamily properties. In addition to real estate, Chris has invested in equities, oil & gas, done some private small business lending, as well as being an active investo

Media attention has been placed on the abundance of jobs and the shortage applicants. Blame is being placed on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 with the implication that the $300 supplemental payment is paying American workers to stay home. Christine Wong Rambo, an internationally certified and recognized economics expert, joins Karen Rands to discuss the quantifiable and measurable factors that are actually contributing to the labor shortage, and the stark reality of what needs to be done to change the directory.  This lively conversation includes discussion on the impact of: +Census Decline - Population Growth is lowest rate in a generation +Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution +COVID 19 impact on Women's participation in the work force +Need for mechanical, technical & vocational tech skills +Need for Infrastructure investment in rural broadband and more As an award winning, experienced and effective economic development and marketing professional with nearly 30 years of experience, Chris

Mazarine Ventures has carved out a successful tech investing strategy with a twist--- Water as the common denominator.  John Robinson, Managing Partner at Mazarine Ventures, joins Karen Rands to talk how Mazarine generates social/environmental impact and financial return by investing in early-stage technology companies with innovations addressing water-related challenges. Water is the protagonist of the problems that capitalist commercial businesses must address to increase profits and longterm viability.  John and Karen talk about how Mazarine came to seek investment opportunities into companies who bring efficiency and risk management tools to agriculture, conservation, commercial property, heavy and light industry, municipalities, or residential homes, and address the resource and capital needs of entrepreneurs from startup to growth stage.  With a deep science and data approach to solving the problems related to water  management, contamination, and purefication, Mazarine is leading the way. John is a gr

Franchising is a great concept for normalizing and growing a business concept-- Learn about investing, buying, and growing a franchise in this episode of the Compassionate Capitalist Show.  Kim Daly and Karen Rands talk about Franchising as a Pathway to Wealth.  They cover the basics of the variety of industries, costs, benefits and different ways investors can purchase franchises as owner operators or as an alternative way to invest in entrepreneurs and private equity without the risk of investing in startups.  Kim Daly is one of America’s Top Franchise Consultants who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and investors explore franchise opportunities.  After years as a successful business owner, Kim joined FranChoice to directly help other entrepreneurs find the franchise opportunity that meets their specific interest, experience, and price point.   Visit www.TheDalyCoach.com to learn more and schedule a free consultation.  Karen Rands is the leader of the Compassionate Capitalist Movement.  For 20+ year

The goal of an entrepreneur starting a business, and the investors in that business, is to Exit Rich. Michelle Seiler Tucker joins Karen on the Compassionate Capitalist Show to share some of the gold nuggets from her new book Exit Rich. One gold nugget is to chart your exit strategy when you begin, planning ahead so you can successfully sell your business at a premium. Karen & Michelle discuss the types of buyers, how to find them, what they look for, and the 6 Ps that create value in your business. Michelle Seiler Tucker is the Founder/CEO of Seiler Tucker Inc. She holds the titles: M&AMI (Mergers & Acquisitions Master Intermediary); CM&AP (Certified Mergers/Acquisitions Professional); & CSBA (Certified Senior Business Analyst). A 20-year veteran in the M&A industry, she is regarded as a leading authority on buying, selling, fixing, and growing businesses. Michelle and her firm have sold over a 1000 businesses in almost every vertical with a remarkable track record of success. She is

Bo Megginson, Managing Partner for the Gold Coast Angel Investors, joins Karen Rands again to share exciting news about the growth in the entrepreneur and investor ecosystem in South Florida. In 2 years since inception, and amidst the black swan of a worldwide pandemic, Gold Coast Angel Investors has invested in 7 companies in multiple industries: IT-enabled healthcare, artificial intelligence, automotive tech, pet products and industrial services.  Bo explains the impact the exodus of investors and entrepreneurs from the NE and Westcoast to the greater Miami area has benefited GCAI with greater access to capital and market intelligence.  Bo & Karen also discuss the diversity of South Florida and how that is a strength in their access to quality deal flow and access to capital to grow the entrepreneur community.  For more information https://goldcoastangels.vc/ Karen Rands is a top podcaster and speaker focused on creating wealth through building and investing in successful entrepreneur endeavors.  She

The traditional process of startups raising capital is highly inefficient for both entrepreneurs and investors, as most Angel Groups limit their prospects to their state or region and VCs invest in only a fraction of angel backed companies.  The Good News:  there is and organization that is disrupting that process by Creating an Ecosystem to Fund Innovation and Create Wealth.  It is KiwiTech. https://www.kiwitech.com/ KiwiTech's market approach and business model is the very epitome of Compassionate Capitalism as it relates to the idea of investing in companies, which they nurture and accelerate, bringing innovation to market, creating jobs, and creating wealth. Harjit Singh joins Karen Rands to share insights from his 10+ years experience in investment banking, private equity/venture capital and trade finance experience.  Harjit manages Corporate Strategy for KiwiTech, raising capital and looking for strategic acquisitions to build out their ecosystem.   Karen and Harjit talk about the KiwiTech model, thei