Karen Rands - Compassionate Capitalist

Listen to Karen's interview of Shachar Oren, of Sound Media Ventures, as he shares his journey from boot strapped startup to successful exit to lead a Media Tech VC firm in Atlanta, GA.  Karen first met Shachar nearly 2 decades ago when he was raising capital for Neurotic Media and wanted to present to her angel group, the Network of Business Angels & Investors.   Shachar's  journey as an entrepreneur gave him keen insights into the concepts of growth hacking, lean start up, boot strapping, raising capital, and getting to a profitable exit.  His experience has provided an unique perspective as an angel investor and venture capitalist sitting on the opposite side of the table.   Shachar also shares his insights as to what he looks for when considering investments in the emerging field of Media Tech.  Enjoy their conversation and learning moments.  Shachar Oren is the Founder & CEO of Sound Media Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in companies at the nexus of media and technology. Prior to st

What if there was a way to do what many have unsuccessfully tried and accomplish many think impossible: to invest in low- economic neighborhoods, benefit the community, and actually make money at the same time?   In this case, the idea of making money while doing good isn't about bringing an innovation to market that will solve a universal problem like accessible clean water, or provision of quality health care and education, or economic uplift of living wages with affordable work-force housing.  In fact in the case of urban renewal, it is all of those things and more.   We are on the threshold, if we do this right, that history will look back on this time as the turning point for an urban renaissance.  This is replay of a popular episode from 2020 where I interviewed best selling author  Terrence Gallman and we were all excited about the potential for urban renewal as as result of the Opportunity Zone tax exemptions offered in the 2017 tax reform laws.  We went on to continue to look for opportunities to upl

Jonny Price, VP of Banter at Wefunder, joins Karen Rands on this episode of The Compassionate Capitalist Show™ to discuss the evolution and impact of Crowdfunding to fuel equality and opportunity for founders and create wealth for mainstreet investors.  Crowdfunding platforms, like Wefunder, democratize raising capital and creating wealth, providing investment opportunities to a wider audience. Previously, only wealthy accredited investors had access to early-stage investments, excluding many individuals, especially from marginalized communities. Wefunder's two-sided marketplace connects diverse founders and investors, facilitating fundraising and fostering innovation. Wefunder is a leading crowdfunding platform, with 39% of the marketshare and delivering $172.8 million into companies on their platform, from 140,386 investors, in 2022. Key Takeaways: 1. Regulation Crowdfunding: Wefunder enables companies to raise funds through direct public offerings, allowing customers and the community to invest and share i

In this episode of The Compassionate Capitalist Podcast™, host Karen Rands interviews Devin Thorpe, founder of The Super Crowd, a public benefit corporation focused on impact crowdfunding to help diverse founders and social entrepreneurs raise capital. Devin, a champion of social good and a bestselling author, discusses the evolution of crowdfunding and its alignment with his core values and mission to create social impact. As a benefit corporation, he prioritizes social impact over profits and believes crowdfunding provides an avenue to democratize the capital markets and empower underserved founders. The conversation delves into successful social impact of projects funded through crowdfunding and highlights the importance of building a community around these initiatives. Three takeaways: 1. The Power of Benefit Corporations: Devin Thorpe's choice to lead a benefit corporation demonstrates a commitment to both financial success and positive social impact. Benefit corporations aim to prioritize social and env

Podcasting has emerged as a powerful marketing and customer engagement strategy, enabling businesses to establish credibility and build a trusted connection with their customers. With over 5 million podcasts globally and 70 million episodes, the medium has witnessed substantial growth, reaching targeted platforms and engaging specific audiences. Reports, such as McKinsey's, emphasize that podcasting initiates intimate conversations and plays a vital role in the customer journey, driving customer loyalty and brand trust in the digital age. Karen's Special Guest is Phyllis Nichols, founder of SoundAdvice Strategies, a podcast production company. She’s best known for helping clients create unique audio experiences for their listeners. Authors, small business owners and other creatives use their podcasts to tell stories, inspire audiences, and build real connections. Phyllis and the SoundAdvice team make sure they sound great and handle all the tech and marketing details. Karen and Phyllis talk about the benefits

Carbon capture has emerged as a crucial climate change recovery strategy, given the catastrophic environmental changes occurring worldwide. The melting of Greenland and Arctic ice sheets, deforestation and the loss of rainforests like the Amazon, warming oceans, declining coral reefs and fish populations, and the significant decline in insect populations have highlighted the urgent need for action. As human carbon emissions have outpaced nature's ability to recover, there is a risk of crossing tipping points that could lead to severe and potentially catastrophic impacts.  To get to net zero by 2050, we will need to reduce the #carbon footprint in all industrial and commercial sectors. This means pretty much reinventing our entire economy. A #greeneconomy is the only way forward.  It is NOT enough to stop producing greenhouse gases and harmful carbon, we must reverse the damage as best we can with restorative innovative technology. In order to continue to thrive, we need to find ways to uncouple our growth fro

Join us in this episode as we explore the world of Opportunity Zones. Landon Johnson, of CapZone Analytics, joins Karen Rands to dive into the latest IRS regulation changes impacting Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds (QOZFs) and unravel the complexities surrounding compliance. Whether you're new to this concept or already involved as a fund participant, investor, or fund manager and developer, compliance is where the rubber meets the road to ensure you maximize the benefits of investing in Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds.  Karen kicks of the discussion with a brief history behind the bipartisan effort in Congress to be a catalyst for change by providing strong financial incentives for investors to seek investment opportunities in underserved rural and urban communities. The impact and benefit has been siezmic. Since it's passage as part of the Tax Code changes in 2017, there are more than 8,768 designated Qualified Opportunity Zones in the 50 states, and five U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam,

Donna Griffit, the Corporate Storyteller, joins Karen Rands on the Compassionate Capitalist Show to discuss the art and science of pitching investors. They delve into the essential elements of a pitch deck, including the vision statement, passion, product description, and founder story as the hook. The conversation also explores the importance of creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) among investors, the differences between online and in-person pitching, and the nuances of pitching to male investors as a woman. Donna Griffit's expertise as a storyteller has aided numerous Fortune 500 companies, startups, and investors in raising over a billion dollars. Her insights on raising capital for female founders have gained recognition in Forbes, and she is listed among the top 100 tech and business women speakers by The Next Web. Four takeaways: Pitching investors involves a combination of art and science, requiring excellent presentation skills, knowledge of numbers, and the ability to create FOMO (Fear of Missing Ou

Focus of this episode: Educating about the acquisition and management of self-storage centers and other opportunistic real estate throughout the United States. Today we are going to talk about an asset class that is like real estate investing, but also like investing in a business... One of our goals on The Compassionate Capitalist Show is to understand the different asset classes, the niches of alternative investments, that meet your income and risk profile to help you build wealth so you can achieve the pinnacle of investment and wealth creation that angel investing. According to Bloomberg Markets, storage space is “… the number one alternative investment”. During recent years, self-storage has seen returns in the triple digits, fueled by homeownership dropping to it’s lowest point in years after the real estate crash. Key benefits of investing in self-storage properties include: ‍ Resistant to Recession Relatively High Returns Lower Breakeven Occupancy Rate because it has a broad appeal within a community

Historically, 7 M Americans, with $75K more in income, invest in Real Estate. The rising cost of real estate and cost of money is pricing new investors out of the market. Crypto investing is all the rage, but it is so volatile, risky, and time consuming. I HAVE GOOD NEWS. There is a little known way to invest, that not only has potential for big returns, but also to bring incredible emotional benefits. It is how the millionaires invest, and when they can invest in anything, why do they invest startups, private early stage companies, growing small businesses, and innovation pioneers? During this episode, Karen explains how you can own a piece of multiple businesses and share in the success of the entrepreneurs that are building the next big thing, solving big problems, or simply a business down the street that you love already. It is called angel investing, or more common for new investors, crowdfund investing. Angel investing refers to investing money in start-up companies or early-stage businesses in exchang

In this episode of the Compassionate Capitalist Show, Karen engages in an enlightening conversation with Brett Martin, a seasoned serial entrepreneur, angel investor, venture capitalist, and visionary. Brett shares his remarkable experiences and profound insights, offering listeners a glimpse into the world of entrepreneurship and venture investing. Here are four key takeaways from the episode: 1. Entrepreneurship- Nature vs. Nurture: The discussion delves into the age-old debate of whether entrepreneurs are born or made. Brett shares his personal journey, starting with his entrepreneur journey 'selling seashells at the seashore' to becoming a venture capitalist, highlighting the combination of inherent passion and cultivated desire to venture into the exhilarating world of startups. 2. Becoming a Angel Investor: Brett reveals the pivotal moment when he transitioned to the investor side of the table, exploring different avenues such as solo angel investing, angel networks, and eventually co-founding Charge Ve

William Cheshier, founder of CheshTech, joins Karen to share practical tips for building a profitable website that functions as a 24/7 sales and marketing tool. The discussion highlights the common mistake of thinking that simply having a website is sufficient, emphasizing the need for strategy and careful consideration of the target audience's experience. The conversation delves into the importance of aligning a website with the needs and desires of visitors, addressing questions such as what the business offers, how it improves lives, and how to access its products or services. Additionally, the episode also explores the unique challenges faced by sustainable and impact companies, including effectively communicating their value proposition and integrating digital media messaging with website and customer engagement strategies.  Overall, the episode emphasizes the significance of building a compelling website that resonates with visitors, aligns with the company's goals, and enhances user experience-- while

Cashflow and skilled resources are critical as a business grows. Your business can't grow if the CEO is wearing all the hats.  Kristy Yoder, Founder and CEO of SMART VA, as a successful female business owner, share with Karen lessons learned from her journey of building a virtual assistant and interim execs outsourcing business that helps small businesses manage their resources, hiring, cash flow, and scaling their businesses. In this lively conversation, Karen and Kristy talk about how the importance of identifying your niche and focus, assessing your goals and skills so you can build a strong team, and the challenges she helps her clients overcome.  Key Take Aways are:  1. Building a Strong Team is crucial for any business's success. You will learn key factors around hiring people who share their vision, values, and work ethics, with the right skills for the work you need done as your scale your business.  2.  Cash Flow Management is critically important especially during the initial stages of business grow

During this interview, Karen and Matt discusses the importance of investing in climate change technologies and provides insights into how businesses can leverage these investments to make a positive impact on the environment.  It is BIG opptunity to solve the BIG problems and Trillions of dollars will be invested by private investors, institutional investors, corporate venture funds, governments and non-profits over the next 5+ years.  Key Takeaways: 1. Climate change is a pressing global issue that requires urgent attention. Matt stresses the urgency of taking action to combat climate change and encourages investors and entrepreneurs to get involved in the fight. 2. Investing in climate change technologies can be a win-win for both the environment and businesses. Matt explains that investing in climate change technologies can lead to cost savings and increased profitability for businesses while also helping to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. 3. Collaboration is key: The interviewee emphasize

Brad Feld, the Co-Founder of Techstars, the Managing Director at Foundry VC Group https://foundry.vc/blog/ , and author of numerous books as part of the Startup Revolution series, the latest: Startup Boards (https://feld.com/books-on-startups-entrepreneurship-and-venture-capital/) Brad joins Karen to share his fascinating journey from entrepreneur, starting his first businesses while still in college. Early success started him on his journey of discovery of how to lift up innovative startups by investing needed capital and assisting with time, resources, and sometimes more (patient) capital to achieve the goal of a successful exit.   He shares his experiences from successes and failures along the way.  This is such a great opportunity to hear from an investor that began investing before the dotcom, navigating through a dark period for the venture space, the Great Recession and his recommendations for navigating our uncertain current economy.   You will want you to share this with your friends and followers, a

Using Conscious Capitalism philosophy and unconventional marketing approaches, David Valentine, CEO & Founder of Avadel Agency, was able to rapidly grow his 7 businesses by investing money into his people. David's businesses  have generated over a billion dollars collectively for over 1000 clients, including major brands and fortune 100 companies, and positioned him to be able to invest $3Million into companies this year alone.  David is a great example of Compassionate Capitalism and Conscious Capitalism all blended into ONE.  He joins Karen on The Compassionate Capitalist Show to share his perspective on growing businesses and generating massive revenue that you can bank. Key Take Aways: Why investing in your employees leads to massive revenue Why businesses should prioritize excellent marketing to become 'visible' to their target customers What is David's BIG BOLD goal and why you should have one too David is making his educational video series "7 Modules to Revolutionize Your Sales Approach" free to

Experienced Angels know how to mitigate their risk through diversification.  This episode of The Compassionate Capitalist Show features Karen Rands as she shares her experience and perspective on diversifying an angel investment portfolio to increase the odds of winning the wealth creation game.  Karen attended the Angel Investor Diversification Strategy Panel at the 2022 TiE-Con - TiE Atlanta's signature annual business conference.   She was delighted to hear the strategies these angel investors shared that were part of how they insured success and large returns on their angel investment portfolio were the same strategies she shares in her book: Inside Secrets to Angel Investing and in her Compassionate Capitalist Wealth Maximizer System.  Key Take Aways: Diversify by Industry, Stage, and Type of Investment - Have Discipline to Allocate a Specific % of Your Investment Portfolio - Create a Plan for Investing Regularly to Build a Portfolio of Private Deals - Expect Some Losses, Off Set by Overall Success o

Debt for a business can be a saving grace for a growing business or a nail in their coffin, if they don't understands the 3 Legs of Lending.  Paul Neal joins Karen Rands on The Compassionate Capitalist Show to explain how to make debt work for a company's growth strategy.  Paul also shares his incites on the the 3 Cs that are critical to the success of any business.   Along the way, Karen and Neal discuss using debt for acquisition financing, franchise financing, buying out partners and founders, and expanding to bring manufacturing on-shore.   They wrap up this lively interview with Paul's passion for helping entrepreneurs because of his belief that Entrepreneurs are the Hope of the World. We all could use some hope and encouragement as we face uncertain economic times.  This podcast in video: https://youtu.be/A5bqHep_8vk Paul Neal is the founder and Principal Funding Strategist at Vantage Point Commercial Capital, a firm that focuses on helping entrepreneurs and real estate investors win by funding their gr

Bill Nussey joins Karen Rands on The Compassionate Capitalist Show to talk about the $Trillion 'startup' opportunity that no one is talking about - That is, other than a small group of innovators that see the potential of applying the best practices of innovation advancement that we saw advance the stabiliy, power, and miniturization of cell phone technology and mobile computing applied to sustainable energy, namely solar energy, no one has tackled this challenge on an industry wide perspective.  Freeing Energy started as a concept and inspirational TED Talk, and is now a movement - mobilizing the talents and energies of entrepreneurs, policymakers, and communities towards a cleaner, cheaper, and more resilient local energy future. In this episode you will also learn: - Innovation Advancements in Renewable Clean Energy - Opportunities in Climate Tech - How Energy Innovation will be one of the Most Powerful Tools for Social Equity Bill Nussey is a career tech CEO with multiple exits, including an IPO, multip

To Invest in Gold Or Not to Invest in Gold? If YES, then how? Karen Rands is joined by Patrick Yip of APMEX and ONEGOLD to share why it may make sense to invest in Gold as an asset class comparable to stocks and bonds. There is renewed interest in Gold as an investment asset in the face of uncertain economic times. If you have never invested in Gold, or any precious metal, you likely have more questions than answers. This episode of The Compassionate Capitalist Show(tm) offers insights on how to get started investing in Gold, and the opportunity available with technological advances to simplify the process of getting started or expanding your precious metals holdings. What you will learn listening/watching this podcast interview: -  Gold Investing 101: Is it a commodity, a collectable, a currency? -  How Much Should You Invest in Gold - $1000, $10,000, $100,000? -  Technology Powering Direct Virtual Ownership Patrick Yip serves as the Director of Business Development at APMEX and OneGold. http://APMEX.com