The Exit Strategy Podcast

Episode 35 - Andrew Heintzman - Founder & Managing Partner of InvestEco

In Episode 35 we speak with Andrew Heintzman, who is a managing partner of InvestEco. This venture capital fund focuses on high-growth North American companies that promote health and sustainability in the food & agricultural sector. InvestEco's mandate is to deliver strong financial returns to its investors while helping its portfolio companies build a better world. Andrew gives us his feedback on the current fundraising market, and its changes over the past couple of years versus today. He's bullish on the North American market due to its large size and its competitive landscape, as it is a market that is so large that U.S.-based VCs have the bandwidth to help accelerate their growth. This translates to Venture Capital firms being more open to providing higher valuations due to the market size which offers the potential to expand. Andrew also provides his feedback on what he would expect to see from a European company were InvestEco to consider an investment. InvestEco has had positive experiences in their portfolio company's exit strategies. Andrew confirms that there is no one way to exit an investment and focusing on only one could become a struggle; so, being flexible is essential given market conditions, timing, the ability to be patient, etc. You need a good operating business, a good process and to create optionality, and this will create the best outcome.

Episode 34 - Treasury Rates, China's Accelerating Debt Problem, Trump is Innocent

The debt ceiling, the subject of the current drama consuming the nation’s capital, is something else entirely. While legally separate from the budget process, it represents yet another check that has evolved into the system since a version of the debt ceiling was first adopted in the run-up to World War I. The Treasury Department has been given gradually more leeway by Congress over how to finance deficit spending, be it for wars, emergencies or the creation of the social safety net. As negotiations over addressing the US debt ceiling continue and the threat of default draws closer, President Joe Biden has resurfaced the controversial idea of using the 14th Amendment as a way to lift the borrowing cap without Congress. Biden has said he doesn’t consider the move an imminent solution, but several liberal lawmakers in both chambers are pushing him to invoke the amendment rather than give in to Republican demands to cut spending and tighten work requirements, among others. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are among 11 senators who are urging the president to take advantage of the amendment to avoid the US defaulting on its debt. China’s $23 Trillion Local Debt Mess Is About to Get Worse. Stanford University political science professor Jean Oi, who specializes in China’s fiscal reforms, said: “The local government debt problem is spread throughout the country. While rich coastal areas will have more opportunities to repay their debt and more resources to draw on, less-developed places in China are going to be much more limited in what they can do. Durham report shows it was Clinton, not Trump, who colluded with Russians. Durham’s 300-plus page report also states that the FBI used “raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence,” to launch the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation into Trump and Russia but used a different standard when weighing concerns about alleged election interference regarding Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The report also concludes that “at least on the part of certain personnel intimately involved in the matter” there was “a predisposition to open an investigation into Trump.”

Episode 33 - Glenn Argenbrigth Founder of Quake VC

We welcome Glenn Argenbrigth, a start-up founder and the founder of the Venture Capital firm Quake a VC that invests at the Seed Stage. We discuss the topics of the venture capital and start-up world today and his views on the start-up scene. Quake is a global player with offices in the US and Europe. Glenn has over 25 years of experience operating and running various private, pre-IPO, and public technology companies. He has founded over a dozen startup ventures, resulting in three public offerings, nine exits, and billions in shareholder returns. His background includes expertise and projects in software, firmware, middleware, hardware, enterprise, SaaS, consumer goods, and Web and mobile applications. Early in his career, he co-founded Mediaplex, one of the original online ad-serving platforms. The Company went on to a successful IPO, with a valuation in excess of $4.5 Billion. It was later acquired and is now part of the ValueClick family of companies. Other notable exits include Intellicom - acquired by Softnet Systems; Jotter - acquired by Saflink; and SFLK - where he restructured the business and successfully relisted the Company on NASDAQ, where the valuation climbed from roughly $18M to over $425M. In addition to his work in the areas of finance and operations, Mr. Argenbright has extensive experience in business development, marketing, and distribution across many verticals. In commerce, he’s negotiated agreements with Walmart, K-Mart, Target, Price / Costco, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Phar-Mor Drugs, Sav-On, Toys-R-Us, Kay-Bee Toys, and Shop at Home. In tech, he’s forged strategic partnerships with Apple, Microsoft, VISA, Unisys, and Accenture. In entertainment he’s worked with VIACOM, Sony / Tri-Star / Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Company, and many others. Glenn has appeared as a guest lecturer at numerous universities and startup events throughout the U.S. In addition, he’s been interviewed for both print and television, including Barron’s, Bloomberg, Business Week, CNBC, CNN, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fox Business, Fox News, Inc. Magazine, Wired, and many others.

Episode 32 - Guest: Thomas Gross - Founder & CEO of SOGEDEV

France has a plethora of opportunities to make starting a business quite successful through its tax incentive programs and grants that many US companies may not be completely aware of. Thomas clearly helps us understand these programs and even walks us through a case study that helps clarify how it could be done. There are different types of public aid to finance your research and development projects: * The Research Tax Credit (CIR): Up to 30% of the expenses incurred, in the form of a corporate tax credit (IS) that can be reimbursed. * The Innovation Tax Credit (CII): The CII allows companies to obtain a tax credit of 20% of the number of certain innovation expenses. * The Young Innovative Company Status (JEI): Exemption from employers' contributions from URSSAF and IS. * Bpifrance Aid: Zero-interest loan or subsidies of 25 to 60% of the R&D budget, Innovative Company label.

Episode 31 - TikTok Testifies, ChatGPT Get's smarter and India's VCs and Future of Investments in the Region

As the Biden administration escalates its threats against TikTok, the company’s chief executive made his first appearance before Congress on Thursday. Given the U.S. government’s aggressive recent posture, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was destined for a harsh turn under the glare of the government’s big, bright lights — and that’s very much what played out across the hearing’s sprawling five hours. ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI system, has taken the world by storm. It’s able to write essays, code, and more given short text prompts, hyper-charging productivity. The tech is not going away — and indeed has expanded dramatically since its launch just a few months ago. Major brands are experimenting with it, using the AI to generate ads and marketing and it won't stop there. India has long harbored a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and it’s not uncommon to see people leaving their jobs to set up their own businesses. A hallmark of that spirit is quite visible these days in the country’s flourishing startup ecosystem, which has expanded rapidly in the past few years, to say the least.