Chad McMillanVC ◆ Startup Executive ◆ Creative Artist
Bio

With a broad global network and over 15 years of senior executive level management experience in the capital markets, I build, work with, and connect inspiring companies, entrepreneurs, and capital blazing their way into some of the most exciting emerging global trends.

I have personally led and been involved in numerous multi-million dollar startup financing, merger and acquisition, and reverse takeover transactions in the natural resources, technology, film, entertainment, and new media industries, and help my clients source M&A opportunities, build high performing teams, secure growth capital, communicate their stories, go public, and ultimately, emerge and contribute as a world class impact company.

My philosophy is to operate with a “purple cow” approach in my activities, infusing creative, innovative, and conscious strategies and influences to seed lasting positive and sustainable impacts in our society.

In the meantime, when I’m not out trying to save the world I write, produce, and perform in film and music, meditate and explore the universe, get outdoors, travel, and collect lost art.

Interested in working with me? Drop me a note, or send me an email at chad@chadmc.com

My current areas of interest at the moment are:

Augmented Reality ◆ Independent Film ◆ Vegan & Plant Based Nutrition ◆ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ◆ Hemp & CBD ◆ Equity Crowdfunding ◆ Artificial Intelligence & Automation ◆ Renewable Energy & Electric Vehicles ◆ Battery Metals ◆ E-Sports ◆ Privatization of Space ◆ Eco - Design ◆ Prefab Homes ◆ Real Estate Development ◆ E-Commerce ◆ Mindful Living ◆ Energy & Vibrational Medicine ◆ Digital Nomad-ism ◆ Distressed Investing ◆ Small Caps ◆ Corporate Turnarounds ◆ New Age Science & Technology ◆ Psychedelic Therapy


Recent Answers


High level, but a fun question..

Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jay-Z, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Oprah, Kim Kardashian, Bono, and Bill Gates, among others..


I have worked on a lot of transactions that look like this..

The motivation of a larger entity should be to acquire undervalued/growing companies, assets, or projects that have largely 'de-risked' the trial and error phase of creating a new product or service.

Ultimately, in an investment partnership such as this, the investing company will likely want to acquire the whole target company/product/service/assets at some future date, so I would suggest that the offer, if there is one on the table for you, consists of acquiring a controlling shareholder stake in your company, am I right? Or is this simply a figurative question?

In dealing with private companies, the sure questions I would be asking right away are: Who are they? What is their track record/reputation? And what are the terms of their offer if any?

The devil is in the details of transactions such as these, so would be happy to take a closer look or discuss further if you would like to connect with me.

Until then, good luck.

Regards,

Chad


Interesting answers all around. I'm surprised at Jeremy's a bit.. $500k LOC for just showing up with a good credit score? Not where I'm from..

Some questions though, how profitable are you? What kind of product/service are we talking here? Is the business scaling or positioned to scale?

My bailiwick is in go public transactions, ipos, and congruent equity financings, and typically this can be a good entry point in my network for a business such as yours if it can be reasonably demonstrated that the investment can fuel the continued growth of the company it ways it has already established.

The benefits are the potential of a liquidity event for existing shareholders as well as follow on rounds of financing for continued growth if you are partnered with a good group or two going forward.

Happy to discuss these kinds of ideas in more detail if you would like to connect with me.

Regards,

Chad


I would tend to agree with Humberto's answer here and will equally disagree with Bob's 'you aren't ready answer.'

Many sales teams or agents operate on a performance only basis, but it really depends on your expectations..

For instance, depending on your product or services, I would suggest your ideal sales team candidates will already be established in your niche and possibly already offering complementary products and services to your target customer. If this is the case, for them to take on a sales/agency role for your product and offer it to their existing network will be much easier than someone who has no experience in your field.

In consideration of this, you may seek ways to split 'territories' between similarly minded or profiled reps, grandfathering existing deep relationships for each respective agent and then providing new 'bluesky' areas for them to continue to prospect and grow your client base if/when the product gains more traction.

Happy to discuss further if you'd like to connect and ask me any other questions.

Regards,

Chad


I would agree with Raza's answer, a 70:30 split in his favor, 75/25 max is fair if he is leveraging your brand and audience (distribution) but putting all the materials together and running it him/herself.

Another approach might be a 50/50 split on set up costs and revenue initially, but with a sliding scale interest of 70/30 or 75/25 in their favor over time or size as the program becomes more successful.

In addition, I would suggest clarifying in your mutual understanding of terms a set up budget and ongoing marketing budget that either you or both of you will be contributing to or are comfortable with to move this offering forward.

I also suggest covering off downside circumstances like what if you both have a falling out? What if he/she starts damaging your brand with destructive behavior or otherwise? I would suggest it important to ensure the subcontractor doesn't own the rights to the group training sessions themselves, that it is clear the individual is operating under your brand and you reserve the right to replace them later if there are any problems.

At the same time, if you were to seek replacing them later once the brand has been built up, I would suggest you will want to establish a method to determine break terms as well. A subcontractor with any experience will want some coverage that you will not just kick them out at a later date once the program is successful if greed and egos get involved, which they often can.

In all of my own negotiations of this type, I personally lay out all the 'what ifs' at the beginning of the partnership journey so there are no surprises on these fundamental levels if/when these things come up down the road.

Hope this helps. Happy to discuss further if you would like to connect with me.

Regards,

Chad


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