alvin donovan

Death Spirals and Toxic Converts

The term Death Spiral funding became popular in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It is a term used to describe a convertible security that converts at a discount to the market price at the time of conversion, but HAS NO FLOOR PRICE PROTECTION. This ty... Read >

Special Private Placement Agreement ("SPPA")

A Special Private Placement Agreement ("SPPA") is entered into by the investor and the Company. The SPPA gives the Company flexibility and control by allowing the Company to decide when to draw down funding and sell its shares. Since the timing of each dr... Read >

Why Zimbabwe is Considered the Sleeping Tiger of Africa

Do you even know where Zimbabwe is and what is going on there? Many years ago people learned about Zimbabwe for all the wrong reasons. Now you are about to learn some of the right reasons for knowing about Zimbabwe. There are many political as well as ... Read >

Why Nigeria Could Soon Become the Biggest Economy in Africa

Many people only know about Nigeria from the so called "nigerian scams"and would be surprised to learn that Nigeria could soon become the biggest economy in Africa. Why does Nigeria have such tremendous potential? The reasons for the current interest ... Read >

Preparing an Effective Business Plan to Raise Capital

Preparing an effective Business Plan is the first step to raising venture capital. If done properly it will take a good deal of time and effort to get the job done properly. Don't rush through this step in the process, otherwise the months you spend me... Read >

Venture Capital Tips

The most important of my Venture Capital Tips is to have a solid and effective Business Plan, if you are a start-up or development stage company. Of course, just a good business plan is not going to get you funding. But once you have their attention, t... Read >

Hedge Funds as a Source of Capital

Hedge Funds can be a great source of capital for companies. There are many such funds that specialize in funding small and mid-cap companies. These types of funds are sometimes referred to as Special Situation Funds, Private Placement Funds, PIPE (Private... Read >

PIPE Funds

There have been a number of PIPE Funds that have gained notoriety over the years because of the gains they have been able to attain with this strategy. It is now categorized as a separate hedge fund strategy along with others like long only, long/s... Read >

Equity Line Funding

Equity Line Funding - is a funding structure that has been used by hedge funds for the past ten years or so to provide funding to small and large companies looking to raise capital. It can be used by small or large companies and can be used in the Unit... Read >

Capital Raising Tips

Raising Capital is one of the largest hurdles development stage and microcap companies have to overcome. One of the most common funding tools they have at their disposal is Private Placement Funding for Raising Capital. Hedge Funds have funding many micro... Read >

How Investment Banks Work and Operate

First, let's look at who Investment Bankers are so you can understand what makes them tick. Most Investment Bankers are former retail stock brokers who started out on Wall Street with some of the major Brokerage Firms. There job was basically to sign u... Read >

Understanding First Round FInancing

It is important to understand First Round Financing terms and conditions that your investor will likely use in structuring their investment in your company. There are different nuances to consider depending on whether you are talking with a PIPE Fund, ... Read >

How to Raise Capital for Private Companies Using a Pass Through Investment Structure

Many institutional investors only invest into listed public companies. A Pass Through Investment Structure is an ideal mechanism to fund certain private companies. The PassThrough Structure suits a company that has noteworthy management or proprietary ... Read >

An innovative way to raise capital before IPO

Many institutional investors only invest into listed companies. What are the options available to private companies? If you think you cannot get the capital raised because you are private, think again: One is what is called a "pass through" facility... Read >

Hedge Fund Formation

As a result of state and federal regulatory issues, Hedge Fund Formation has become more complex over the years. Going back just 10 years, most of the investing public knew very little about hedge funds. Now, with the internet, as well as heightened in... Read >