By working together, the marketsavvy entrepreneur and the experienced investor can create something bigger that neither could do on their own-a growth business that explodes like dazzling fi reworks, lighting up the horizons far beyond the familiar backyard. Money for All Sizes Th e fi rst good news is that private equity is available to a broad swath of businesses, not just IPOsized companies. Private investors will look at startups needing $500,000, mature family entities wanting $10,000M input of capital right up to $100,000M for large companies wanting capital for new projects. Th at’s novel. What you need to know is that DO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS THAT APPEALS TO PRIVATE EQUITY? 1. Are you passionate about what you do? 2. Are you ambitious for your business to grow-with or without you at the helm? 3. Do you have a track record? 4. Do you do something tangible? Can your business have patents or be knowledgebased (e.g., health care, medical devices, sophisticated technology)? 5. Is it family owned, a mature business with steady clients? 6. Could your business model be expanded? 10 CHAPTER 1 each level is matched by a diff erent type of investor that you will come to recognize by the time you fi nish this book. Th ere’s a growing realization that something diff erent is happening. Entrepreneurs are the new heroes. According to Industry Canada, there are 2.3 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) hiring 65% of working Canadians. It is time for provincial governments to bend over backwards to do more for investment in entrepreneurship, but people are certainly not sitting around waiting. Ambitious youngsters attend seminars to learn to do their own thing, without needing an uncle in the business to give them a leg up. New entrepreneurs are getting more sophisticated about operations and are learning that the old ways of getting money are no longer the only ways. As if business owners are not busy enough, they are urged to become serious about their expertise and sign up for university courses like “entrepreneurship and making money.” Business schools run jampacked sessions on entrepreneurship with competitions for business plans-the winners receiving $40,000 in startup capital. Th ese are all little smoke signals that build up to the big message: there is serious money for the owners of real businesses whether they are new startups or 100yearold manufacturing companies. Th e point: for business owners and CEOs of small to midsized companies, there is a brand new buff et table with a delicious variety of ways to attract money to your business (and your retirement accounts) to pay for the lifestyle you and your spouse want to enjoy. Private Equity Is One Arrow in Your Bow Money comes in a huge variety of forms from low or highly leveraged bank debt to private capital to the public market. We will be dealing with private equity but recognize it is only one of a whole range of options available to you; your situation might be suited to the public market or the bank.