🚀✉️ The startup state
Your five minute mentor is Ayla Kress, Co-founder of Brain Candy Management
The entertainment industry is so big in Nashville, with a plethora of problems and solutions, and plenty of entrepreneurs/investors to help solve them. Experience will teach you everything you need to know about trusting yourself and your decisions about the business you are building. So whether you really are in the entertainment category, or just entertained by the idea of getting out alive today, do it for some of that valuable experience. The music and entertainment world can be a tough one to navigate, but people like today's mentor are here to help with creative solutions. Be aware of the timing if you are considering raising capital. Knowing when to accept funding is all part of your path as a business owner. Keep reading to learn a little more about when to accept it, and why you may not need it, even when an investor is making a tempting offer. As always, we are here for you as you keep going.
Ayla is a creative business strategist who works with emerging artists and disruptive startups - continually encouraging her clients to go "Beyond the Traditional" in all they do. She founded BCM with the goal to ignite innovation in the music industry through providing non-traditional creative development services to startups and up-in-coming artists in Nashville, TN. The following year, She joined the Scrappy Capital team as General Partner to develop a disruptive approach to VC Firms where she focuses on securing funding for music and entertainment based startups in emerging tech hubs. Currently, she is growing her client roster, expanding her network, and working alongside fellow founders, VC's, advisors and more to make Tennessee THE startup state.
Recent Achievement:
She was recognized as a "Music Mogul in the Making" by Who Knew - Nashville in Nov. 2019. There, she spoke about her journey thus far and her ideas for the future. https://www.buffkinbaker.com/who-knew-nashville/
Meet your five minute mentor, Ayla Kress, Co-founder of Brain Candy Management and General Partner of Scrappy Capital.
Cold fusion - it's time to solve the energy crisis. We'd reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and create an abundance of energy that would allow us to innovate and build a future like no other.
Today's mind-bender reading exercise
Want to warm your brain and read about something different that the scientific community probably doesn't have strong and differing opinions on?
*Googles cold fusion*
Ok, I'm going to do my best to not sound totally out of my league, so I dug up this article from Scientific American on the current status of Cold Fusion: This is some light reading and I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-current-scien/
Fusion is a nuclear reaction wherein two smaller nuclei join (fuse) to form a new, larger nucleus. (I ripped that right off the article).
Cold Fusion is a controversial subject because researchers have tried and failed to replicate the findings like the one eight years ago at the University of Utah.
Used in a sentence: "Deborah got cold fusion after finding out she could release measurable energy from fusion reactions at or near room temperature when she dissolved deuterium in palladium metal all on her own. Empowered and hungry, she was ready for a snack."
So what is Ayla referring to? Consider reading this article from Yahoo Finance from 2019. Lockheed Martin is willing to bet that they will create a small cold fusion engine in the next 10 years that could supply a town with infinite amounts of clean nuclear power. Let's hope they beat the doomsday clock.
Trusting your gut instinct, but first you must have experience to teach you these instincts.
Whether I'm vetting a startup for possible investment or preparing an artist to go on stage I must rely on my gut instinct especially in fast-paced situations which are common in both the world of VC and music.
Learning to trust your gut means that you must be aware of it and take an active roll in identifying what your gut instinct is trying to tell you - it's really like riding a bike.
It takes some time to learn, but once you do - you've got it down forever you just have to trust yourself!
This past year I realized I was lacking a daily feeling of accomplishment which was creating a cycle that led to decreased motivation and pride. After mentioning this to a friend, she recommended the book "Make Your Bed - Little Things That Can Change Your Life .... And Maybe the World" by Admiral William H. McRaven. Which teaches you the value of the little things, completing the little tasks and how they contribute to the big picture. In addition, this has helped me tremendously with breaking down large goals into tangible milestones that have led to more timely, successful and cost effective projects - in additional to overall increased personal and professional satisfaction. The best part, it's a super easy habit to get into simply wake up and MAKE YOUR BED like your Mom'ma always said.
The weekly mood-booster
If I call this what it is, you probably won't click on it. It's someone making a bed silently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMicsIb4n6w
If you already make your bed each morning as a habit, perhaps you are ready for folding a fitted bedsheet?
I believe you should NEVER raise a Series A just because a VC fund offered to write a check.
I always tell founders that the more investment they take on the further they move the goal post - and if you don't NEED the money then why move the goal post? Many founders say "well if they believe in us..." and think that the VC check will be what launches them to the next level. False, it's not the funding per-say, but the founder.
If a founder is still seeing steady growth without additional investment and can rely off of current revenue generations to increase growth then there's no real need for a capital investment.
It'll just move the goal post and dilutes existing shareholders equity. You SHOULD take on additional investment when the capital will clearly add value like when investing in proprietary technology, adding a key staff member, investing in manufacturing facility, or when entering a large scaling process. Simply put, if you don't have a need for the capital before a check is offered - DO NOT make up a need.
Being curious has always been a fundamental value in my life. I was always encouraged to discover, explore, and embrace innovation from an early age by my family of entrepreneurs.
My curiosity drives my insatiable desire to learn, travel, and invest in entrepreneurs. If I wasn't as curious as I am I'd never have moved abroad in high school, wouldn't have gotten into my college of choice, wouldn't have gotten my M.A. in Music Business, wouldn't have asked so many (almost too many) questions along the way. Each of those things has contributed greatly to my success as creative business strategist and investor.
If you're not hungry and curious to see where you can go and what you can accomplish, then how can you be ambitious?
Ayla Kress is the Co-founder of Brain Candy Management and General Partner of Scrappy Capital.
CMT declared this week in a tweet that they would give equal play to both male and female artists after Saginaw, Michigan’s WKCQ explained their station’s rule — a rule that country music stations likely have across the US: “We cannot play two females back to back. Not even Lady Antebellum or Little Big Town against another female,” they wrote. “I applaud their courage. Pop audiences are more welcoming and forgiving of their female singers. I kinda like that. The Country audience not so much. They accepted Taylor because their daughters loved her.”
Pressure and time turns coal into diamonds, but either way you rock.
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Can't get enough?
1. Check out the relaunched Southern/alpha. If you've been looking for a place to learn more about what other local founders/entrepreneurs are doing to launch and grow their businesses, this is the place to find it.
2. Our local Slack, StartupNash, is at 170 members! Please join in if you are in the Nashville area and want to pitch a startup idea, or share a weekly win with our supportive community.
3. We just launched a free mentor matching service for the StartupNash Slack community. I've gotten a lot of interest in people seeing professional mentorship, and lots of people who want to give back. You can participate here. It doesn't matter how long you've been reading these emails, if you are interested, I'd love to have you.
LaunchLetter is a weekday newsletter from Southern/alpha, a website that features collections of stories and resources for underestimated startup communities.
LaunchLetter is for founders getting started on an idea or business. Our goal is to share the perspective, habits and positive messages of more experienced founders and CEOs. We hope you find it relatable and delightful as you get focused for the day on your own goals. To the stars!
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