Dreaming big takes motivation, perseverance and capital. If you own a business, you know that finding others who are willing to buy into a dream and share their resources to grow your business beyond the initial start-up costs can be a challenge. If you’ve ever watched the reality TV show, Shark Tank, you might relate to those small business owners desperately competing for that elusive infusion from complete strangers with the money to make a difference.
The drama becomes all too real when the success of your big idea is on the line. Let’s say you are one of those kind strangers with money to invest and you want to find a growing industry but you have questions. Deciding where to invest takes trust. Knowing who to trust takes time, research, and relationship-building. Does the company have the capacity to grow if I invest in it? What kind of return can I expect? How soon? What’s the risk? Fortunately for the rest of us, Brett Hickey, CEO and founder of Star Mountain Capital, LLC, created a safe haven for this purpose, to strip away some of the mystery and provide the research and relationships that give reassurance to potential investors and financial hope to growing businesses. Adding to the complexities of already delicate relationships, Hickey navigates tough questions from nervous investors during a global pandemic.
With the world still upside down with the Pandemic, we asked Brett Hickey, CEO and founder of Star Mountain Capital, LLC, how to invest wisely in such an unprecedented time?
“It is important to have deep industry expertise and a strong network of private business owner relationships in order to find companies who continue to grow and thrive in the current market environment.
For example, technology and healthcare along with certain logistics businesses can have strong growth trends. Star Mountain’s Collaborative Ecosystem ® which includes over 500 aligned investors, over 40 full-time people and an additional 30+ operating partners helps provide us with differentiated capabilities allowing us to be a preferred partner to established private business owners looking for strategic debt and equity capital.”
Hickey says he sees a number of trends developing in these uncertain times, “the current market reminds me of the late 90’s when there was a lot of change in the way people consumed products and did business. This will likely result in a lot of volatility with many people making and many people losing money. It is rare to systematically be correct investing in fads or businesses that lack attractive fundamental valuations. Sectors Star Mountain Capital invests in, such as telehealth and technology-driven advertising platforms, continue to perform well and can provide attractive value if one can find the right businesses at fair valuations.”
Hickey has some advice to offer investors who are feeling nervous during the Pandemic. “Keep a diversified portfolio including finding assets that have low correlations (beta) to each other given the only thing that is certain about the future is uncertainty. It is “OK” to miss some good deals if you ideally also miss the bad ones. Work with experts and specialized investment teams who have a deep understanding and economic alignment of interest with you and a strong correlation in how they and you are investing.”
website: Star Mountain Capital – Lower Middle-Market Focused Asset Management
