Franchise or Indie?
We received an inquiry recently from a prospective entrepreneur who needed a business plan to submit to Subway in order to be approved to be a franchisee. We told him…
Consider These Criteria before Buying a Franchise
We receive requests quite regularly from prospective clients who are interested in purchasing a franchise. Very often, these are corporate middle managers who, for one reason or another, no longer…
The Management Bio: It’s All About You
Virtually every document we write requires a strong personal biography of each member of the client’s management team. The reason is that investors, bankers, and other interested stakeholders usually believe…
How Do I Get a VC’s Attention?
A client of ours recently mentioned that he identified a venture capital fund that he thought would be a perfect investor for his new mobile app. He said that the…
Africa is Sizzling!
Sub-Saharan Africa is hot, and often, very humid. But that is not what we mean by sizzling. The IMF forecasts that sub-Saharan economies will grow at 5.7%, and the region…
If You Could Pick Any Place for Your Business
We recently completed a feasibility study for a client who wished to immigrate to the United States to establish an import and distribution business. Part of our assignment was to…
Common Sense Advice for Web Entrepreneurs
The New York Times recently ran an article, After Rocky Year for Start-Ups, Investors are Pickier, in which the author, Nicole Perlroth describes how funding may be getting scarcer for…
Making the Most of MOOCs
MOOC is an acronym for “Massive Open Online Courses.” These are free online classes that are available to anyone with an Internet connection. Courses are offered by dozens of universities…
Moving Electricity: Sometimes, Innovation Isn’t Enough
An old friend named Tim stopped by the office recently to talk about innovation in the electrical utility industry in the United States. Tim has spent 45 years in the…
Are You a Five-Tool Player?
We don’t know who coined the term “Five-tool player,” but it has been a common phrase in baseball for many years. My suspicion is that it may have first been…