Lance Mysyrowicz, the founder of Boost&Co. Lance is an investment fund manager who specialises in European startups. He currently manages over $150 million in assets. Listen in to hear about Lance’s latest investment, the details of early investment in tech startups, and what interest rates you could expect for your startup.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Behind the Cloud
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — Evernote
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —I wish I knew what makes me happy today - spending time with people I love, and the things I love doing
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:08 – Nathan’s introduction
01:36 – Welcoming Lance to the show
01:50 – Boost&Co lends money to companies earlier in the process than banks
02:20 – They sit in between VC and banking as an investor
02:55 – Have loaned $120 million to over 100 business
03:43 – Last company was a SaaS firm called Idio that lets people track what’s being read on a web page
04:50 – Have invested around $1.75 million in Idio
05:00 – Make money in three different ways: a 1-2% fee; an 8-12% interest rate on outstanding capital; and a warrant - a right to buy shares at a specific price
05:50 – The warrant includes a negotiated strike price
07:05 – What happens on a $1 million deal?
08:00 – A management fee comes from the investment fund - it’s 2% of the assets they manage
09:12 – Why charge a fee?
10:31 – Interest rates are determined by the revenue and size of a company
11:25 – Interest is paid every month and a small amount of capital is repaid
13:15 – “I would always prefer to do a smaller deal and have a smaller risk exposure”
13:48 – Is this the same as mezzanine finance?
14:06 – Connect with Lance on Linkedin
16:10 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
There are multiple pathways to getting a loan as a startup - through VCs, banks, or a halfway step like Boost&Co
Expect to pay a fee, interest, and to offer a warrant to buy shares
As an investment fund manager, Lance tries to limit his exposure to risk as much as possible.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives