I'm still self-isolating although I do have plans to meet some friends for distanced drinks in a few minutes. Much more seriously, of all the news and punditry about the pandemic grabbing my attention, the one that rankles most is the way it is exposing economic inequality. And that inequality shows up in unequal access [...]
Once again, small is less
I write this as we in New York City are beginning to see pandemic numbers trending in an encouraging direction. Of course I scanned that news, but then this headline jumped out at me-- Businesses Say Big Banks Flouted ‘First Come First Served’ for Aid New York Times, April 20, 2020, by Emily Flitter. Yes, [...]
Coming to our senses
Or how I taught ethical decision-making to road crew . . . . It's the middle of the great pandemic of 2020 and I am having a terrible time falling asleep. Not all that surprising given I live in New York City and we are being hit hard. I have tried all the standards, meditation, [...]
What small business lenders want . . .
I originally wrote this post back in 2013 and update it periodically. The importance of knowing what your prospective lenders look for in a creditworthy small business never seems to fade. With growing global concerns that a frightening virus in China could cause economic damage affecting small businesses, it is time for a reminder: We've [...]
Creditworthiness is like . . .
“Creditworthiness is like virginity. It can be preserved but not restored very easily.” -Warren Buffett
Do we really need loan machines?
I never quite know whether fascination with algorithm-driven lending is a media thing or a Silicon Valley thing. What or whomever fuels fintechs, it's a global phenomenon, a point underscore by recent coverage of Jack Ma’s online lending to small businesses. As with venture-backed fintechs out of Silicon Valley, Ma’s effort, called MYbank, analyzes thousands [...]
Filling in the gaps . . .
“Once the therapeutic process wears down these defences [sic] and while we work through the emotions they were defending against, we feel worse because we’re now feeling the original pain. But better out than in, as my grandmother would say.” Wendy Bristow, May 4, 2017, http://www.wellbeing.org. It’s the fall and I’m brimming with hope for [...]
The big tech vendor and trust
The “original gangster of big tech” has managed to dodge the bad headlines and congressional grilling that have ensnared its rivals by working with regulators and advocating its own solutions. --Daria Solovieva | 01.10.19 | Fast Company I was raising money for my first startup back in 1998. It was the seed round which focused [...]