CEO Thoughts: Weighing Investments

Investors: To be or not to be.

So, my team has been all over me for about a year to watch Silicon Valley on HBO. (Starting off with a great plug) So, tonight I watched my first episode and then another and then another. It is incredible to see these nerds come together and truly tell a story of what starting a business is really like. I started watching Season 2, Episode 1. It was all about the madness of getting investors. I have put in all the money that I can into this company and now is the time to really grow it to the next level…..with investors that is. Finding the right investor could make or break a company's growth. We have created such a strong culture within our HQ and we need that same vibe, feeling within a investor - even if we are only 2 years young. Luckily, we have been offered money from investors who either couldn't bring anything to the table (similar to a bank loan) or investors who wanted to be overly involved. I need the porridge to be just right, so we declined to take money from either of those kind offers. Personally and professionally, I have a really good grasp on what I know and what I don't know. This goes for the entire ISlide team as well, knowing our strengths and weaknesses to a tee. I can't have someone coming in trying to run our business for us. Our team would not respond well and certainly not the reason why I started this company. Collaboration is key.


At the same time, bringing someone in that can complement who we are and what we do can will only expedite growth. It's all about putting this out there to as many people as possible because you simply never know who is a great match. When we were going through a friends and family round in the fall, we had countless people tell us they were in, and then back out a few weeks later. I don't know the reason, maybe its because some people have nothing better to do than to "meet". It's the same thing with sales to a degree; you need to put as many lines out there as possible and see what catches. We were trying to get into sneaker boutiques for over a year and it wasn't until we sold out of Bodega and Alife when all the others started calling us asking for mock designs.

Back to investing, what should we value our company at and how much money do we bring in? How is it going to shake out with a few of the big investors we have been talking to and even better, the ones who have reached out to us? It is surreal to have investors now coming to us and seeing the potential after watching this company slowly come to fruition……This isn't happening tomorrow or the next day but I plan on making the next few blogs about this intense process.



JKTOTD(JK Thought of the day)– I called my team of males and females a bunch of thots. I feel old as hell when I use words on them that they teach me and I clearly have no idea what they mean.

Stand In What You Stand For - JK