Vicinity Views
News, education and insights on investing in public offerings through the Vicinity platform and private early-stage offerings with VentureSouth.
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Turning Passion into Profit
We’re not saying this blog will cure your post-Olympic blues, but we do have something golden for you. This week we chatted with Alek…
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You’re Special… Sort of.
“You’re special, just like everyone else.” Unfortunately, this is as true in business as anywhere. Specialize or die – in a world of investing…
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A Twist on Buffett’s Advice
Today we’re taking a new look at one of Warren Buffett’s most quoted lines: “Never invest in a business you cannot understand.” While we…
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Is Real Estate Really “Location, Location, Location”?
At the end of 2020 Chapel ran a successful campaign on Vicinity’s portal to fund a multi-tenant facility in the Poe Mill area. For…
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What Robinhood got wrong (& right) in their Super Bowl commercial
I was about ready to let the whole Robinhood/Gamestop wildness go… and then I saw the commercial. You’ve probably seen it by now –…
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Doubling-down on Democratization
While trust in the gamified giant has become as volatile as a short squeeze on an outdated retail chain, now might be a good…
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What’s the difference between microinvesting and crowdfunding?
While crowdfunding serves a purpose, there are some glaring differences between it and investment crowdfunding, also known as microinvesting.
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An Alternative to Fighting Manipulation with Manipulation
There’s a good chance you’ll come across a BFF or “soul sister” at some point in life, but you’ll have better luck finding good…
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What have you assumed?
Assumptions are all those little (and BIG) things we expect to be true in the future around our business, its market, or the customers…
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5 Questions for the Capital Seeker
There comes a point in nearly every business’s life when getting funding is a necessity. At this fateful moment, there may also be a…
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4 Investor Insights from 4 Years of Reg CF
Four years old… this is the age you can expect recognition of shapes and colors, and a love for rhyming words. Also for some…
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Double Duty Diversified Income
It’s trivia time at Vicinity! Which of the following headlines from the past year are real? Aliens in hiding until mankind is ready, says…
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Myth #8: There aren’t enough unicorns in the southeast
This “myth” is true – there aren’t many unicorns in the south east, and none in the Carolinas. There are also virtually no IPOs…
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Myth #7: It takes too long to reach exits
This is too often, unfortunately, true. Startup companies take a long time to mature into middle market businesses that large companies are interested in…
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Myth #6: It costs too much to be an investor
Finding deals yourself; conducting your own diligence; negotiating a deal; paying attorneys to create a suite of transaction documents; paying accountants for tax returns…
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Myth #5: Angel investing is for philanthropy or fun, not making money
Angel investing is about making money. VentureSouth itself is a private business (a SC LLC), not a government entity and not funded with public…
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Myth #4: You need to be an expert
Nope. Most people (nearly two-thirds) that join VentureSouth tell us that they are becoming angel investors for the first time. This is not deliberate:…
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Myth #3: It takes a long time to build a portfolio
It simply does not take a long time to build a portfolio of angel investments. When we published the first article, there were 13…
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Myth #2: You need to invest a lot of money
Following the math in the original article, you can create a portfolio of investments as a VentureSouth member for $50,000 (10x $5,000 investments) to…
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Myth #1: Not many people can be angel investors
Anyone can invest in early stage companies. (You can invest as an “unaccredited investor” in certain situations or platforms, subject to limits on how…
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Myths of Angel Investing: This Month’s Posts
In my last two Upstate Business Journal articles (here and here), I’ve tried to debunk a few myths and clear up a few misconceptions…
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What To Do With An Idea
I read children’s books every day – admittedly, not always for pleasure, but definitely by choice. My wife and I have a bunch of…
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Baebies receives FDA approval
Congratulations to Baebies for announcing it received clearance from the FDA for its SEEKER platform – the first Lysosomal Storage Disease newborn screening platform.…
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Matt’s Upstate Business Journal column – Creating the Future
Enjoy Matt’s UBJ column from this week’s issue here – Since you can’t predict the future, you should try to create it.