In my quest for balance, I treated myself to another hike this morning. I’ve been stressing a lot about finding the last $85K of investment capital to close the current round of financing and figured I could use some head-clearing. My hike today was to Libby’s Look, a 3-mile loop that takes you to a pretty spectacular view of the foothills around Camel’s Hump. I haven’t done this hike since last fall because the lower trail passes right by a pond that even in the driest weather leaves the trail a little soggy and we’ve had a lot of rain this spring/summer. But I’ve been jonesing for Libby’s Look so today I figured I give it a shot.
It was pretty darn muddy in all the expected spots and as I finally got around the pond, I came to a fork in the path – or what should’ve been a fork in the path but sure didn’t look like it. It’s been awhile since I was here last, so I couldn’t remember which way the LL trail went. There was a sign with an arrow pointing to the right but all I could see was pretty dense undergrowth of ferns fading into trees. To the left, however, was a very wide, clear path that headed uphill. I knew I needed to go uphill and the left trail looked the clearest way to go, so left I went.
Almost immediately I second guessed my decision. The trail was steep, deeply rutted (looked like ATV tracks) and really muddy. The mosquitoes were relentless. I kept following it though and when I came out to a flat spot, realized I’d stumbled upon somebody’s sugaring shack (lots of blue plastic tubes and taps still in the trees) and there was a rusty old school bus further down the path. How the heck they got a school bus all the way in here I’ll never know but it was kind of creepy and certainly not the right way, so down the muddy, rutty path I went. Did I mention the mosquitoes? When I got back down to the “fork” I looked over past the arrow sign and saw just beyond the 8 foot stretch of ferns, the faint signs of a singletrack trail. Ah-ha, all I needed was a different perspective…. I felt a metaphor coming on as I bushwhacked through the ferns.
I knew it was the right trail as soon as I stepped foot on it. Although it was narrow, it was much drier and definitely familiar. So what’s the metaphor? As I made my way up to the Look, I started thinking about how/from whom I’d been raising money to launch and grow this company. When I first started out, it was all friends and family but seeing as my friends and family aren’t exactly ga-jillionaires, I realized I’d have to look elsewhere when I started needing bigger amounts. I had this vision of what I came to call the “Million Moms” campaign. The idea behind Million Moms was, instead of going the traditional route of getting big chunks of money from a few wealthy individuals, I could get a little bit of money from a whole lot of people, e.g. a Million Moms each put in a $1 and voila, there’s a million bucks from a bunch of people who believe in what I’m doing and want to spread the love. Of course, when I ran this by my financial advisor and attorney, they both said “can’t do it, violates SEC regulations, yada yada yada…” So I put the idea on the back burner (never gave it up), and started up the traditional path of presenting to angel investor groups and VCs.
Exactly this time last year, I closed my first major round of financing, of which 72% came from angels and VCs (the rest from friends/family). It took me 12 months to raise this money – twice as long as I thought it would, and definitely felt like a steep muddy slog to get there. Now as I’m trying to raise another small round and going back to angels/VCs it feels just as muddy and I wonder if I’m going in the right direction. In other words, am I talking to people who will be as invested in the company’s mission as they are to the possibility of making money?
About a month ago, I discovered a company called ProFounder that helps entrepreneurs raise money from their communities in increments as small as $100. I thought I’d finally found the “Million Moms” solution. Turned out it wasn’t the perfect solution but certainly a good one (was even invested in by one of the VCs who invested in TrueBody) and I was all ready to put them to work when they got a cease and desist order from the State of California. Rats! Turns out I can probably still raise money using the ProFounder format but all the logistical/legal stuff that they would’ve taken care of, now has to be done by me. So, back to my metaphor, just as the Libby’s Look trail was going in the right direction, it was still muddy in spots and definitely a steep climb. But the view from the Look was sure worth it.
I believe the same can be said for the financing path I’m trying to follow to gain support in small increments from lots of people who believe in my mission. It’ll be hard work, but worth it in the end. Reminds me of the last line of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost “I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.”
You asked. We delivered. Introducing the new TrueBody facial bar! So many of you wrote to me asking if our original bar soap was suitable for the face, and i found myself delivering the same answer time and time again. It is OKAY for the face, but most skin types need a little extra moisturizer. Many of you even wrote in with suggestions for all-natural moisturizing ingredients we might consider. Well, after many months and a few trials and errors, our new facial bar is now on shelves!