Helen Brown Group

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How much is that unicorn in the window?

This month we welcome HBG’s Angie Stapleton who has become quite the expert on tech startups. Angie navigates us through the terminology around startups, shows how and why unicorns fly so high, and gives us insight into what their value might mean for fundraising.

unicornWhen I was a little girl, unicorns were everything. I mean, if you didn’t have a Lisa Frank unicorn lunch box, hello, you may as well just go back home. Today, a new kind of unicorn reigns king… tech start-ups.

In recent years, tech firms with valuations of $1 billion have become all the rage, the Silicon Valley darlings, the UNICORNS of the investment world. In fact, investors have even come up with a new name for tech firms whose values rise above $10 billion… DECAcorns. I’m guessing this is because “unicorn” just didn’t encompass enough magic and whimsy. [Read more…]

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Hidden Treasure

World Finance KalendarLast week I had the pleasure of a long layover at Heathrow, so I wandered around trying on Barbour coats, admiring Chanel scarves, and disappointing bored shop assistants in the luxury shopping mall that masquerades as an airport terminal.

As I widened my circuit I passed one of the gates and noticed some neatly-arranged business-y magazines that didn’t look familiar under a COMPLIMENTARY! sign. My gimlet eye spied a cross-armed CEO standing proudly on the cover of one, and the words “Jockey Club” on the cover of another.

Well, well, what have we here? I thought, and sidled over. Picked up one, then the other, and dropped into the nearest seat to have a leaf-through. [Read more…]

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Expert omnibus research sources: 10 of the best

OnmibusWhether you’re a seasoned prospect researcher or someone who only researches once in a while, it makes sense to be guided by other smart searchers who are pointing the way to great resources they’ve found and loved.

A number of research shops (including ours) maintain lists of the best sites to zero in on information about companies, foundations, and high net worth individuals. New and useful websites pop up every day, and those of us who curate these lists add new treasures we’ve found frequently, so it’s worthwhile checking back often with your favorite lists. [Read more…]

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Morningstar Sunset

Hawaii sunset

What is your prospect research shop doing to prepare for the Morningstar/10K Wizard demise?

10K Wizard has been a staple resource for many prospect researchers over the years for information about publicly-held companies (and the people that run them). I thought it was a curious marriage when Morningstar bought the company in 2008, but as long as 10K was still running I didn’t really think much of it. [Read more…]

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Bookmark These Five Great Deep Web Research Resources

It’s really valuable to keep an eye on (and share!) the tools our colleagues in allied fields are using to do their research. This past week I stumbled upon these five great resources I wanted to share with you.

ONE AND TWO

Verification HandbooksFirst off, I’d like to mention two books, the Verification Handbook for Investigative Reporting and the Verification Handbook; a Definitive Guide for Verifying Digital Content, both edited by Craig Silverman a leading expert on media errors, accuracy and verification, and (among other things), founder of Emergent and former fellow with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.

Both books are available free to download in pdf format – scroll down the page here – or you can purchase them if you prefer hard copies. They are written by experts in research, journalism and investigative reporting including Paul Myers (more on him in a minute), Fergus Bell, and Steve Buttry. Don’t miss chapter 10 of the Verifying Digital Content volume, called Verification Tools. There are tons of handy tools there for you to check out! [Read more…]

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Corporate board perks: a proxy primer

AquariumToday I’d like to talk about executive compensation and the fun perquisites (“perks”) that make looking at a company’s proxy statement really interesting. Perks are those little extra somethings that make the financial lives of company executives and board members just a little bit easier. Like a shiny lure, perks attract the most talented ‘big fish’ and help retain them once they’re hooked.

Think of a proxy statement (aka the DEF 14A) as an aquarium of large and small moving objects that flash silver in the sunlight. Some things are easy to find, like annual compensation. Other things you need to look more carefully for as they glint in the weeds: like the perks. According to many sources (including this one and this one), corporate perks are on the wane. But they’re not extinct yet, and companies are very clever about the creative ways they compensate their executives. [Read more…]

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Where in the world to find info about company insiders

foreign biz pressIt’s not only the United States government that requires publicly-held companies to publish information about their key insiders. When you’re trying to get information about corporate insiders around the world, it’s nice to know that many other countries require disclosure as well. Here’s a quick trip around the world with touchdowns in some key markets.

CANADA

Through the Sedar website, there are at least two forms you can use that report biographical and compensation information for officers and directors. Form 51-102F6 (“Named Executive Officers Compensation”) and the company’s proxy report each provide valuable information about company insiders. Do a quick search here, or visit the company’s website for more information.

UNITED KINGDOM

Besides the company website, Companies House and DueDil are the places to go for information about companies, both public and private, in the UK. For publicly-traded companies [Read more…]

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Researching company insiders

NYSEWe may think of companies as nameless, faceless conglomerates, but the fact is that each one is run by a group of people known as company insiders. They are individuals whose responsibility it is to provide direction, advice, and the scary responsibility of strong-willed fiduciary duty if the company’s blue chips suddenly turn red.

These leaders may be called directors, trustees, or board members; the terms are used fairly interchangeably. [Read more…]

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Prospect Research for Fundraisers – the Book!

 

BookLook at what arrived by special delivery today!

It’s an advance copy, meaning that for all of you who pre-ordered (and thank you for that, by the way!), yours will be arriving very soon.

If you haven’t already ordered it, now’s the time to get your very own copy hot off the presses! Just click that little book cover over there on the right to buy it at a discount (!).  It will be on your doorstep in no time. This book has got everything anyone working in fundraising needs to know about prospect research. You’re going to love it.

Thank you to everyone who was involved: those who agreed to be interviewed, who were the subjects of case studies, who provided quotes and who read (and re-read!) drafts and offered sage advice and suggestions. And the biggest thank you to my co-author, the awesome Jen Filla.

ABOUT HBG

The Helen Brown Group was formed in 2002 with a goal to be different.

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