Re: [Coworking] Coworking Investors?
+1 to Alex Hillman's emails in this thread. Also, often $15-$20K or $80K or whatever the full cost is for buildouts/TI's/tenant improvements can be negotiated into "longer leases" of 5+ years. The building owner keeps all the benefit of having their space built out, and you tell them what you want them to do, then pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars of rent for it over years. It's negotiable. -Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon On Friday, August 3, 2018, Alex Hillman wrote: > *"...if you need to multiply fast right?"* > > Fast growth isn't *need* in and of itself, it's a choice. > > Once you choose an investor, you DO need to grow. Not the other way > around. > > And everything is a tradeoff. You may be able to grow faster, but at what > cost to you? To your community? To your long term goals? > > Investor money comes with a certain expectation of growth, on a certain > timeline. Your job becomes meeting *those* growth goals. > > Lots of businesses take investment and then run intro trouble because even > though they're profitable and growing they aren't profitable *enough *to > match the investor expectations. That's when they start making decisions to > force that growth...and forcing growth essentially always comes with a > cost. > > Again, this all comes down to control. I hate nothing more than giving up > control over my decisions. Related: this is why I’m a great consultant and > a terrible employee. But I digress. > > The only people I want to answer to are the people I create value for – in > the case of Indy Hall, our community and our team – and to be able to make > decisions that I believe are in the best long term interest of how we serve > the community. > > With an investor, things are peachy if my decisions create value for our > members and our investors. But if I’m in a situation where I have to decide > between creating value for our members OR our investors…you had better > believe I’m going to side with our members and that is going to make for a > very uncomfortable conversation on the investor side. > > So I place a very high value on control over how I make decisions, > especially after seeing how often people find themselves torn between the > interest of their investors and the interest of their community. I actively > avoid anything that clouds my long-term decision making abilities. > > Plus – if you ever do want that you want to grow to a scale where you want > to have investors involved – leverage is magic fairy dust for business > conversations. You’d better believe that it’s a lot easier to find > investors who want to talk to you (and give you good terms) when you > already have a thriving business. It’s way easier to strike a favorable > deal when you don’t show up to the table hungry for a check. > > -Alex > > > -- > *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* > Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org > Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com > My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten > > > On Fri, Aug 3, 2018 at 11:13 AM 603 Co-Working <603...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hey Alex, Hello from India. >> I have been doing the exact same thing and it really helps. But I have no >> experience with investors, at the end of the day the business can be scaled >> by an Investors money if you need to multiply fast right? >> >> Sincere regards >> Mr. K. G. Kataria >> >> On 03-Aug-2018, at 05:13, Ten Below wrote: >> >> Alex, >> >> Wow. Your insight and pearls of wisdom could not have come at a better >> time. Thank you! >> >> Sincerely, >> Richard >> >> On Thu, Aug 2, 2018 at 3:04 PM, Alex Hillman < >> dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hey Heather, >>> >>> Let's start by putting my bias out front: I'll do almost anything to >>> avoid having an "investor" involved, because I place a very high value on >>> control. And not because I'm a control freak...but because I've learned the >>> value/importance of being able to make long term decisions in this >>> business. Investors are essentially business partners that don't work on >>> the business every day. >>> >>> With that in mind, I also view business partnerships like marriages - in >>> fact, they're often *more* difficult to undo than a marriage. Bringing >>> on an investor is like marrying for money. It happens, but it *usually* >>> doesn't end well. >>> >>> I've been where you are, though. Nearly no cash. Banks didn't want to >>> talk to me. Here's what we have done, and had a lot of success with: >>> >>> *1 - Membership drives. *Turn "early signups" into an event. Get your >>> on-board members in the same room as your prospective members and make THAT >>> the day that people sign up. Taking checks in person helps you avoid >>> payment fees (which add up!) but also the collective energy of people >>> signing up can be contagious. Make it a celebration. >>> >>> *2 - "IRL" crowdfunding. *The biggest mistake I see people make with >>> crowdfunding is
Re: [Coworking] Coworking Investors?
*"...if you need to multiply fast right?"* Fast growth isn't *need* in and of itself, it's a choice. Once you choose an investor, you DO need to grow. Not the other way around. And everything is a tradeoff. You may be able to grow faster, but at what cost to you? To your community? To your long term goals? Investor money comes with a certain expectation of growth, on a certain timeline. Your job becomes meeting *those* growth goals. Lots of businesses take investment and then run intro trouble because even though they're profitable and growing they aren't profitable *enough *to match the investor expectations. That's when they start making decisions to force that growth...and forcing growth essentially always comes with a cost. Again, this all comes down to control. I hate nothing more than giving up control over my decisions. Related: this is why I’m a great consultant and a terrible employee. But I digress. The only people I want to answer to are the people I create value for – in the case of Indy Hall, our community and our team – and to be able to make decisions that I believe are in the best long term interest of how we serve the community. With an investor, things are peachy if my decisions create value for our members and our investors. But if I’m in a situation where I have to decide between creating value for our members OR our investors…you had better believe I’m going to side with our members and that is going to make for a very uncomfortable conversation on the investor side. So I place a very high value on control over how I make decisions, especially after seeing how often people find themselves torn between the interest of their investors and the interest of their community. I actively avoid anything that clouds my long-term decision making abilities. Plus – if you ever do want that you want to grow to a scale where you want to have investors involved – leverage is magic fairy dust for business conversations. You’d better believe that it’s a lot easier to find investors who want to talk to you (and give you good terms) when you already have a thriving business. It’s way easier to strike a favorable deal when you don’t show up to the table hungry for a check. -Alex -- *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten On Fri, Aug 3, 2018 at 11:13 AM 603 Co-Working <603...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hey Alex, Hello from India. > I have been doing the exact same thing and it really helps. But I have no > experience with investors, at the end of the day the business can be scaled > by an Investors money if you need to multiply fast right? > > Sincere regards > Mr. K. G. Kataria > > On 03-Aug-2018, at 05:13, Ten Below wrote: > > Alex, > > Wow. Your insight and pearls of wisdom could not have come at a better > time. Thank you! > > Sincerely, > Richard > > On Thu, Aug 2, 2018 at 3:04 PM, Alex Hillman > wrote: > >> Hey Heather, >> >> Let's start by putting my bias out front: I'll do almost anything to >> avoid having an "investor" involved, because I place a very high value on >> control. And not because I'm a control freak...but because I've learned the >> value/importance of being able to make long term decisions in this >> business. Investors are essentially business partners that don't work on >> the business every day. >> >> With that in mind, I also view business partnerships like marriages - in >> fact, they're often *more* difficult to undo than a marriage. Bringing >> on an investor is like marrying for money. It happens, but it *usually* >> doesn't end well. >> >> I've been where you are, though. Nearly no cash. Banks didn't want to >> talk to me. Here's what we have done, and had a lot of success with: >> >> *1 - Membership drives. *Turn "early signups" into an event. Get your >> on-board members in the same room as your prospective members and make THAT >> the day that people sign up. Taking checks in person helps you avoid >> payment fees (which add up!) but also the collective energy of people >> signing up can be contagious. Make it a celebration. >> >> *2 - "IRL" crowdfunding. *The biggest mistake I see people make with >> crowdfunding is getting caught up in the "crowd" and forgetting what each >> individual is actually contributing towards, and why. >> >> Stuff like Indiegogo and such makes it easier for a wider audience to >> discover a project but coworking spaces are generally hyperlocal efforts, >> so the amount of work that goes into a typical crowdfund campaign (which is >> a LOT) spreads that effort thin. One of the most important lessons I've >> learned from all of the funding work I've done is that the more specific of >> a "thing" you can offer people to contribute towards helping, the better. >> >> For examplebreak that $50k into its component parts. *"We need $5k >> for chairs" *can turn into
Re: [Coworking] Coworking Investors?
Hey Alex, Hello from India. I have been doing the exact same thing and it really helps. But I have no experience with investors, at the end of the day the business can be scaled by an Investors money if you need to multiply fast right? Sincere regards Mr. K. G. Kataria > On 03-Aug-2018, at 05:13, Ten Below wrote: > > Alex, > > Wow. Your insight and pearls of wisdom could not have come at a better time. > Thank you! > > Sincerely, > Richard > >> On Thu, Aug 2, 2018 at 3:04 PM, Alex Hillman >> wrote: >> Hey Heather, >> >> Let's start by putting my bias out front: I'll do almost anything to avoid >> having an "investor" involved, because I place a very high value on control. >> And not because I'm a control freak...but because I've learned the >> value/importance of being able to make long term decisions in this business. >> Investors are essentially business partners that don't work on the business >> every day. >> >> With that in mind, I also view business partnerships like marriages - in >> fact, they're often more difficult to undo than a marriage. Bringing on an >> investor is like marrying for money. It happens, but it usually doesn't end >> well. >> >> I've been where you are, though. Nearly no cash. Banks didn't want to talk >> to me. Here's what we have done, and had a lot of success with: >> >> 1 - Membership drives. Turn "early signups" into an event. Get your on-board >> members in the same room as your prospective members and make THAT the day >> that people sign up. Taking checks in person helps you avoid payment fees >> (which add up!) but also the collective energy of people signing up can be >> contagious. Make it a celebration. >> >> 2 - "IRL" crowdfunding. The biggest mistake I see people make with >> crowdfunding is getting caught up in the "crowd" and forgetting what each >> individual is actually contributing towards, and why. >> >> Stuff like Indiegogo and such makes it easier for a wider audience to >> discover a project but coworking spaces are generally hyperlocal efforts, so >> the amount of work that goes into a typical crowdfund campaign (which is a >> LOT) spreads that effort thin. One of the most important lessons I've >> learned from all of the funding work I've done is that the more specific of >> a "thing" you can offer people to contribute towards helping, the better. >> >> For examplebreak that $50k into its component parts. "We need $5k for >> chairs" can turn into "become our official chair sponsor" for a local >> business who wants to contribute or, even better, "buy one chair and we'll >> dedicate it to you" and offer it to members, supporters, and other local >> businesses. >> >> 3 - Member loans. The first time we expanded we needed a similar ~$50,000. >> We shared exactly what we needed it for, and our current potential options >> for closing that shortfall. After the meeting, a member approached helping >> us - their business had been doing very well (largely in part because of our >> community) and they saw this as a way to give back. In fact, they really >> wanted to buy in as an investor. >> >> But again, even though I had a good relationship with this person, I had to >> ask myself if I wanted them to be my PARTNER if the money wasn't involved, >> and it wasn't a hell yes. >> >> So I said "what about a loan?" and he said yes. We put together terms where >> we had 12 months before we had to start paying back the loan. He gave me a >> rate that was better than I could get with a bank, and I had the flexibility >> down the road if needed. The only challenge we ran into with this deal was a >> sense of entitlement that came with one person loaning us such a large >> amount of money, he tried to occasionally hold it over our heads. It took a >> lot to keep that from affecting my decisions (and imagine if he was an >> actual PARTNER). >> >> The next time we needed an influx of cash, we went back to the community and >> said "before we go to other sources we're wondering if anybody would be >> willing/able to offer us a small loan? We're looking for a few people who >> can loan us $5k-10k each." This approach meant that no single person could >> hold the loan over our heads, and in a worst case scenario we could >> accelerate paying that person back if they did (so they had nothing left to >> hold over us). >> >> The best part about these smaller loans was that we were able to turn these >> into zero interest loans. They had the same "1 year before payback begins" >> term, but we also talked with each member about the actual interest they >> were going to earn at market rate on such a relatively small loan. We said >> "here's the dollar amount - but maybe there is something else that's >> similarly or more valuable to you than the interest?" and in every instance >> we were able to offer something with nearly no cost (membership credits, >> consulting/support, public gratitude,
Re: [Coworking] Coworking Investors?
Alex, Wow. Your insight and pearls of wisdom could not have come at a better time. Thank you! Sincerely, Richard On Thu, Aug 2, 2018 at 3:04 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: > Hey Heather, > > Let's start by putting my bias out front: I'll do almost anything to avoid > having an "investor" involved, because I place a very high value on > control. And not because I'm a control freak...but because I've learned the > value/importance of being able to make long term decisions in this > business. Investors are essentially business partners that don't work on > the business every day. > > With that in mind, I also view business partnerships like marriages - in > fact, they're often *more* difficult to undo than a marriage. Bringing on > an investor is like marrying for money. It happens, but it *usually* > doesn't end well. > > I've been where you are, though. Nearly no cash. Banks didn't want to talk > to me. Here's what we have done, and had a lot of success with: > > *1 - Membership drives. *Turn "early signups" into an event. Get your > on-board members in the same room as your prospective members and make THAT > the day that people sign up. Taking checks in person helps you avoid > payment fees (which add up!) but also the collective energy of people > signing up can be contagious. Make it a celebration. > > *2 - "IRL" crowdfunding. *The biggest mistake I see people make with > crowdfunding is getting caught up in the "crowd" and forgetting what each > individual is actually contributing towards, and why. > > Stuff like Indiegogo and such makes it easier for a wider audience to > discover a project but coworking spaces are generally hyperlocal efforts, > so the amount of work that goes into a typical crowdfund campaign (which is > a LOT) spreads that effort thin. One of the most important lessons I've > learned from all of the funding work I've done is that the more specific of > a "thing" you can offer people to contribute towards helping, the better. > > For examplebreak that $50k into its component parts. *"We need $5k > for chairs" *can turn into "become our official chair sponsor" for a > local business who wants to contribute or, even better, *"buy one chair > and we'll dedicate it to you" *and offer it to members, supporters, and > other local businesses. > > *3 - Member loans. *The first time we expanded we needed a similar > ~$50,000. We shared exactly what we needed it for, and our current > potential options for closing that shortfall. After the meeting, a member > approached helping us - their business had been doing very well (largely in > part because of our community) and they saw this as a way to give back. In > fact, they really wanted to buy in as an investor. > > But again, even though I had a good relationship with this person, I had > to ask myself if I wanted them to be my PARTNER if the money wasn't > involved, and it wasn't a hell yes. > > So I said "what about a loan?" and he said yes. We put together terms > where we had 12 months before we had to start paying back the loan. He gave > me a rate that was better than I could get with a bank, and I had the > flexibility down the road if needed. The only challenge we ran into with > this deal was a sense of entitlement that came with one person loaning us > such a large amount of money, he tried to occasionally hold it over our > heads. It took a lot to keep that from affecting my decisions (and imagine > if he was an actual PARTNER). > > The next time we needed an influx of cash, we went back to the community > and said *"before we go to other sources we're wondering if anybody would > be willing/able to offer us a small loan? We're looking for a few people > who can loan us $5k-10k each."* This approach meant that no single person > could hold the loan over our heads, and in a worst case scenario we could > accelerate paying that person back if they did (so they had nothing left to > hold over us). > > The best part about these smaller loans was that we were able to turn > these into *zero interest *loans. They had the same "1 year before > payback begins" term, but we also talked with each member about the actual > interest they were going to earn at market rate on such a relatively small > loan. We said "here's the dollar amount - but maybe there is something else > that's similarly or more valuable to you than the interest?" and in every > instance we were able to offer something with nearly no cost (membership > credits, consulting/support, public gratitude, etc) instead of paying the > interest. > > *4 - Don't buy everything at once. *This one is the most often > overlooked. > > Your job isn't to fill a space with stuff. It's not even to fill a space > with people. Your job is to bring people together. > > SO YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY EVERYTHING AT ONCE. > > When we opened we didn't have... > > - a coffee machine > - a couch > - whiteboards > - a printer > - a projector and screen > - dishes or mugs > > Since we've never competed
Re: [Coworking] Coworking Investors?
Hey Heather, Let's start by putting my bias out front: I'll do almost anything to avoid having an "investor" involved, because I place a very high value on control. And not because I'm a control freak...but because I've learned the value/importance of being able to make long term decisions in this business. Investors are essentially business partners that don't work on the business every day. With that in mind, I also view business partnerships like marriages - in fact, they're often *more* difficult to undo than a marriage. Bringing on an investor is like marrying for money. It happens, but it *usually* doesn't end well. I've been where you are, though. Nearly no cash. Banks didn't want to talk to me. Here's what we have done, and had a lot of success with: *1 - Membership drives. *Turn "early signups" into an event. Get your on-board members in the same room as your prospective members and make THAT the day that people sign up. Taking checks in person helps you avoid payment fees (which add up!) but also the collective energy of people signing up can be contagious. Make it a celebration. *2 - "IRL" crowdfunding. *The biggest mistake I see people make with crowdfunding is getting caught up in the "crowd" and forgetting what each individual is actually contributing towards, and why. Stuff like Indiegogo and such makes it easier for a wider audience to discover a project but coworking spaces are generally hyperlocal efforts, so the amount of work that goes into a typical crowdfund campaign (which is a LOT) spreads that effort thin. One of the most important lessons I've learned from all of the funding work I've done is that the more specific of a "thing" you can offer people to contribute towards helping, the better. For examplebreak that $50k into its component parts. *"We need $5k for chairs" *can turn into "become our official chair sponsor" for a local business who wants to contribute or, even better, *"buy one chair and we'll dedicate it to you" *and offer it to members, supporters, and other local businesses. *3 - Member loans. *The first time we expanded we needed a similar ~$50,000. We shared exactly what we needed it for, and our current potential options for closing that shortfall. After the meeting, a member approached helping us - their business had been doing very well (largely in part because of our community) and they saw this as a way to give back. In fact, they really wanted to buy in as an investor. But again, even though I had a good relationship with this person, I had to ask myself if I wanted them to be my PARTNER if the money wasn't involved, and it wasn't a hell yes. So I said "what about a loan?" and he said yes. We put together terms where we had 12 months before we had to start paying back the loan. He gave me a rate that was better than I could get with a bank, and I had the flexibility down the road if needed. The only challenge we ran into with this deal was a sense of entitlement that came with one person loaning us such a large amount of money, he tried to occasionally hold it over our heads. It took a lot to keep that from affecting my decisions (and imagine if he was an actual PARTNER). The next time we needed an influx of cash, we went back to the community and said *"before we go to other sources we're wondering if anybody would be willing/able to offer us a small loan? We're looking for a few people who can loan us $5k-10k each."* This approach meant that no single person could hold the loan over our heads, and in a worst case scenario we could accelerate paying that person back if they did (so they had nothing left to hold over us). The best part about these smaller loans was that we were able to turn these into *zero interest *loans. They had the same "1 year before payback begins" term, but we also talked with each member about the actual interest they were going to earn at market rate on such a relatively small loan. We said "here's the dollar amount - but maybe there is something else that's similarly or more valuable to you than the interest?" and in every instance we were able to offer something with nearly no cost (membership credits, consulting/support, public gratitude, etc) instead of paying the interest. *4 - Don't buy everything at once. *This one is the most often overlooked. Your job isn't to fill a space with stuff. It's not even to fill a space with people. Your job is to bring people together. SO YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY EVERYTHING AT ONCE. When we opened we didn't have... - a coffee machine - a couch - whiteboards - a printer - a projector and screen - dishes or mugs Since we've never competed on "having stuff" we made it clear that we'd buy stuff that was a) most important, b) as soon as we could afford it. Want Indy Hall to have something faster? Help us recruit more members! Help us find or negotiate a deal! we didn't have chairs for every desk. we didn't even have the number of desks that our space could holdwe just had
[Coworking] Coworking Investors?
Hey all! I am in the process of opening a coworking space specifically designed for uplifting and sustaining creative professionals' careers. I'm so glad I found this channel, as it's a great sounding board for some consistent questions I've been having. Plus, I can see that a lot of our ideas have already been replicated elsewhere, so I'm excited to learn how others have done it before us! We have a fantastic space ready to go, and everyone is on board with it, however we are going to need some starting capital to finish up some of the construction. Our landlord (the building owner) has already worked out a deal with us to finish 1/3 of 5000sq ft space, with the last 1/3 being our responsibility. We are estimating the construction costs to be around $15k-$20k, and then we'll have to pay for the furnishing after that as well. Overall, we're looking at needing probably $50,000 or more to furnish all of that area... We're planning on doing a crowdfund, but are still expecting to be short. :( Does anyone have any experience in asking investors or companies for sponsorships of any kind? I have no idea where to start, what to ask, or where to find people that would be interested in investing money of that kind. Any good resources or advice? Much appreciated! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
