Category: Money & Finance

Esports organization, Misfits Gaming group, has launched a $10 million seed fund and incubator for gaming startups tagged MSF.IO.

There will be an open application period, and by January, two startups would have been chosen from around the world. Hence the company can also groom at its headquarters in South Florida.

The $10 million is self-funded money, and the company only wants to take five startups for the first batch of the investment.
Aside from esport startups, Misfits is also looking for data and analytics companies, and education-focused startups which can serve players with skill development and game development studios.

Misfits have a group of advisers, which include Nicola Piggott, co-founder of esports PR agency The Story Mob and former comms lead at Riot Games; Rich Kracum, co-founder of private equity firm Wind Point Partner and James Kuhn, president of real estate company Newmark Knight Frank.

Because of team franchises in the league of legends European Championship, the Overwatch League, and the new Call of Duty League, the worth of Misfits gaming is approximately $120 million by Forbes.

The CEO of Misfits, Ben Spoont, believes the approach of Misfits is unique in the industry. He also stated that the company isn’t planning to incorporate these businesses into their normal esports operations; instead, they want to invest in a business that has prospects.

LiftFund is a nonprofit organization that gives loans to small business owners. It is partnering with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and pumping $3 million in the Golden Crescent area for easy access to loans by small businesses.

The collaboration and funds are meant to help small businesses that aren’t doing well, especially those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

LiftFund had organized a resource fair and panel discussion event at the University of Houston-Victoria to enlighten local business proprietors about the grant which is available to business within the 18 counties and how they can also grow their business.

The mode of operation of the fund will be like the energy cycle, which means that as disbursed loans are being repaid, they are released back as funds for new loans. This means that the program will run for decades.

The application is available to any small business via LiftFund. Entrepreneurs can get loans as low as $1000 and up to $250,000 depending on the financial needs of the business. The interest rate for now, at least till March 2020, is 4%.
LiftFund is a community lender based in San Antonio. The organization is well experienced, having worked with diverse black entrepreneurs, from owners of pet shops, bakeries, coffee shops, restaurants, and many more.

GoDaddy, the company that focuses on development and empowerment of small business, has announced its collaboration with Kabbage, Inc., a data and technology company that provides loan to small business.

The strategic partnership will ensure that GoDaddy’s customers in the U.S. can access Kabbage’s online lending packages.

After undergoing a simple application procedure via Kabbage, GoDaddy customers will be able to get a flexible loan up to $250,000 within few minutes after approval. The extra cash flow will make it possible for GoDaddy customers to procure additional tools or raw materials, staff up for the hectic holiday period, use it to initiate digital marketing for the business etc.

Both companies affirmed that there is no application charges to access the loan via Kabbage. Customers will not be penalized for failure to withdraw the approved funds (which will anyway remain in the customer’s account); hence, payment will only start when the funds are accessed. Furthermore, existing GoDaddy customers will get $100 off their first month’s fee.

Aside from the partnership announcement, GoDaddy also releases the result of the survey they did on 500 black entrepreneurs, to see how they were able to overcome the issues they faced while growing their business. Sixty percent of those surveyed claims to have increased in their income after they invested in online adverts, while 43 percent affirmed that owning a website is an excellent digital tool to grow a business.

Fifty percent of the black entrepreneurs claim that access to funds is a significant hindrance to growing their business’s online presence.

During a recent trip, I was helping a relative who is in need get a bus pass. It’s been many years since I’ve had to get a bus pass myself so I was not familiar with the process.

While we were standing there, I was completely unaware that we were being watched. I was explaining to my relative that I didn’t really know what I was doing. The cost of the bus pass was $25, all I had was a $20 bill and a $10. I put both bills in and change came out not in bills but in actual coins. I asked my relative”What the hell is this”? He explained to me that it was dollar bills in the form of coins.  We got a slight laugh and started to collect the coins. Before I could turn around, a man came up to me from nowhere and asked if I had any change to spare.

I was completely caught off guard,  I could not use my usual excuses about not having change. It was obvious that he saw me put money in machine and he saw the change returned. This was an awkward circumstance for me. There was a part of me that felt like I was being stalked and used and another part that gave me yet another perspective on business.  I was not impressed with his tactics when I thought of it in the business realm, and it was not a win/win situation. My entire job was to give him money and help him. Do you look at your clients like this? Are you just looking for money to pay your bills or are you thinking of a benefit for them too?

When we think about business, it is always a good idea first and foremost to utilize our passion then find a hole then fill it. Something that OTHERS need and that we can provide not the other way around something that WE need and THEY can provide. We are in business to serve a porpose, not ourselves. If you are in business to serve yourself you will have the neverending job of seeking out new clients because the old ones will not return. What’s the possibility that I will go back to the bus station and look for that man to give him more spare change? It’s not going to happen but this is what long-term success is based on. This panhandler had a great idea. He saw an opportunity and seized it.  I was being watched and didn’t know it and he was watching for an opportunity. He may have heard excuses time and again,”I don’t have any change” and here he found a way to shut that down before asking for money. I still could have said no, but being the giving person that I am, I gave him a couple of dollars anyway.

What’s the lesson in all of this? Make sure you bring something to the table, and not just come to eat. The goal is repeat clients who love your business so much they come to YOU.