For those who were able to make it to Jason Pappas’ first of two workshops on “How to Finance Your Business” this past Friday know what a wealth of knowledge he has to share. He discussed some of the differences between bootstrapping a business, what Pappas refers to as “The Ramen Noodle Method,” and some of the more traditional methods of financing your startup.

Attached to this post you will find a PDF document that shows the flowchart discussed during the workshop.

Very basically, once you come up with your business idea, you have to figure out how to make it grow. One method is to bootstrap it. To bootstrap it, you can utilize credit cards or take profit earned and reinvest it into business development. Many companies have had success with this method, but many more have nothing but copious amounts of debt to show. Pappas notes that some businesses begin by bootstrapping and quickly move over to a more traditional financing method.

There are two simple methods of financing your business; you can finance through debt or through equity.

Relying on debt requires you to pay interest and put up some form of collateral should you default on the loan. Some forms of debt financing include: going to a bank, asking friends and family, or getting a Small Business Loan. Pappas recommended the SBA for low interest loans and even has financed a few of his businesses through this program.

The other method is to give equity in your company in exchange for funds and expertise. There is no need to provide collateral, which many entrepreneurs just starting out don’t have an asset to put on the line, most investors bring some expertise in a skill that could be beneficial, and the risk is shared in case of a failure. Yes you have to give up a portion of your company, but my philosophy is that “I would rather have a small piece of a large pie than a large piece of a small pie.”

Pappas discussed 4 types of equity: friends/family & fools, angel investors, venture capitalists, and private equity firms. Friends and family are often the first place many people turn to get started. There are some caveats to be aware of here. Be sure to accurately valuate your company before giving equity away to anyone. Also, Pappas recommends, “Never put non-delusion clauses in an equity agreement at this stage. The next stage investors simply won’t invest.” Dilution is the subsequent sale of shares of stock at a price per share less than that paid by the preceding investor. As an example you sell to your mom 10% of your business for $50,000, meaning that you value the company at $500,000. At your next stage, you sell 10% of your company for $250,000, meaning you a valuing the company at $2.5 Million. No investor is going to pay 5 times the amount your mom did for the same equity in the company and will therefore want to dilute her share to a more accurate 2%.

Angel investors are often the next stage people move into to find investors. Angels are people who have typically had some successes in the past and have money to invest in startup companies. This is the stage in which many incubators and accelerators are beneficial to companies starting out. They will help you get to the next stage.

Venture capitalists are often the third stage of investment and prefer to work with companies that have graduated from the startup stage and are now in the “Early Stage.” They have some success, some profits, and maybe a number of employees.

The final stage Pappas discussed was private equity firms. Private equity companies typically only invest in companies if they can become the majority shareholder, 51% or more. This is often a great opportunity for business owners to cash out and move on to their next company or retire altogether. Pappas’ company, Antson Capital Partners <http://antsoncapital.com/> is a private equity firm that buys out companies in the Baltimore and mid-Atlantic region.

Pappas has agreed to do a follow-up workshop on Financing Your Business on November 17 from Noon – 1pm in entreSpace. The focus of this workshop will be on valuating your company as well as what investors want to see at each stage of investment.

You can download the unedited audio of the workshop here. Make sure you download the attached pdf document illustrating the flow of investment.

Why is a cemetery a good place to write a story? Why, because there are so many plots there! 

In addition to looking up terrible Halloween jokes, Special Collections has decided to get into the spirit of Halloween by sharing selections from our various collections that are filled with magic, the supernatural, and horror. Graduate Assistant Jessi Deane went through four of our different collections and pulled out her personal favorites to share with all of you! The best part—all of these selections are available for you to come and look at yourselves! 

GENERAL/RARE BOOKS COLLECTION

The History of Witchcraft and Demonology by Montague Summers

Written in 1926, Summers claims that this history of the supernatural spans too far across time and too far across the globe to accurately portray all of it. However, by choosing to focus on just Europe, he is able to examine two or three specific aspects of witchcraft and demonology. One of the things that stood out the most of me about Summers’ history was his argument that “it is quite impossible to appreciate and understand the true lives of [men and women]…unless we have some realization of the part that Witchcraft played in those ages” (ix). Although Summers certainly doesn’t try to claim that his findings are particularly historical or scientific,any fan of the supernatural and the occult should definitely come and check this out!

Famous Curses by Elliot O’Donnell

Not long after Montague Summers wrote his history of witchcraft, O’Donnell published a collection of famous curses that were supposedly cast around the world. One of these is the “Screaming Skulls of Calgarth,” which is quite similar to one of those urban legends that Jessi heard so often as a kid. Now, the real question is, are these tales of real curses? Or are they simply ghost stories told to children to keep them up at night? You may have to decide that for yourself. 

Bibliotheca Curiosa. A Treatise of Magic Incantations of Christianus Pazig edited by Edmund Goldsmid

Written in 1700, and translated in 1886 for an English audience, this little book traces the power of words in magic. Where do incantations come from? Why are they worded the way that they are? What powers do those words have? Or, perhaps, could it be that some of these “incantations” don’t have meaning simply because the words that they are made up of don’t have any meaning? These are all important questions that this little book attempts to answer. 

ROSENFELD COLLECTION

WerewolveSS by Jerry and Sharon Ahern

In 1944, Nazi leaders Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels outlined a plan called the “Werwolf,” which would place a guerrilla resistance force behind the Allied lines as they moved through Germany. When combining this with the popular historical interpretation of Hitler as an “occult groupie,” I’m sure you can guess where Jerry and Sharon Ahern went with this book! (Hint: Avid watchers of the hit HBO drama True Blood have definitely seen this before!)  A story of terror and suspense, WerewolveSS is definitely worth a read! 

The Howling by Gary Brandner

In the spirit of Halloween, be sure to check out another terrifying piece of werewolf literature! Following traumatic events in their lives, Karyn and Roy Beatty decide to move from the grimy city of Los Angles to the secluded mountain town of Drago. Although the town and its inhabitants seem friendly enough, it soon becomes apparent that something sinister is happening behind the scenes. The 1981 film The Howling is based on this blood curdling novel. 

The Tomb and other Tales by H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft, the author of the bone-chilling novel The Call of Cthulhu and Other Dark Tales, wrote The Tomb in 1917, making it the first piece of literature written by him in his adult life. Published in the March 1922 issue of The Vagrant, The Tomb and Other Tales consists of seventeen different short stories, early “novels”, and fragments by the master of horror fiction himself.  Jessi’s favorites are the fragments, specifically “Azathoth”; ranging from just one paragraph to only two or three pages, they were found in Lovecraft’s papers and were never expanded into short stories of their own. 

THE ARNOLD/HOWARD COLLECTION

Ghosts and Haunted Houses of Maryland by Trish Gallagher

Do you love haunted houses and stories of ghosts, ghouls, and spirits? Do you live in Maryland? Well, according to Trish Gallagher, you’re in luck! Claiming that our home state is “alive” with ghosts and other creepy hauntings, Gallagher records the stories of Maryland’s twenty-five most haunted sites. Although this may be Jessi’s own interest in Baltimore’s Confederate women shining through, but her personal favorite is the story of “The Hauntings at the Surratt House”. Mary Surratt, one of the alleged co-conspirators of the Lincoln assassination, is said to have begun haunting her family’s home following her execution in 1865. The best part about this book? All of these haunted sites and houses can be visited!

COMIC BOOK COLLECTION

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight

Published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011, this particular comic series follows the canonical continuation of the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The comics themselves start on year after the series finale, picking up the stories of our favorite characters right where we left them. True to the original in every way, Season Eight (and later Season Nine) was produced by Joss Whedon and utilized many of the same writers from the Whedon-verse. 

Here's how the night works:

Explore the culture and history of East Baltimore!  See a slice of urban life from the 70’s!  Has much changed?  Take a look and see for yourself – now available online:  Elinor Cahn photographs.

UMBC students, faculty, and staff now have access to this digital collection of renowned Baltimore photographer Elinor B. Cahn (born 1925). Over eighty of Cahn’s photographic prints from the East Baltimore Documentary Photography Project are currently available in UMBC's Digital Collections.  The digitized prints available online demonstrate Cahn’s thoughtful views of religious and secular ceremonial processions, residents in multigenerational family homes, and other aspects of daily life.

The East Baltimore Photography Project began as part of MICA Professor Linda Rich’s social documentary course in 1976 and expanded as a four-year grant endeavor among Rich, Cahn, and Cahn’s classmate Joan Netherwood. The photographers documented neighborhoods in transition, capturing East Baltimoreans’ pride and proactive measures to improve basic services.  The images provide insightful perspectives into East Baltimoreans’ diverse houses of worship, commemorative parades, family-owned establishments, row homes, and private lives.  The East Baltimore Photography Project produced over ten thousand images, many of which were exhibited throughout the region and published in the book, Neighborhood: A State of Mind, available in our Arnold Collection of Maryland history and in the general  Library stacks.  

In addition to the Cahn’s East Baltimore Documentary Photography project, Special Collections holds Cahn’s full archives. Cahn’s collection includes images of Baltimore’s Greek community, Asklipios, Greece, the Vietnam memorial, cemeteries, a Baltimore soup kitchen, and photographs of Maine.

UMBC's Special Collections is open to the public from Monday through Friday 1-4 pm, with extended Thursday evening hours until 8 pm. We are also open by appointment. Access the digital collection of Cahn images here.

This post was written by Jen Wachtel

First let me point out that the Internet is the most useful resource that any individual can tap into. Aside from the internet, A Whole New Mind, by Daniel H. Pink is a book I believe every motivated student should read. This book not only changed how I view the politics of education but also how I experience the world as a whole. I will also like to point out that this particular book inspired the current InSource logo.  

4. What is the toughest decision you have had to make in the last 6 

months?

The toughest decision I had to make in the past 6 months would honestly be deciding on the appropriate compensation (equity) to distribute between all participating members of InSource. It is especially difficult in determining a fair amount that would satisfy and at the same time show how valuable each member is to the company without stirring up bad feelings within the group.  

5. What advice would you give other student entrepreneurs?

1. Get OUT of your comfort zone
2. Don’t be afraid to fail, and when it comes to entrepreneurial ventures, “fail fast”.
3. Be open to hearing other peoples inputs
4. Try to be the best overall person you can be, because one thing that people will always remember is how you made them feel.

Reach out to Percy & Visit the InSource Website to learn more.