Your Debt Checklist

Written by Dave Williams


A Debt Checklist isrepparttar only sensible way to organize and control your finances. Most people aren't actually aware quite how much debt they possess - in fact, a recent survey found that almost 75% of UK adults were up to £5000 out when asked to estimate their non-mortgage debt. They weren't much better when asked to produce a cashflow statement showing how their hard earned cash was being spent each month! A Debt Checklist is a plan you can use to get a grip on your finances, and will allow you to understand in black and white, where savings can be made, and how debt can be tackled most effectively.

Obviously, you will have a savings account. If you DON'T, go open one now. Choose a large, reputable bank or loan company so you won't have any problems getting access to your funds when you need them.

Secondly, you need to cut back on your credit card spending. Credit card companies do everything they can to encourage you to spend, and even more to try and cajole you into only paying offrepparttar 112069 minimum each month, making credit cardsrepparttar 112070 MOST expensive way to borrow money you are ever likely to come across. If you find yourself paying for 'small' items with a credit card, you are asking for trouble. Not only will you be that annoying person inrepparttar 112071 front ofrepparttar 112072 grocery queue at Walmart paying by card, but you will also rapidly lose ANY idea of what you have spent, and where. Debit cards are SLIGHTLY better than credit cards for these small purchases, but not much - you will still face a terrible temptation to spend more (up to 50% more than paying by cash, if recent surveys are to be believed!)

Venture Leasing: Startup Financing On the Rise

Written by George A. Parker


According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, investment by institutional venture capitalists in startups grew from less than $3.0 billion atrepparttar beginning ofrepparttar 112068 1990’s to over $106 billion in 2000. Although venture capital volume has retreated significantly sincerepparttar 112069 economic “bubble” years ofrepparttar 112070 late 1990’s,repparttar 112071 present volume of around $ 19 billion per year still represents a substantial rate of growth. Venture capitalists will fund more than 2,500 high growth startups inrepparttar 112072 U.S. this year. The growth in venture capital investing has given rise to a relatively new and expanding area of equipment leasing known as ‘venture leasing’. Exactly what is venture leasing and what has fueled its growth sincerepparttar 112073 early 1990’s? Why has venture leasing become so attractive to venture capital-backed startups? To find answers, one must look at several important developments that have bolsteredrepparttar 112074 growth of this important equipment leasing segment.

The term venture leasing describes equipment financing provided by equipment leasing firms to pre-profit, early stage companies funded by venture capital investors. These startups, like most growing businesses, need computers, networking equipment, furniture, telephone equipment, and equipment for production and R&D. They rely on outside investor support until they prove their business models or achieve profitability. Fuelingrepparttar 112075 growth in venture leasing is a combination of several factors, including: renewed economic expansion, improvement inrepparttar 112076 IPO market, abundant entrepreneurial talent, promising new technologies, and government policies favoring venture capital formation. In this environment, venture investors have formed a sizeable pool of venture capital to launch and supportrepparttar 112077 development of many new technologies and business concepts. Additionally, an array of services is now available to supportrepparttar 112078 development of startups and to promote their growth. CPA firms, banks, attorneys, investment banks, consultants, lessors, and even search firms have committed significant resources to this emerging market segment.

Where does equipment leasing fit intorepparttar 112079 venture financing mix? The relatively high cost of venture capital versus venture leasing tellsrepparttar 112080 story. Financing new ventures is a high risk proposition. To compensate venture capitalists for this risk, they generally require a sizeable equity stake inrepparttar 112081 companies they finance. They typically seek investment returns of at least 35% on their investments over five to seven years. Their return is achieved via an IPO or other sale of their equity stake. In comparison, venture lessors seek a return inrepparttar 112082 15% – 22% range. These transactions amortize in two to four years and are secured byrepparttar 112083 underlying equipment. Althoughrepparttar 112084 risk to venture lessors is also high, venture lessors mitigaterepparttar 112085 risk by having a security interest inrepparttar 112086 leased equipment and structuring transactions that amortize. Appreciatingrepparttar 112087 obvious cost advantage of venture leasing over venture capital, startup companies have turned to venture leasing as a significant source of funding to support their growth. Additional advantages torepparttar 112088 startup of venture leasing includerepparttar 112089 traditional leasing strong points --- conservation of cash for working capital, management of cash flow, flexibility, and serving as a supplement to other available capital.

What makes a ‘good’ venture lease transaction? Venture lessors look at several factors. Two ofrepparttar 112090 main ingredients of a successful new venture arerepparttar 112091 caliber of its management team andrepparttar 112092 quality of its venture capital sponsors. In many casesrepparttar 112093 two groups seem to find one another. A good management team has usually demonstrated prior successes inrepparttar 112094 field in whichrepparttar 112095 new venture is active. Additionally, they must have experience inrepparttar 112096 key business functions—sales, marketing, R&D, production, engineering, and finance. Although there are many venture capitalists financing new ventures, there can be a significant difference in their abilities, staying power, and resources. The better venture capitalists have successful track records and direct experience withrepparttar 112097 type of companies they financed. The best VCs have industry specialization and many are staffed by individuals with direct operating experience withinrepparttar 112098 industries they finance. The amount of capital a venture capitalist allocates torepparttar 112099 startup for future rounds is also important. An otherwise good VC group that has exhausted its allocated funding can be problematic.

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