The last money has the first say.

Ever take money from an investor? Then maybe a second round from another investor? You'll recognize the truth in today's insight. Most externally-financed small businesses have to get to profitability on the initial money raised, or suffer another round of financing, sometimes from new sources of money.

Even if the original investors come along for the ride by investing their pro-rata share of the new round, you find yourself (and your previous investors find themselves) with a new voice chiming in on corporate vision, management quality, and even operational issues.

These can be completely at odds with the advice (commands) from the last generation of investors, and confusing to all. But it is human nature to pay the most attention to the latest and loudest noise. And there can be more, ominous repercussions, as you'll read below.

All the best,

The last money has the first say.

This important variation on "money talks” is an important consideration for entrepreneurs when seeking an investment from professionals such as VC’s. Something like a marriage (and often lasting just as long statistically), your investment partner can be a great cheerleader, coach and resource. But the moment things turn sour, including missed plans, some investors on company boards go into a predictable mode of dictating terms for emergency loans or additional investment.

These include forcing early investors to "pay to play,” or invest their pre-rata amounts to keep their original percentages, or suffer the consequences of being diluted to the extreme and losing preferences in a liquidation.

The reaction to bad news by VC’s controlling the board by virtue of their power to supply additional money, often includes the threat - or reality - of starting the process to find a replacement CEO. So the combination of bad news and VC or professional investors on the Board can be volatile for the founders or management. Angel investors tend to be much more understanding, and usually resort to coaching rather than replacing the CEO during bad times.

These are only a few of the considerations... To read the rest of this insight, click HERE to go to the full posting in the blog at http://berkonomics.com.

To catch up with past insights or to make comments for all to share, go to www.berkonomics.com .