Early LPOs vs. Late IPOs : Are Angels The New VC?

During the DotCom heyday, Angel Investors provided the launching pad for Venture Capital Firms to propel any startup on two legs toward a successful IPO. Fast forward to today's investment climate and you would be hard-pressed to find any VC who isn't frustrated by what they consider to be a shortage of IPO worthy deals. More and more VCs have deals in their portfolios that have long outlasted their investment value, and more and more VCs are seeking to unload these deals, at a loss, as reverse merger vehicles. Nearly all have abandoned hope in the "sure thing" and are stepping into what has traditionally been the Angel role of incubating startups that may or may not mature into IPO candidates.

We at GrowPublic are partnering with Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists alike to provide an alternative method of providing liquidity to initial investors and to increase the likelihood of future funding for their deals once those companies go public, through what we call an Early Stage LPO (Limited Public Offering). We are coaching VCs and Angel Investors everyday who call us wanting to understand our Early Stage LPO versus late stage IPO approach to business. Paired with our rapid incubation system for small cap private companies on their way to becoming public, as a FIRST step for growth funding, rather than as a last step for exit ROI, it's easy to see why the system we initially developed for Angel Investors is fast becoming a viable option for Venture Capital firms, as well.

With an Early LPO, Angels and VCs need only bring $75,000 to the table in order to secure our services on behalf of their clients, in exchange for shares of the company, and the ability to invest further once their ticker symbol is live. Private equity investors who once shouldered the entire risk load associated with funding startups now enjoy 100% liquid investment, thanks to GrowPublic, increasing the likelihood that the company will be further funded and stock positions purchased by VCs or Angel Investors will be liquid in as little as 180 days, due to the fact that the company will be publicly traded.

When you partner early with GrowPublic, you will enjoy some pretty amazing services you won't find anywhere else under one roof. Along with pioneering the method by which most companies like GrowPublic now take private businesses public, we are the experts in brand development and social marketing, and the only firm in our industry that offers these keys to a successful public launch in-house, as part of our service package. By leveraging the viral nature of communication in today's social media, we position your client's strengths in front of their target audience long before their stock goes live, building a fan base around their brand, and converting those supporters into investors leading up to the launch of their stock.

Last, but not least, after a successful launch, when most of our competitors have left their clients to fend for themselves in foreign territory, we at GrowPublic are just getting started. Our focus is firmly on your client's growth, before, during AND after they go public. You won't find a service quite like ours anywhere else.

If anyone is interested in learning more about our approach, please visit http://www.growpublic.com/ , or call GrowPublic CEO, Ted D. Campbell II at 210-913-5497.

OTCBB vs. OTCQB... What You Need To Know

A recent change to how SEC reporting issuers trade on the over-the-counter markets caused more than a little anxiety among those caught off guard. Until now, most small, fully-reporting issuers believed they were being listed exclusively on FINRA’s OTCBB®. However, unbeknownst to many OTC investors, there are many Fully-Reporting Issuers trading solely on what is commonly referred to as the “Pink Sheets”, owned and controlled by Pink OTC Markets, Inc. A restriction put in place in 2000, allowing only Fully-Reporting Issuers to trade on the OTCBB only reinforced this erroneous assumption, making it appear that they were the only OTC market where these securities could be quoted -- Not the case at all.

In fact, 98% of all FINRA licensed market makers place quotations on both the OTCBB AND on the Pink Sheet platform. Superior performance and functionality along with lower costs associated with Pink OTC versus the platform provided for OTCBB® trading by FINRA have further led many market makers to remove quotation of securities from the OTCBB platform, altogether, causing some 500 securities to be automatically "delisted" to the Pink Sheets even though they were current with their reporting obligations with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

On April 5, 2010, Pink OTC created a new marketplace called the OTCQB, in an effort to assist investors in distinguishing Pink Sheet traded securities that are Fully Reporting Issuers from non-reporting issuers, while allowing recently delisted OTCBB® securities to get the
recognition that, while now trading solely on the Pink Sheets, are current with their obligations under the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and are in good standing with the SEC with regards to these obligations.

This new OTCQB marketplace will ensure that investors know that Pink OTC has many Fully-Reporting Issuers approved for trading solely on the Pink OTC platform. In the future, as long as the issuer is listed with the Pink Sheets and is current in its reporting, it will be designated as an OTCQB security. If a company is late in its reporting requirements, it would be dropped to the designation of Pink Sheets –Current Information (see link below for Pink Sheet tier system). Once current again with the SEC, the Issuer will be moved immediately back to the OTCQB marketplace.

As an interesting side note, FINRA recently has been trying to dump the OTCBB. Seems they are tiring of keeping up with it, considering their main gig as a quasi governmental organization set up to monitor and regulate SEC licensed brokerage firms and representatives, and to maintain the entire NASDAQ system!

In short, it may take awhile for investors and Issuers to come to the conclusion there is no real difference between an OTCBB® listed security and a Fully Reporting Issuer trading on the Pink Sheets now under the OTCQB designation. The recent move by many market makers to pull quotes on the OTCBB® platform causing a mass delisting to the Pink Sheets may be a precursor to the end of the importance of being listed on the OTCBB®. As the old saying goes, will the last person to leave the OTCBB® turn out the lights!

For more information on listing your company’s securities on the OTCBB® and/or the OTCQBTM, please contact our firm at (918) 960-1215 or email us at info@GrowPublic.com

Pink OTC Market, Inc.

OTCQB Fact Sheet

Pink OTC Market Tier Breakdown

Play Our Facebook Game And Get Funded!

We're very excited to share with you that we have nearly doubled our Fan base of "Fund Me, Fund Me Not" in the two days it has been live on Facebook. The concept is simple: Share great ideas for a venture on our Wall and let Fans "Like it up". On September 15th, the 5 most liked ideas will be voted on by our Fans and the winner will gain access to GrowPublic's premium service package, FREE OF CHARGE, as we move to incorporate the winning venture and take them public on the OTCBB within 45 days of the announcement.

What are you waiting for? Go become a fan and get YOUR venture funded!

OTCBB Listing Program (Free Consultation)

We have had a few requests about the structure of our OTCBB listing packages. Grow Public has been taking small issuers public on the OTCBB for over fourteen years. Every client is different with relation to their individual level of services required. After our initial free consultation, we will develop a package specifically designed to meet your needs. This package will be fully transparent! It will not only disclose our fee structure, but will also provide you with all of the other costs associated with the process including legal, accounting, transfer agent, etc. Additionally, we will provide a project time line which will detail every step of the process and the time for completion.

We do this in hopes of developing a long term relationship with your company. We also want a fully informed and educated client before we go to agreement! We want you to be comfortable with the FULL road map we have designed for you.

If you would like additional information including costs, contact Ted Campbell at 918-960-1215 or email me at ted@GrowPublic.com.

We are starting a series of new blog posts in April 2010 addressing the pertinent issues faced by small issuers going public and becoming publicly traded on the OTCBB.

Stay tuned!

Thinking of Going Public?

Welcome to Grow Public, Inc. blog entitled "Go Public 101"! We have designed this web site to not only assist small companies in gaining access to the public markets, but to also assist them with the grass roots development of their shareholder base and the trading of its stock through the use of modern day social mediums like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. This blog is also designed to provide small companies with current information on hot issues in the securities industry that may have a direct effect on them. We also want to educate these issuers that there are alternatives to having to do a "Reverse Merger" through a series of self filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA (fka NASD). Our goal is to differentiate ourselves from the pack by not only providing these corporate consulting services for you at a fraction of the cost of a public shell, but to help you develop a loyal following during this process through the use of social mediums so that when you become publicly traded, you have no need to hire an "Investor Relations" firm to get the word out about your company.

We are a one stop shop! We have the contacts to assist your company including PCAOB qualified auditors, independent stock transfer agents, EDGAR service providers, and market makers. We will also put a plan in place for your company once you are fully reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission so that the costs of being public are transparent from the get go.

We will respond to any comments, questions or concerns that you may have to bring a level of comfort during the process of becoming a fully reporting company with the SEC and to trade on the OTCBB.

Visit us at GrowPublic.com, or you can contact me directly at ted@growpublic.com or call me at 918-960-1215.