Capital Insight

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.

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.