A lot of my readers know the stock market inside and out, but few look over the fence to see what’s going on in the private equity side.
Private equity deals are often better deals than you’ll find in the public markets; they have to be, because they’re harder to get out of. If you bought 10% of Uber when it was a startup, you’d be looking like a billionaire right now, but you’d still need to find someone to buy your stock to make that happen, and that’s not easy without a full-on market to go to.
I bought a chunk of the Perspehone Brewery a few weeks back, using private equity crowdsourcing portal FrontFundr to do it. The process was pretty simple, if a bit intrusive (thanks, regulators), but make no mistake – I don’t expect to see a return on that money unless the company goes public or there’s some sort of extraordinary exit event. It’s less an investment, more a long range punt.
That said, when those exit events (or an IPO) happens, the private equity guys make out like bandits. Only catch for you is, you’re not an angel investor or a venture capitalist, so those deals are usually not available to you.
And so I’m bringing you two deals today that are. Using what’s known as an offering memorandum, these two deals are available to any investor.
FRONTFUNDR (www.frontfundr.com)
That’s right, the investment portal is offering an investment in itself. Raising $500k and offering 20% of the business, the company, right now, has lost around $200k over the last year (which is basiclly what they’re spending on staff), according to supplied financial documents. They asses the value of the outfit as being worth $4m, which I think is maybe overestimating it, and will depend largely on their ability to get people to their site going forward.
To that end, they’re putting about 40% of the money raised towards marketing, which is a decent move, but might not be enough to achieve critical mass. What they really need are more deals in the system, a common curse of private equity portals like InvestX.
Minimum investment amount is $500. The investment is RRSP and TSFA eligible.
Want in? HERE.
SALUS DEFENSE: (www.salusdefense.com)
The Salus Ultra Personal Defense System is a product that has a piercing awareness alarm, a law enforcement quality pepper spray, a disorienting strobe light, and fits in your pocket, for just $40.
The company has been on a PR blitz and signing up ‘ambassadors’ left and right to help the product find its audience, which is basically anyone who lives south of the Canadian/US border.
The company is run by longtime Vancouver dealmaker Craig Engelsman (Norsemont Mining, Canaco Resources).
Says the company, “Our product the Salus Ultra Urban and Ultra Outdoors are the most advanced, safest and quickest personal protection product. Our products are legal to use for personal protection in all 50 United States and now legal in Canada for outdoor use. We quickly realized there are so many brands that support and encourage some form of active lifestyle such as Lulu, UnderAmour and many more, however who or what would protect people while enjoying their activity. Salus believes in preparation and our products are so lightweight and easy to use we feel everyone should have one.”
Interested in getting a piece? Email craig@salusdefense.com and talk to the man himself.
— Chris Parry