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On the last episode of Amazing FBA, we talked with Matt Ward about his journey to building a seven-figure Amazon business and the process of selling it. This time, we’re sitting down to talk about eCommerce startup funding and Matt’s new venture called CORL.io.
If you’re scaling a business on Amazon, you need capital. The cash flow dilemma that comes with scaling a retail company can be one of the hardest to overcome. CORL.io is the solution. CORL is a cryptocurrency based venture capital investment solution that allows companies that can’t get capital injections from big banks a revenue stream to help jumpstart their growth without relinquishing equity or board seats to get it.
Matt is an Angel Investor, Startup Advisor, Growth Hacker, Author and founder of the podcasts thesyndicate.vc and fringe.fm. He’s a fellow podcaster and a featured writer on Medium.com.
If you’re interested in getting funding, please head over to their application and be sure to let them know Amazing FBA sent you! If you would like to know more about how CORL works, be sure to check out this information sheet.
On today’s show Matt and I will be talking about:
CORL’s requirements for investment (3:38).
“Three easy guidelines: They’ve been making money at least six months, their average revenue is at least $10k… and the gross margins are at least 30 percent.”
How to get started with CORL (4:50).
“We try to be collaborative because if we can help you run a business, you have a bigger pie which means we have more pizza too.”
How the process works and how much capital a business could receive (6:36).
The difficulties involved with getting a loan or credit card from a bank as an eCommerce business (7:52).
The traditional options for business lending and how CORL fits into those models (8:51).
“We don’t take any equity; we don’t take any board seats. Technically you could call it a debt, although we don’t actually have debt. It’s a slightly different mechanism… Essentially if your revenue goes down to zero, our revenue goes down to zero. It’s a rev share.”
The alternatives people who would qualify for CORL would have outside of the more traditional methods of borrowing and venture capital (9:49).
CORL vs. Kickstarter (11:01).
“That’s why CORL is interesting because essentially it’s cash on demand. You get the money within two weeks. It’s significantly more than you’d get with other platforms, significantly faster, and it’s a lot more transparent so that you’re able to get the cash and grow the business.”
The potential for opening other outside revenue streams in conjunction with CORL (14:47).
The trap of high-interest debt (15:49).
The way in which capital investment from CORL is repaid (16:27).
The roadmap for businesses looking for a cash injection from CORL: a three-year plan (18:24).
“Think big! That’s one thing we talked a little bit about last time… I have a 10x type rule. If you have a goal, try to 10x it… If you can sacrifice a little bit on the revenue but be able to scale the business significantly faster, you’re way further off at the same point in time. i.e., You just won.”
Cash flow projections for rapidly scaling businesses (20:15).
The challenges of fast growth (20:39).
Optimizing profit/loss vs. turnover (22:16).
“If I can sell something profitably, but I’m selling it slower than if I’m selling it less profitably, you can figure out there’s going to be some type of curve where it’s optimized. You want to hit that optimization; time vs. speed.”
Matt Ward’s top three lessons for Amazon selling regarding funding and cash flow (23:02).
- “Don’t get into personal debt.”
- “Make sure that you have enough money to grow and scale quickly.”
- “If you have the ability to take outside non-dilutive funding, that can be hugely beneficial to the business.”
The geographical limitations of CORL as a funding solution and when CORL will be available (25:08).
Parting thoughts for those scaling ambitiously (27:36).
“Think bigger. Think different. And if you’re interested in learning more about startups or the future of tech and humanity, check out thesyndicate.vc and fringe.fm.”
Where You Can Find Matt on Twitter & Medium:
@itsmattward
Medium.com/@ItsMattWard
If you want to get a copy of Matt’s guide, click here: Matt’s 15 Page Guide to Acquiring and Retaining Customers
Watch Ecommerce startup funding with Matt Ward
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