Digital Bridges 2.0

So yesterday I attended the Digital Bridges 2.0 entrepreneurs forum at Middlebury College. There were five small companies looking for investors and the paired with a group of Middlebury students to help them give a presentation and look behind the numbers and helping the companies grow. The companies consisted of Millborne farms drinkable yogurt, Urban Moonshine bitters, Phusia dance, Green Mountain Organic Creamery, and EIO Kids Cup. The presentations were well done and very well presented it is clear these students knew what they were talking about however I feel ALL of the presentations were all cookie cutter and very basic. One of the main things Champlain College has beaten into our minds was to be creative and think outside the box. These presentations were not creative at all and looked like a power point I did in high school.

It was very interesting to see how passionate the owners of the companies were about each of their businesses and how much they wanted the capital to grow their businesses.

My favorite presentation was probably the urban moonshine organic bitters, they had the largest target market being upscale bars in high profile cities and the owner has already gained popularity among many top news publications and grocery stores. The worst pitch was the EIO kids cup. Her idea was to create a sippycup out of a glass mason jar. My biggest concern with this was A; its a 14 dollar sippycup and B; a glass mason jar can be a weapon in the hands of a child who likes to throw things.

Overall the forum was a good networking experience for my mentor and we got to discuss business strategy and pros and cons of the presentations. I had a lot of fun and would encourage anyone who gets a chance to go to this event in the future to go.

business insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/high-frequency-trading--a-liquidity-hoax-2010-12

Here is another report that I got to help publish.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a good thanksgiving. Yesterday I got word from my boss that we are attending the Digital Bridges 2.0 Entrepreneurs forum at Middlebury College next week. The event is for start up companies looking to network and learn more about starting your own business. I think this will be a good opportunity to learn more about entrepreneurship and what it takes to start your own company from the ground up.

And So It Begins

Today we saw our first client, well my mentor did. unfortunately I was not at the meeting but my mentor said it went really well and he is looking forward to future meetings with this client. My mentor also informed me he would like me to start coming to some of these meetings and to accompany him on presentations he will be giving to prospective clients. It is real exiting to look back to a month ago and see where we have come (1 client) BUT more coming.

Once again I have another job to brief a report about fees comparing traditional asset based fees like that of Meryl Lynch to ours.

Another big topic we are talking about is the relationship between broker dealers/advisors. at big investment companies the advisors/brokers have more of a financial incentive when clients invest in equities rather than bonds and other forms of investments this is why we believe that there is a conflict of interest and something should be done. Ultimately that you should either be a broker dealer or an advisor. this will in the end benefit the client more than the fat cats managing other people finances.

HFT

My new job for the week is to study up on high frequency trading (HFT) and eventually help my mentor with another report telling our opinion on the subject. HFT is basically a complex algorithm that buys and sells millions of stocks a day making minimal gains but when you multiply those small gains a couple million times you end up with significant profit. HFT also accounts for over 70% of the equity market today and many people believe high frequency trading was a main cause of the flash crash that took place in may. So far HFT seems very dangerous but possible extremely profitable.

My mentor also has me working on a client list of lawyers and accountants in the area who are looking for financial advisors. It is real exiting to see all the steps it takes to start a business from scratch. Hopefully it wont be long until we actually start to see clients walk through the door. We still have more to do in terms of marketing and getting our name out there but we have come along way since my first day. It feels good to know that the work I am doing is being appreciated and has actual use to the company not just answering the phone or filing papers.

ETF vs. Mutual Funds

As I have mentioned before my mentor sent me with some hw to learn more about ETF and Mutual funds. It turned out my mentor was in the middle of another report and wanted me to brush up on the subject so I could help him produce the report. In the end we agreed upon a conclusion and finished up the report. In only two days it was published on business insider again and within 24 hours there has been over 1,300 hits. If you want to read the report its not long (http://www.businessinsider.com/etfs-designed-by-traders-for-traders-2010-11)

These reports we are getting published are not what were in business for. My mentor is doing this to help build credibility for EL CAP and to hopefully attract some clients. Next week my mentor wants me to help him write another report on asset based fees compared to what EL CAP is offering. Overall I am having a lot of fun working for my mentor and am learning more than I ever though I would have. If anyone is interested about the economy tomorrow wednesday the 3rd the Fed releases their plans for QE2 at 2:15pm.

another day at EL CAP

Today at EL CAP we began working on a power point presentation to show potential clients. My mentor has me helping him set up charts and other financial data on the computer. He also is having me construct some of the power point slides because he does not know power point very well. We also meet with our website consultant for the last time and discussed the "our story" section of the site. His main point about this section is that is should make the reader feel like they can connect with you without offending or criticizing anyone. After the meeting he mentioned that he would like my interning services for a side project he is working on for the spring which he is very excited about.

I also am getting private investment lessons from my mentor which is really helping me better understand not only the investment world but the business world as well. So far we have discussed the feds new plan with QE2 and the general state of the economy. He sent me home with some hw to learn more about ETF (exchange traded funds) and an article that was written by his good friend David Rosenberg.

A side note about my mentor, he recently sent one of his reports to John Bogel who is the founder of the Vanguard group and was sent back a hand written letter from John himself. Along with that note another one of his reports was published in business insider.com if you want to read part of the report the link is as follows. (http://www.businessinsider.com/the-case-against-dividend-stocks-2010-10)

Photo Shoot pic

Me at the desk.

PhotoShoot

Today at EL CAP we had a photo shoot for the local Charlotte newspaper. We have recently begun to advertise in their paper and one of the editors is very interested in the business and wants to do a piece about us. She asked to send a photo of my mentor and his partner, my mentor has a obsession with photography and brought in all of this fancy equipment and lights because he wanted it just right. In reality it is just going to be a small black and white picture in a news paper. After experimenting with different lightings and poses we finally got the shot he wanted. After the shoot we met with our website consultant and talked about what needed to be changed on the site. The one main point I took away from the meeting was to be concise and not to bore the reader.

Another great part of this internship is that I am meeting a lot of people that are good to know in the business world next week I have been invited to a charity pig/goat roast and attending will be many important businesses heads from various local companies. This will be a great chance to talk and mingle with them.

Home Work

While I am away from the office my mentor is having me start a database of potential clients for the company. The companies have to have between one million and fifty million dollars in assets; and have to be local to New England. There are a few other limitations that my mentor required as well. In the end I went to the NCCS (National Center For Charitable Statistics) and found a list of over one hundred various companies, organizations, and foundations to include for the database. All the database includes now is the name of the organization hyper linked to their site then with the contact info along with total assets and total revenue.

Day 2 at EL CAP

Today I got to sit in on a meeting with a consultant who is helping my mentor start his business. we discussed mainly the website (elcapinc.com) and edited it down to a fraction of what it was. I am learning a lot about advertising in newspapers and online in various publications.

After our three hour meeting, we went back to the "world head quarters" as we call it and my mentor gave me some financial numbers to crunch. As he started telling me what he wanted to do I quickly realized that I knew what he was talking about and had no trouble doing it. I thought back to my financial management class and remembered Dr. J explaining these same types of problems and five min later I was able to give my mentor the answers.

I am looking forward to next week when we finally finish the website and hopefully have some ads in place.

Day 1 at EL CAP

Yesterday was my first day at my internship. I started working for a small investment advisory company named EL CAP. The company is real small and just starting out. I think this will be a great learning experience because I will be able to learn what it takes to start a business from scratch. Yesterday I helped with the marketing side of the business. Since EL CAP is just starting out they are working on where to advertise and how to reach their target market. We are meeting with various news papers about advertisements and other local publications in the area.

While discussing which papers to advertise in my mentor brought up an ethical dilemma he is facing. one of the possible papers that he is considering is written and published by a local man who has a less than great reputation and it is known that he spent time in prison. Do we advertise in his paper when everyone knows if this mans past?

Looking at the road ahead I can not wait to see how this business will develop and what it takes to make it successful.

Week 4

Still no internship :(