-
Continue reading →: Athletes Are Selling Their Own NIL Merch – That’s the Real Meaning of NILFor most of college sports history, a fan could buy a jersey tied to a player and the player got nothing. The school got a royalty. The apparel company got its margin. The store got the sale. The athlete whose identity helped sell the shirt got a scholarship. That model…
-
Continue reading →: Home Equity Investments for Business Owners in 2026Banks underwrite your tax return. Home equity investment companies underwrite the house, which is why the product exists for owners who have equity and thin documented income. I started looking at home equity investment companies after seeing the same profile over and over. Owners with real equity in a house,…
-
Continue reading →: Phantom Stock Does Not Dilute. The Check Does.Phantom stock keeps new names off the cap table. It does not keep cash in your pocket when you sell. After being involved with dozens of startups, I can tell you the request is almost always the same. The owner wants a key person thinking like an owner, and they…
-
Continue reading →: Most Valuable College Football TeamsThe top 30 programs carried $32.7 billion in hypothetical value in 2025, and the five biggest brands added $930 million by 2026. College football officially started last weekend when North Carolina beat TCU in Ireland. But as a massive fan of the sport, the season really starts tonight and runs…
-
Continue reading →: Customer Retention vs. Customer Acquisition in 2026Acquisition starts growth. Retention increasingly determines whether that growth makes money. I’ve worked across several industries, but my marketing approach has stayed consistent. Start direct to consumer, then layer in Google Ads, Google Shopping, affiliates, SEO, and social. As those channels multiplied, attribution got murkier. It became harder to tell…
-
Continue reading →: How to Calculate DSCR (and What Good Looks Like)A lender is not testing today’s debt; the real question is whether tomorrow’s payment still leaves a cushion. The DSCR number I care about is pro forma DSCR, because it includes the loan you’re asking for. A business with $160,000 in cash flow and $55,000 of existing annual debt service…
-
Continue reading →: Pro Rata Rights: What Founders and Investors Need to KnowPro rata rights let investors maintain their ownership in future rounds, but founders need to understand how much of the next financing is already promised. I’ve negotiated pro rata rights as both a founder and an angel investor. The simplest explanation is that they let an existing investor keep buying…
-
Continue reading →: Most Popular Golf Balls in 2026, Ranked by SalesTitleist owns the revenue and tour leaderboards, but the public data only supports a clean ranking for the top two brands. I concede, this is a small business and finance blog, but allow me to indulge occasionally in the business of sport. Most of us have purchased a sleeve or…
-
Continue reading →: It’s Never Too Late to StartYou’re not too old to start over. If you want to leave a corporate job and start a business, don’t let your age scare you off. Take it from me. I was in banking, then venture, then insurance, then pet insurance, then pet specialty retail, and now I’m in consumer…
-
Continue reading →: Section 1202 QSBS Rules: How the Tax Break WorksThe tax code can erase up to $15 million of federal gain on one company’s stock, but only if the shares, business, holding period, and exit all line up. Everyone’s favorite topic, taxes! If you’re a founder or small business owner, your accountant has probably mentioned QSBS. I know mine…
