I'm running for president of West Coast Finance

If you’ve been frustrated – even angry – about the trillions of dollars that got shoved into the hands of idiot 20-somethings by equally stupid VCs over the past decade, I’ve got some good news for you.

In the wake of the Triple-S banking collapse (Signature, SVB, and Silvergate), VCs – and their cash incinerating companies – have been under fire as the Valley begins to eat itself and professional investors run for the exits.

At the start of the crisis, while 50% of all VC-backed companies were having a full-on Panic Attack wondering if they were going to be able to make payroll, much less their next funding round…

I got to watch my son – and his entire hockey team – live the type of high-quality values I’d want to see in any management team I invest in; Dedication, honesty, and hard work.

Don’t get me wrong. The SoCal hockey scene is nothing like Canada’s. But we still produce winning teams because the people – and coaches – care about playing the game the right way.

And even though I’m not invested in a single company that came from the Silicon Valley ecosystem, I couldn’t be more excited about my growing portfolio of companies.

Why? Three reasons:

• The companies are all run by adults with spreadsheets and track records.
• They solve actual problems customers are willing to pay for
• They didn’t completely screw themselves by raising way too much money, way too soon, at way too high a valuation.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s no shortage of challenges to overcome when you’re getting a company ready for capital markets.

But the management teams have all been willing to put their faith in their coaches and advisors (me and the other members of their board), their fellow team members, and the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem we’re building right here in Southern California.

I like to call our community “West Coast Finance” – and today, I’m announcing my official campaign for President of West Coast Finance with a simple message…

Drain the swamp. Defund the worst VCs. Give working capital to real business owners in the real economy.

Once upon a time, Silicon Valley was the shining example of West Coast Finance. It was a small group of entrepreneurs and investors who were frustrated by their inability to get traditional institutional financing for their non-traditional companies.

For decades, the “pirates of Silicon Valley” represented the innovative “hacker” culture that made the California scene what it is today.

But since the dot-com crash, we’ve seen that culture become corrupted.

For years I’ve been warning my clients about Venture Capital and why they should stay far away from their shiny money.

…. Self-dealing.

…….. Emotionally unstable.

………… Terrible negotiators.

……………… Yet still, they treat everyone else in an insulting and elitist manner.

All the while, they generate absurdly low-returns for investors.

It’s not just me saying this either.

William Martin, a former hedge fund manager, publicly warned of SVB’s balance sheet issues two months before its collapse.

Let’s stop this venture narrative of “throw dumb money at 20-bad companies to accidentally create one good one.”

West Coast Finance can be better than that.

As President, I’m going to lead you into an ecosystem that can help you build the next great American company.

If you are a founder-led company looking to make a $100m+ exit (or IPO) in the next 1-3 years, and you'd like to get access to the West Coast Finance Ecosystem of investors...

Comment "I'm In" and tag any other founder-led companies you know who are looking to raise capital in 2023.

I've got a few upcoming webinars and events for prospective new members who want my help getting their company to raise capital WITHOUT giving up control of their company.