Everything You Need To Know About Funding Your Business + How/Why Lara Hodgson Raised $9.5 Million For Now®️
If you’re sick of chasing late invoices, you’re going to love today’s episode.
Lara Hodgson is the President and CEO of Now®️, an innovative company she co-founded with Stacey Abrams. Now®️ is the first payment solution that allows B2B companies to get paid immediately while enabling a businesses’ customers to pay later. She serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School and is an internationally recognized speaker, leading seminars on creativity, innovation and access to capital.
Lara takes us behind the scenes in the pitch room to demystify how Now®️ raised $9.5 million in funding so even those without a finance background can clearly understand. I know many of you listening to this podcast may not need or want to go the path of getting investors or raising venture capital, which is why you’ll appreciate Lara’s practical approach to how to evaluate when you actually need money, how much to ask for, ways to get it, and how to prioritize where to spend it in your business.
Whether you’re a freelancer scaling to six figures or have aspirations to build the next unicorn company with a billion dollar valuation, this conversation is a must listen if you want to leverage money as a tool for business growth.
Connect with Lara:
- nowcorp.com
- If you mention code “C2C” in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" field, Now®️ will discount your membership $250!
- Now®️ LinkedIn
- @NOWaccountLara
Listener of the Week:
Kristin of @districtbrandbar
Favorite Takeaways From This Episode:
- How Now®️’s payment solution is changing the way small business does business.
- “The fact that we’ve always solved the problem this way, doesn’t mean it’s the right way”
- “The term ‘small business; should be a temporary status, not a permanent status”
- Capitol is never the end goal, you should be focused on what you’re trying to achieve with the it.
- How Lara + Stacey determined $9.5 was their magic number, + what they envisioned they were going to do with that money.
- “It’s how you react in the face of challenges that builds confidence in you.”
- Scaling before implementing a risk model = epic failure
- Why + how you should only invest long-term equity in long-term assets.
- A simplified breakdown of the differences between loans and investments.
- Not all dollars are equal.
- What it’s like inside a pitch room + things to know going into it.
- Most important part of a formal pitch: be able to articulate your vision simply, in a way that exudes confidence.
- “I am confident in my vision, I am confident in the solution that we have, but let me tell you what I have not yet perfected.”
- One big tip for building your network daily.
- Every person you come into contact with can provide value.
- Why she was so excited when her employee left to start her own business.
- So many people define their lives in terms of success, but the bigger goal should actually be significance.
⚡ LIGHTNING ROUND QUESTIONS⚡
- If you could host a talk show, who would be your first guest?
- What are you currently reading?
- How many alarms do you set for yourself in the morning?
What Did You Think?
What was your biggest takeaway from this episode? Let us know on Instagram @cubicletoceo.
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