How did Kevin Plank launch a $5b fashion brand - now one of the biggest global fashion powerhouses?

What was the 10X factor ?

1. Kevin was passionate about football and built a Rolodex of 50 nfl stars 
2. He identified a need - Wearing cotton T-shirt under his pads was uncomfortable, and always wondered why no one ever made an alternative to a short sleeve cotton T-shirt in the summer and a long sleeve cotton shirt in the winter. “I wanted to build the best T-Shirt in the world for football players” said Kevin 
3. Innovated - Tested synthetic material to make compression shorts and tops and made his first six or seven prototypes and tested them on his teammates . 
4. 500 T-shirts were custom-made. Mr Plank then sent three to each of his nrl mates saying “if you like this, try it. And if you don’t like it, please give one to the guy in the locker room next to you.”
5. Turnover growth - $25k - $160k - $585k - $7m - $440m in 2005 - $1b in 2010 - $5b now 
6. UnderArmour became a brand  - an ethos - an idea - and you can’t kill an idea 

What’s your 10X factor ?

Funding and Networks can be a powerful cocktail

Research from the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report identified 4 of the 9 Key components of a high performing startup ecosystem include 

• funding, 
• knowledge, 
• connectedness and 
• market reach 

There are lots of events, mentors and desire to help add value to startups and ventures.... and yet Australia’s startup ecosystems are sliding down the ranks, according to the Sydney fell six places from 17th to 23rd, while Melbourne fell out of the top 30 altogether.

Why? 

1. Inability to access angel/VC level funding, 
2. access to distribution channels and networks, and 
3. challenges with scaling into different markets

Were identified as issues 

So, how can we fix this?

Funding 

• How does a business become investor ready?
• How does a business become referrable ?
• How does a business get access to capital, distribution channels and networks? 
• Who do the go to - to find the money 

Australia needs to grow its Angel investor community - 

We are a gambling nation - Melbourne cup for example - and yet we have not yet doing the key to connect “punters to players” 

Startup economies such as Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, New York, China and other ecosystems around the world seems to have nailed this! 

On of the biggest risk mitigation tactics for investors is to access a highly diversified portfolio. Invest in 10 - one will nail it.... 

so there is an opportunity to invest in VC funds - that the “punters” can trust . 

Why are there so few of them in Australia? 

What a great opportunity!! I believe this opportunity will grow exponentially over the next 10 years.

Can VC be an asset class that can be as prolific as property? I believe the returns can be better for the investors, the economy and the country.

Access to Networks

How can we connect larger business or enterprise clients, suppliers, and partners to startups .

How can we build know like and trust with each other? 

Maybe BBG can be a conduit to provides larger companies with access to industry trends and the opportunity to collaborate with the startup communities and founders. 

Give people what they want and you will get what you want! 

Accessing international marketing 

Founders and companies should be global and scalable.

How to access international markets is a key challenge.

Some solutions could include 

• Austrade have launch pads , and grants
• Investors have connections
• Networks need to be accessed
• Trade shows
• International VCs 
• Network of professionals 
• Founders and unicorns that have been there and done that - becoming mentors and investors 
• BBG building out an international network of forums 

The next decade should provide an outstanding opportunity for Australian founders, the startup  community and BBG www.bbg.business 

Onwards and upwards 

Relentlessly Resourceful - the key to success

Just read this article reposted on twitter 

Www.paulgraham.com

March 2009

A couple days ago I finally got being a good startup founder down to two words: relentlessly resourceful.

Till then the best I'd managed was to get the opposite quality down to one: hapless. Most dictionaries say hapless means unlucky. But the dictionaries are not doing a very good job. A team that outplays its opponents but loses because of a bad decision by the referee could be called unlucky, but not hapless. Hapless implies passivity. To be hapless is to be battered by circumstances—to let the world have its way with you, instead of having your way with the world. [1]

Unfortunately there's no antonym of hapless, which makes it difficult to tell founders what to aim for. "Don't be hapless" is not much of rallying cry.

It's not hard to express the quality we're looking for in metaphors. The best is probably a running back. A good running back is not merely determined, but flexible as well. They want to get downfield, but they adapt their plans on the fly.

Unfortunately this is just a metaphor, and not a useful one to most people outside the US. "Be like a running back" is no better than "Don't be hapless."

But finally I've figured out how to express this quality directly. I was writing a talk for investors, and I had to explain what to look for in founders. What would someone who was the opposite of hapless be like? They'd be relentlessly resourceful. Not merely relentless. That's not enough to make things go your way except in a few mostly uninteresting domains. In any interesting domain, the difficulties will be novel. Which means you can't simply plow through them, because you don't know initially how hard they are; you don't know whether you're about to plow through a block of foam or granite. So you have to be resourceful. You have to keep trying new things.

Be relentlessly resourceful.

That sounds right, but is it simply a description of how to be successful in general? I don't think so. This isn't the recipe for success in writing or painting, for example. In that kind of work the recipe is more to be actively curious. Resourceful implies the obstacles are external, which they generally are in startups. But in writing and painting they're mostly internal; the obstacle is your own obtuseness. [2]

There probably are other fields where "relentlessly resourceful" is the recipe for success. But though other fields may share it, I think this is the best short description we'll find of what makes a good startup founder. I doubt it could be made more precise.

Now that we know what we're looking for, that leads to other questions. For example, can this quality be taught? After four years of trying to teach it to people, I'd say that yes, surprisingly often it can. Not to everyone, but to many people. [3] Some people are just constitutionally passive, but others have a latent ability to be relentlessly resourceful that only needs to be brought out.

This is particularly true of young people who have till now always been under the thumb of some kind of authority. Being relentlessly resourceful is definitely not the recipe for success in big companies, or in most schools. I don't even want to think what the recipe is in big companies, but it is certainly longer and messier, involving some combination of resourcefulness, obedience, and building alliances.

Identifying this quality also brings us closer to answering a question people often wonder about: how many startups there could be. There is not, as some people seem to think, any economic upper bound on this number. There's no reason to believe there is any limit on the amount of newly created wealth consumers can absorb, any more than there is a limit on the number of theorems that can be proven. So probably the limiting factor on the number of startups is the pool of potential founders. Some people would make good founders, and others wouldn't. And now that we can say what makes a good founder, we know how to put an upper bound on the size of the pool.

This test is also useful to individuals. If you want to know whether you're the right sort of person to start a startup, ask yourself whether you're relentlessly resourceful. And if you want to know whether to recruit someone as a cofounder, ask if they are.

You can even use it tactically. If I were running a startup, this would be the phrase I'd tape to the mirror. "Make something people want" is the destination, but "Be relentlessly resourceful" is how you get there.



Notes

[1] I think the reason the dictionaries are wrong is that the meaning of the word has shifted. No one writing a dictionary from scratch today would say that hapless meant unlucky. But a couple hundred years ago they might have. People were more at the mercy of circumstances in the past, and as a result a lot of the words we use for good and bad outcomes have origins in words about luck.

When I was living in Italy, I was once trying to tell someone that I hadn't had much success in doing something, but I couldn't think of the Italian word for success. I spent some time trying to describe the word I meant. Finally she said "Ah! Fortuna!"

[2] There are aspects of startups where the recipe is to be actively curious. There can be times when what you're doing is almost pure discovery. Unfortunately these times are a small proportion of the whole. On the other hand, they are in research too.

[3] I'd almost say to most people, but I realize (a) I have no idea what most people are like, and (b) I'm pathologically optimistic about people's ability to change.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell and Jessica Livingston for reading drafts of this.

Dosist- cannabis company makes hottest startup list

Dosist is a “modern wellness company” known for its proprietary cannabis dose pen with purported benefits such as helping to reduce pain, inflammation and even insomnia. 

The startup has hired more than 100 employees over the past year, attracting top talent from the likes of Apple and Tesla, and looks for candidates who reflect the startup’s stated values: 

inspirational, collaborative, accountable and committed to quality.

The Industry

The global cannabis industry is expected to reach nearly $15 billion this year, representing a 36% increase over 2018, thanks to both legalization in Canada and state-by-state efforts across the border.

Cannabis is more than just a socially-acceptable vice, like alcohol. It has been rebranded as a wellness product, not only for cancer patients seeking relief from pain and nausea but for anyone facing a range of conditions from anxiety to acne.

There’s  a sense that people in the industry are on the brink of a new frontier, more on par with the industrial revolution or the gold rush. 

Companies that operate in the cannabis space describe their culture as not that different from a Silicon Valley startup, with casual dress codes and flexible work policies.“

“One year in the cannabis industry is sort of like dog years.”

Another Unicorn born in Oz - Employee survey start-up Culture Amp worth $1b and climbing

Culture AMP has raised USD150m and is the latest Ozzie startup to become a unicorn!

The founders 

Didier Elzinga, founded Culture Amp alongside Jon Williams, Doug English and Rod Hamilton in 2009 with a  core mission of building a better world of work.

They started the company in 2009 with the "world's most naive business plan" of achieving 10,000 customers, generating $US10,000 in revenue each, equalling $US100 million in revenue.

10 years on this goal has been met ....

Next mission is to hit 100 million users - 1pc of worlds population.

What it does

Culture Amp uses data gathered from staff surveys to advise companies on how they can change workplace culture, improve performance and create better work environments.

The company has between 3 million and 5 million users across 2500 companies and employs around 400 people.

It’s customers

Culture Amp customers include Airbnb, GoCardless, McDonald's, Salesforce and Slack 

About two-thirds of its revenue is generated in North America, which Mr Elzinga predicts will remain the case for the next few years, but the company is committed to building up its European presence and expanding more into Asia.

"every market is moving to the fact that people matter more and culture is an amplifier" Mr Elzinga said.

Capital raised from blue chip VCs

US150 million has been raised to date with the last round of $US82 million being raised at a USD700m Valuation  in a round led by renowned investor Sequoia Capital China together with Global Founders Capital and TDM Growth Partners.

It raised $US40 million in a round led by Blackbird Ventures with other investors being Sapphire Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Index Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Hostplus, Skip Capital and Grok Ventures.

Having already been a customer of Culture Amp for two years, Sequoia China came on board as the lead investor after its head of HR championed the product internally.

"The substantial investment in this stage of Culture Amp’s growth underscores our confidence that it has in the vision and the leadership team in place to help companies take action on complex workplace issues. Culture Amp has carved out a dominant niche in the global market," Sequoia Capital China partner Steven Ji said.

The business bootstrapped to $1 million in revenue and then did their first raise out of the US from Felicis.

Failures

It took three attempts for Culture Amp to find its feet and settle on its current product of real-time employee engagement surveys that deliver insights for employers on their staff and businesses.

“Scaling a startup from zero to $1 million is the “impossible” piece, while the second stage of growth from $1m to $10m is just “really hard” says Elzinger 

The processes, systems and people you need for a $1m is totally different to what you need as a $10m and different again for a $100m company. 

The secret is to realise this need and act on it 

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/advice/didier-elzinga-on-how-culture-amp-scaled-to-10-million-in-turnover-and-how-it-plans-to-reach-100-million-in-the-next-four-years/

They started out trying to solve a performance management problem of performance reviews – something everyone hated.... but had to pivot as the business wasn’t getting traction .

In January, the company came full circle when it acquired Zugata, a company which has  overhauled traditional performance reviews - making them forward looking and more positive! 

Mentors

Elzinga looked at Atlassian’s business model and realised Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar had nailed it! 

It takes practice consistency and grit to make things look easy! 

“It's like when you hear athletes talk about the fact that on game day, they're not that stretched because you just have to play. You put in all the work and then it will happen," says Elzinger.

Inspired by Yolanda Redrup Reporter -yolanda.redrup@afr.com.au - Sep 4, 2019 https://www.afr.com/technology/employee-survey-start-up-culture-amp-worth-1b-and-climbing-20190827-p52lcj

Women in Tech - opportunities in Telaviv

Women of Startup Nation (WOSN) began three years ago as a project by Barr Yaron to document the achievements and stories of women in Israeli high-tech, and has evolved into a community that today numbers 18,000. 

The first high tech incubator for women - WOSNA – Women of Startup Nation Accelerator has been created in Telaviv by Barr Yaron, Oshrat Goldberg and Jordan Windmueller, who met at Stanford Business School, while studying for their MBAs.

The focus is fashion, artificial intelligence, fintech, real estate, advertising, enterprise software and govtech - and the rule is that each has at least one woman on its founding team.

Their first intake started last month , had received 130 applications for 11 places in the program’s first round.

The Pain

The high- tech  industry faces a critical labor shortage, but women account for a little more than a third of the industry payroll and just 9% of all entrepreneurs.

Out of 7,100 startups active between the years 2000 and 2017, only 7%, or 490 companies, had female founders or co-founders at the helm, according to a 2018 report published by Israel-based market research firm IVC Research Center Ltd.

Of the 125 companies with the highest market capitalization on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, only three companies are headed by women, according to a recent report by Standard & Poor's. Now, Tel Aviv’s newest accelerator—Women of Startup Nation Accelerator (WOSNA)—is out to change these statistics, one female-founded startup at a time.

A typical feeling from a woman employee 

“I felt like they were staring at me for leaving work early, when in reality I was just balancing my work and home commitments.”

Imagine  knowing she would be surrounded by others who will never give her that look.

This was the motivation for making Barr Yaron start her own company.

What WOSNA is 

WOSNA is a 4 week intensive business 101 with a mentor . It   provides  a  four-week program gives a boost to budding tech entrepreneurs with little or no experiencing in starting up a business. 

 Lectures and workshops from investors, entrepreneurs and tech executives from the Israel tech ecosystem.

The accelerator also provides legal, engineering and other consulting. Each company is assigned a female mentor and contact person with a special connection to its industry who stays onboard for four months after the accelerator program is over.

The Companies

The companies include online personal shopping assistant AskLily Ltd., crowdfunding for community events startup FanFund Ltd., online accessibility verifier SenseIT Ltd., and software company Dzomo Ltd., which is still in stealth mode.

Outomi - a startup which has developed online tools for creating AI without any previous programming knowledge. The startup needed help with developing a business plan and a pitch for investors.

As mentors, it was assigned Orly Shoavi and Ronnie Sternberg, founders of the startup SafeDK, which was sold last month to the U.S. company AppLovin. Its contact people are Silicon Valley investors and the AI startup UiPath.

Other  Israeli initiatives for women

SheCodes, that helps women from all over Israel interested in learning coding. NaShim BaHigh-tech (Women in High-Tech) recently joined the global organization Lean In founded by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. 

Meetupsiot helps women with networking by visiting and summarizing meetups.

Source 

https://m.calcalistech.com/Article.aspx?guid=3769445

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.haaretz.com/amp/israel-news/business/.premium-israel-s-first-tech-accelerator-for-women-gets-underway-1.7758360

Katrina Lake - a role model for female entrepreneurs

Katrina Lake - 35 - mum - founder and CEO of Stitch fix- now a $3b company,was named by Forbes as one of the wealthiest self-made women in America.

The Pain 

While at Harvard Business School studying for a master's degree in entrepreneurship, she came up with an idea of bringing a better shopping experience into the homes of women who don't have the time and easy access to a wide range of fashion options or the time to shop around. 

To raise money for this idea - “stitchfix” was a challenge in a 94pc male dominated VC industry.

The Solution

A personalized shopping service that uses algorithms and recommendations from stylists to curate boxes of clothing and accessories that match a customer's style, size and fit preferences. Customers have expanded to clothing for men and kids.

The Photo 

A photo of Lake holding her then 14-month-old son as her company went public went viral on social media and Lake became a role model for women -- and especially mothers -- trying to make it in the startup world.

"The response was amazing. I never anticipated it," she says.

The Money

Stitch Fix has also impressed Wall Street since that Nasdaq debut. The company's stock has more than doubled to nearly $30 a share as it continues to grow its customer base, sales and profits. 

It's current market cap is nearly $3 billion with 2.7m customers.

What Katrina Lake focuses on as a CEO

Lake says one thing she has realized is that her role as CEO goes far beyond boosting the bottom line.

"I think it really forces you to think more about what is the culture that I'm creating, what is the impact that I'm having," she says.

Warren Buffett - Advice for Entrepreneurs - THE BEST IS YET TO COME

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Warren Bufffet shares 2 examples of people he met during his career - that highlights the importance of CUSTOMER SERVICE and the Importance of having great people in your TEAM

Rose Bumpkin - an immigrant - that could not speak english and spent the first 20 years of her life working to educate her children and save enough money to bring her siblings to USA, built a furniture store with a $2500 loan and no further equity to a turnover of $!.5b
and
Jack Taylor - who started his business with $25k and built Enterprise

It starts with a Dream, a Determination to succeed and a total focus on the customer.

The gems 

1. Its all about the customer

2. You need to have an amazing team that is looked after, is passionate and understands the value of customer service - you cannot do it alone

1. Its all about the customer

• you need a genuine desire to delight the customer 
• to wow the customer
• you want that customer to succeed 

What goes through the customers mind? Its where they had the great experience that they will remember and refer

If the customer  has a good or bad experience in the store or transaction online - They will remember how they were treated. The Customer Experience is key (CX) or User experience in the App World (UX)

If you have an experience where the personnel was rude and not great - you are not going to want to go back.

Delight your customers

Your Team 

Delight them through other people - your team.
Look after your team.... you need to multiply yourself through other people.

Your key is to surround yourself with people better than you are - starting with your spouse, teachers, friends, employees, mentors

Look for the people that are examples for you, learn from them

Associate with people that will take you on a better path - and you will grow from strength to strength

FIND THE RIGHT TEAM AND LOOK AFTER THEM 

These Gems, together with a dream and a determination to succeed took Rose Bumpkin into a $1.5b turnover business with a  total capital $2500 and Jack Taylor who built Enterprise with very little equity invested into a conglomerate bigger than Hertz, Avis and Budget together. 

Spark - the fuel for Business

Some amazing Articles by Business Owners and Leaders keen to share their knowledge

Which is your favourite article? 

IntuitiveX backs Life Science, Biotech and Medical Device Startups

Seattle based Life Science Incubator, IntuitiveX, is passionate about helping startups take their ideas from concept to commercialization, 

The Pain

“It takes grit, vision and an innate resilience to brave the ideation process and build a roadmap to commercialization. Due to current systems unique to the life sciences, the process is incredibly complex, costly and time-intensive. This creates a huge barrier to entry into an industry that is not only ripe for innovation but also impacts lives around the world.”

The Painkiller 

To overcome the monumental barrier, accelerate innovation, and impact lives around the world, IntuitiveX was born.

EXPONENTIAL INNOVATION. We are a driving force behind medical innovation, serving as an incubator for ideas and a catalyst for change.

Spinal Surgeon, Dr Jeffrey Roh co-founded IntuitiveX with Mark Hahn and Simon Robinson in 2016, and now  has a portfolio of a dozen startups, which includes digital health, medical device and biotech companies.  

IntuitiveX is a hybrid of accelerator programs like TechStars and Y Combinator as well as “startup studios” such as Pioneer Square Labs. 

The incubator uses a crowdfunding model from a network of investors who pool resources through a holding company rather than a traditional investment fund.

The ideal investee is an entrepreneur  with technical knowledge who needs business and financing support. In exchange for equity, the incubator provides both funding and expertise.

The incubator places a high emphasis on securing intellectual property protection early on and commits to supporting startups for a longer period of time.

Portfolio Company - Transpara Health

One of it’s portfolio investments is Transpara Health (coinvestors being Will Little and Wilson Fong, of Prota Ventures) , giving price transparency for patients. 

The site recently launched with information from around 250 providers. Increasingly, providers are offering direct pricing for services at rates that are lower than what a patient might pay to their insurance for the same service.

For more about IntuitivX - https://www.intuitive-x.com/ 

Emotional Intelligence is fundamental to maintaining our relevance in the AI revolution

We have had some major systemic shifts or revolutions in the last 100 years 

The industrial revolution changed the world by overthrowing the agrarian society

The internet and mobile phone revolution which made us a truly global community and has democratised opportunity 

Today, we are at the beginning of an AI revolution that will take us places that we did not thought possibleArtificial intelligence is becoming faster, more efficient, cost-effective, and systemized. 

Whatever it is you know, AI can and will learn it and use so quickly you will become irrelevant! 

• How can you survive and thrive in the AI revolution? 
• What can you do to take advantage and stay relevant ? 

You will need a completely new focus. 

The focus will need to be about the development of human capital - building relationships. 

Connecting, Collaborating, Contributing Consistently and building Communities 

Knowledge and skills is no longer power - machines can do that -  It’s the human interaction that will have greater value. 

The power is 

• emotional intelligence, (EQ ) 
• conversational intelligence and the ability to communicate effectively and persuasively , (CQ) 
• relational intelligence and the ability to navigate human dynamics. (RQ )

And 

• Likeability intelligence (LQ) 

It’s the power of vulnerability that will set us apart from AI.

No matter how sophisticated A.I. becomes, it can never show real human vulnerability. It is in our vulnerability that we get to know each other beyond anything the “data” can reveal. 

Harvard Business Review (HBR) explains, “Those that want to stay relevant in their professions will need to focus on skills and capabilities that artificial intelligence has trouble replicating — understanding, motivating, and interacting with human beings.”

It is in genuine vulnerability that we reveal ourselves not only to each other but often to ourselves. 

This is how we truly connect human to human, heart to heart, mind to mind.

So where can we find a springboard to vulnerability?

In a word— learning. 

Organisations need to recognise the value of people on their balance sheets 

When we look at the balance sheet  of a company - what is missing in the numbers is it’s people . 

It cost us 1.5 to 2 times the annual salary of an individual to replace them. The training of that individual at an emotional intelligence level can be a stellar  investment that will pay off for their entire career with your organization. 

The revolution is upon us and we can no longer ask our people to do what we are not willing to do. 

Training and continuous learning of the soft skills is key 

In the age of AI, EQ must be incorporated into professional development efforts. Allocate time for EQ learning initiatives. 

Compelling scientific evidence has already emerged citing a positive relationship between EQ and job performance. I reckon this relationship will only be fortified in the upcoming years. 

“What are you doing to actively increase your emotional intelligence, your ability to connect, collaborate and contribute with your peers and those around you? 

Call the team at BSI Learning may be able to guide you on your EQ journey .

So where can you invest in the next 13 months and get a min 6% return?

SMSFs are looking for Yield  - and they are not getting it with bank deposit returns - sub 2% .

Returns in The ASX baskets of shares has done really well in the year to 30 June 2019 .

Investors expect a 6.1 per cent total return from Australian shares over 12 months, but will struggle to meet it (but not by much) according to my friend Recep Parker of Investment Trends . (Ps He is seriously smart)

It is expected that a diversified portfolio of quality Australian shares can yield 6 per cent this year after franking, with The Plato Australian Shares Income Fund targeting a 9 per cent gross return, including franking.

But beware - This is no time for complacency. 

According to Morningstar, after strong gains this year, Australian shares are 20 per cent overvalued (on a market-weighted basis for the S&P/ASX 200 index),

Living off capital and not doing the risk thing taking riskier bets on yield may be a stellar strategy this year - 

says Peter Bolton, a former investment adviser and editor of yeildreport.com.au, which tracks yield across asset classes.

So where do you invest your savings  that is in your super, mattress or Banks to give you an adequate yield?

These are some ideas 💡 of where you can get 6% yields in an article by Tony Featherstone in the AFR today https://www.afr.com/personal-finance/budgeting/how-to-get-a-6pc-yield-without-losing-your-shirt-20190717-p5281i

Unlisted Australian Government Bond Funds

The Mercer Australian Sovereign Wealth Bond has starred with a total return of 11.5 per cent over 12 months. The Jamieson Coote Active Bond fund had a 10.4 per cent in that period and the Vanguard Australian Government Bond Index Fund returned 9.98 per cent.

These are outstanding returns given the risk profile of government bonds but are unlikely to be repeated in the next 12 months without a slew of further domestic rate cuts.

Listed Australian Government Bonds 

The Russell Australian Government Bond ETF returned 12.01 per cent over 12 months to June 2019, ASX data shows. The iShares Treasury ETF returned 10.59 per cent and the SPDR S&P/ASX Australian Government Bond Fund 10.52 per cent.

Corporate fixed-interest funds

They are investment in bonds - debt issued by corporates 

This form of corporate debt has a greater risk of default but typically has higher returns.

In investment-grade bonds, the Vanguard Australian Corporate Fixed Interest Fund has a gross return of 8.08 per cent over one year to June 2019. It invests in bonds issued by Australia’s major banks, offshore banks, property trusts and other lending institutions.

Neuberger Berman’s NB Global Corporate Income Trust is part of a new breed of listed funds in Australia that offer exposure to global high-yield corporate bonds – a $US2.7 trillion market.

Listed on the ASX in 2018, the trust holds a portfolio of sub-investment-grade bonds from up to 350 companies, including Netflix, Dell, Hertz and Virgin Media. The goal: a 5.25 per cent annual return (after fees) paid monthly, with low volatility.

Smart beta equity ETFs 

The iShares S&P/ASX Dividend Opportunities ETF had a trailing yield of 7.14 per cent at the end of June 2019, ASX data show. It provides exposure to a basket of 50 high-yielding stocks.

The UBS IQ Morningstar Australian Dividend Yield ETF aims to replicate the price and yield performance of Morningstar’s model income portfolio, consisting of 25 stocks. Its trailing yield is about 4.9 per cent and one-year total return (including capital growth) is 11.6 per cent.

One of the first yield-focused ETFs, the Russell High Dividend Australian Shares ETF, had a trailing yield of 8.5 per cent in June 2019 and total return of 11.7 per cent. 

And then their are hybrid funds 

This is where the funds find the acquisition of the LiC with debt and equity 

I’ve invested in GEAR that invests in the top 50 - leverages it by 30-50pc - dividends pay interest and growth gives a return .

Peer-to-peer (P2P) funds

Enables your money to invest in an individual loan or pool of loans, potentially earning a higher return compared to fixed interest, albeit with higher risk.

They promote net returns about 6.5 per cent over 12 to 15 months.

Investors in property-based P2P funds must be comfortable with potential default risks if borrowers cannot repay their loan and property prices falls.

Investors who believe property values are stabilising and the risk of loan defaults is easing because of rate cuts, might find extra appeal in P2P platforms in mortgage securities. 

They suit experienced, risk-tolerant investors who understand the risks of property lending.

Lending to Business  or others that you know 

There is a business called Credi - the people’s bank - that enables you to be the bank to people that you or your trusted adviser knows - with all the relevant securities in place.

Another business - Thincats - invest in small business - and promote 10-15% returns - where they do the analysis and risk profile - and “crowd source the lending.

Investing in Business and Venture Capital 

This can give exponential returns - but is not for the faint hearted . It might be worth putting a small percentage of your portfolio into high risk stocks or shares - on the chance that maybe it can become a google, Apple, Microsoft, 10cent, canva , amazon or atlassian  .

You will also be playing a part in the Innovation Space!

Global Stocks 

Look to invest in global stocks - China, Asia, USA and Europe 

And then there is Direct  Property - Commercial and Residential 

Residential Property has taken a hammering this year - however long term - with the ability to borrow money at low interest rates - it’s enabled many Australians to build wealth over the years. 

Based on the stability and attractiveness of the Australian lifestyle - it looks like demand for property in Australia is likely to rise - however there are risks that you need to look out for and strategies to follow to maximise the likelihood for growth.

With negative gearing available - it is a stellar way to build your assets and wealth with the help of your taxes 

Commercial property - will give higher returns - because there are higher risks 

How to invest 

These investments are all readily accessible via Wraps and online. 

If you want to know how to invest your savings and super - and minimise your risk - based on your risk profile - speak to your financial planner - www.arktotalwealth.com.au

Www.arktotalwealth.com.au

me&u gets support of Australian superstars

Steven Premutico sells Dimmi’s and launches me&u with the help of Australia’s tech superstars 

The Idea 

Steven Premutico (pictured) is back with another piece of hospitality-tech sure to make waves in the industry.

When Steven Premutico sold Dimmi’s he spent thirty days walking the famed Camino San Tiago in Spain, where he came up with the idea to create me&u.

The Investors 

The new startup has received investment from some of Australia’s best known Tech Players - many of whom had a precious success with Dimmi’s - including Cliff Rosenberg (a current non-executive director  at Afterpay, and formerly at Dimmi and managing director (MD) at LinkedIn APAC), Will Easton (MD Facebook Australia, ex  Dimmi), Jason Pellegrino (ex MD Google Aus, Domain CEO), Mike Abbott (co-founder Uber Australia), Tim Reed (CEO MYOB), Neil Perry, and John Szangolies (founder of Urban Purveyor Group).

The pain me&u solves 

"It's clear Aussies love to eat in restaurants, but the way we order and pay is terribly clunky and antiquated whether that be trying to catch the waiter's attention to order, waiting for the bill at the end of the night or the awkwardness of splitting the bill. It simply shouldn't take five minutes to pay a bill! We will fix that."

What me&u does 

Customers simply need to tap their phone onto an NFC (near field communications) beacon provided by the restaurant which sends a menu instantly to the me&u app, allowing customers to place an order right away.

The app also allows for those with allergies and dietary requirements to filter out inappropriate choices.

At the end of the meal customers can pay via the app and even split the bill, removing the need for awkward conversations and piles of miscounted cash.

Premutico says the new app will be disruptive in hospitality by combining the beauty of Instagram with the convenience of Uber.

In addition to improving the ordering and payment process in restaurants, Premutico says me&u will give floor staff more time to improve customer service and allow them to focus on what matters.

The app will improve efficiency and enable waiters to provide a more effective customer service to patrons 

"Waiters run around tirelessly all night, service lessens, the customer experience drops, and upselling doesn't happen. We want to free up the waiters, improve the customer experience and improve industry profitability.”

"At Dimmi we disrupted the way we book our favourite restaurants. Now we will disrupt the way we order and pay," says Premutico.

The customers and industry me&u helps 

At launch over 500 restaurants have already signed up to use me&u, including Rockpool Dinging Group, Boathouse Group, Chat Thai, Watsons Bay Hotel, Sonoma and Pablo.

"For the hospitality industry to survive and thrive - it has to evolve and use the technology available to provide a more effective customer experience. “  says Premutico.

So what are the insights from this blog  that you can adopt in your business? 

Should public investors have easy access to invest in startups?

A great Insight from Niki  Skevak from Blackbird Ventures 

Afterpay, Xero and Pushpay all went public super early at super silly valuations and created awesome business worth billions of dollars each

In 2016, Afterpay went public on a $500k annualised revenue run rate and raised $25M on a $165M post-money valuation. It's now a $7B company 3 years later with a $214M annualised revenue run rate.

 (oops $6b now) 

Maybe make it easy for startups in Australia to list on the asx and enable public investors to get in at a stage that’s often reserved for VC/private capital markets? 

They can have a strategy to invest in startups where 1 in 10 will work! 

David Shein Shares his recipe of turning a startup into a business he sold in 2001 for over $600m

We were grateful to have David Shein share his story, some of his learnings and strategies  with us at the BBG BSI Innovation Forum last week.

David shared his vision, KPIs and thoughts and strategies  on customer service, culture, building relationships and scaling globally.

This was followed by a robust Thinktank of  “3 Pods of 6” and a sharing of insights and learnings on how these learnings and strategies can be implemented into our own businesses and organisations! 

1987 - 1991 - Comtech  founded - grew from startup to 85 employees - winning NABs ethnic awards. (His speech then would be the same as his speech now)

1991  to 2001 - grew from  85 to 1400  employees - and $1b in revenue - making a tradesale to Di Data - for +$500m (in height of boom - a year before crash!!

2001 to 2002 - wallowing

2002 - now - investing in startups and innovators with passion, purpose and peraerverence (in no particular order)

Here  is a taste of the start of a sensational BBG Forum

Enjoy!!

(Let me know if you want to see the rest!) 

Part 1 

Think Tank part 2 and 3 

ICANsee cannabis Ocular Therapy -

The medical cannabis market will reach at least $19B in the next 26 months making it an attractive and important sector.  

Combating inflammation and pain are among the most impactful applications of medical cannabis.

A medical market primarily driven by inflammation and pain is the ocular therapeutics  market of eye drops. iCAN believes that the medicinal use of cannabinoids in eyes drops is inevitable and the time to stake a claim in that market is now. 

iCAN is pleased to announce that iCANsee is offering an investment opportunity in their seed round right now.

iCANsee are first movers in the cannabis ocular therapy market, with clinical applications and for both over-the-counter and prescription markets utilizing nanotechnology-based delivery system, developed here in Israel, and iCANsee was awarded a Government  grant from the Israel Innovation Authority for the R&D.

If you’d like to find out more about iCANsee, please download the brief here:

 you’d like to find out more about iCANsee, please download the brief here:

Want to know more?

Send us an email, along with a signed copy of our standard NDA, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD! For more info 

Want to know more?

Send Saul Kaye an email  incubate@israel-cannabis.com (no relation :) , and no vested interests 

along with a signed copy of their standard NDA, and he will get back to you as soon as possible.