Avocado Group

Term Sheets

A term sheet is a document summarizing the details of a potential venture capital investment, and it serves as the basis for a final business agreement. Though an attorney should guide you through the process of negotiating the terms of an investment, it's a good idea to educate yourself on the various sections of a term sheet. Here is an explanation of term sheets that is quite worthy of reviewing.

Foundations of a Winning Business Plan

This year's winning entry of Harvard Business School's annual Business Plan Contest is Karen Grajwer. Her venture, Uplift, was the first plan for a bra business to be submitted in the nine years of the contest's existence. The concept, which she is currently pitching to VCs and angels, involves using both retail and Internet channels to offer expert fitting assistance as well as sophisticated, fashionable bra styles for fuller-sized women. Her advice to future entrepreneurs:

"My advice is to know your market. Whatever it is you are selling, you should understand every aspect of it...To be successful you must truly understand every aspect of the psychology and the implications of what you are selling or providing. To do this right, you have to get out there and talk to everybody. There are subtleties to every number and every research organization that only industry insiders know, and they will tell you if you ask the right questions. Only by understanding what the numbers don't tell you can you really gain the insight necessary to succeed in a particular market."

Thanks to our friend Steve McDonnell at Mercer Human Resource Consulting for passing along this great article.

Management Lessons from the Basketball Court

As a seasoned veteran of the boardroom and the basketball court, Chuck Wielgus of Fast Company offers some interesting insight into how his pick-up basketball games resemble a microcosm of the social climate in business. The same criteria that characterize teammates and opponents on the court can be applied to the business environment. I thoroughly enjoyed Wielgus' perspectives on leadership principles from the view of the pick-up basketball court, and I hope you do too!

BNET: a valuable resource for any business leader

We've recently encountered a new Louisville company that is focused on serving as a comprehensive resource for aggregating business thought leadership articles and resources. BNET, a free service offered by online content powerhouse CNET, provides users a seemingly infinite font of established wisdom in the form of best practices, white papers, and case studies geared toward enhancing the value and efficacy of your business, products, and strategy.

From improving sales techniques, HR, strategy, finance, marketing and more, Avocado Group definitely recommends the treasure trove of information and resources at BNET. We encourage anyone interested in improving their business savvy to take advantage of the proven expertise of business and academic thought leadership available at BNET.

Understanding the Process of Funding Start-ups

One of the most daunting hurdles an entrepreneur faces is raising start-up capital. By familiarizing yourself with the basics of funding, you can come to understand the appropriate source of capital for the different stages of business growth. I read an article this morning that discussed early stage funding including seed capital from "friends, family, and fools," angel investments, and venture capital. Many start-ups do not progress to the venture capital stage; it is estimated that fewer than 2 percent of companies ever receive venture funding. One of our clients shared with us an excellent article about growing your business organically through revenues and profits.