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You have a suite of strengths and superpowers. Some you have developed from a young age, reflecting intrinsic abilities. Others, you have developed with discipline and practice. They enable you to do good and make a difference in your community and the world.

You have a superpower you may not have considered. You can invest money in social enterprises that share your sense of mission and purpose. When you do, you enable good to happen that might not otherwise. When things go well, the good continues indefinitely, even as you get your money back—with a profit.

That financial return on investment enables you to do even more good. As you build a portfolio of investments in social enterprises, your ability to invest in new ones becomes self-funding. The old investments fund new ones.

Before you say that you can’t afford to invest, let’s consider that many social enterprises raise money via crowdfunding, where you can invest as little as $100. You can build a reasonably diverse portfolio over time. Invest just $100 three times a year, and in five years, you have 15 different investments. That collection will provide you with some financial returns.

Some will pay interest on debt. Some will grow your equity investment into a multiple, two, three, five or even ten times your initial investment. And, yes, some will tank, crash and burn, flame out or just dwindle.

If you invest for impact, you can be confident that every investment made a difference—and a few will have impact at a scale you can only imagine. Some will make your community more complete. Others will change the world.

Impact investing can be your superpower, even if you’re not a Rockefeller.

SuperCrowd23

On May 10-11, 2023, we’re convening the second annual SuperCrowd23 event. Building on the success of the first event, we’re planning for bigger and better with lots of fun and excitement, along with great networking and so much invaluable content.

At the moment, The Super Crowd, Inc. is offering tickets at a super early bird pricing that is more than half off the full price. As a Superpowers for Good reader, you’re entitled to a 50 percent additional discount, meaning you can get tickets right now for about 80 percent off!

The early bird ticket sales end on January 16. Don’t wait! Register now!

Register for SuperCrowd23

December Meeting Report

Due Diligence Reports and Investment Decisions

At last month’s meeting, we heard diligence reports from club members on three companies, pocstock, Mana Pacific and Amai. The club members discussed the pros and cons of investing and voted to reach consensus investment recommendations for the members.

In December, we took the unusual action of deferring a decision on pocstock to the January meeting.

We don’t announce our investment recommendations. If you’d like to know what we’re seeing, selecting and recommending, please join us on January 17, 2023, at 1:00 PM Eastern. There is no cost to participate; you don’t have to invest anything ever. When members choose to invest, I don’t touch the money and don’t earn any fees, commissions or favors.

New Company Screening

Last month, we took a first look at the following three companies. Club members volunteered to conduct some due diligence and report on all three at our next meeting on December 20, 2022, at 1:00 Eastern.

Azure Printed Homes

Azure Printed Homes co-founder Ross Maguire recently joined me for an episode of Superpowers for Good. His co-founder, Gene Eidelman, joined the Impact Cherub Club.

The company does what the name suggests. Using recycled plastic, the company prints tiny homes and offices. These accessory dwelling units, almost always abbreviated as ADUs, are tiny homes intended as rentals or guest quarters. These units could increase housing density and affordability in suburban communities. The company is raising on Wefunder.

Kitsbow

Organized by a female founder as a public benefit corporation, Kitsbow is an outdoor sporting apparel company based in North Carolina focused on environmental sustainability and community building. The company reported revenue of $3 million in 2021. Old Fort, NC, has experienced three decades of economic decline. Kitsbow has hired dozens of people at fair wages. The company is raising money on Wefunder.

tbh

tbh, modern shorthand for “to be honest” (for the benefit of folks with gray hair like me) is producing a vegan, environmentally sustainable version of Nutella that also features lower sugar and more protein. Only for the sake of due diligence, I’ve ordered some. (Wink, wink.) It was delicious. Founded by Noah Schnapp, who played Will Byers in Netflix’s Stranger Things, the company is led by a pair of women who share the title of Co-CEO. The company is raising money on Republic.

Education Moment

At the meeting, we took a few moments to discuss business valuation. First, we reviewed the calculations for and meaning of “pre-money valuation” and “post-money valuation.”

Pre-money valuation is determined by multiplying the shares of the company outstanding before new money is invested by the price of the shares being offered. So, suppose a company has 90 shares outstanding and is selling ten shares at $10 each. In that case, we’d calculate the pre-money valuation by multiplying 90 (representing the number of shares outstanding) by $10 (representing the price of the new shares being offered). The result yields a pre-money valuation of $900. Of course, the number of shares in typical real-world examples is much higher, but the concept is the same.

Post-money valuation is determined by multiplying the company’s outstanding shares after the current round of financing is completed. So, suppose a company has 90 shares outstanding and is selling ten shares at $10 each. In that case, we’d calculate the post-money valuation by multiplying 100 (representing the total shares outstanding after selling ten more) by $10 (representing the price of the new shares being offered). The result yields a post-money valuation of $1,000. Again, the number of shares involved will be much higher in the real world.

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Next Meeting—January 17, 2023, at 1:00 PM Eastern

At our next meeting on January 17, 2023, at 1:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM Pacific, consistent with our plans for future sessions, the agenda will have three items:

Diligence Reports
Education Moment
Preliminary Consideration of New Candidate Investments

Diligence Reports

We’ll begin with the due diligence reports from the Impact Cherub Club members who volunteered to research the companies listed above under “New Company Screening.” After hearing the members’ reports, we’ll vote to determine whether or not to recommend investment in the companies. The decision will be made available to everyone who registers to attend, including those who don’t make it. Register here.

Education Moment

We’re excited to have Club member Jackie Logan, Chief Investment Officer of the crowdfunding portal Raise Green, explain the differences between convertible notes and SAFes (simple agreements for future equity). Both are commonly used in crowdfunding offerings. She’ll help us understand the benefits and disadvantages of each.

Preliminary Consideration of New Candidates

At our January meeting, we’ll conduct a preliminary review of three companies raising money via Regulation Crowdfunding on FINRA-registered portals. If you have identified a social enterprise or community-building company raising money via investment crowdfunding, feel free to recommend it to me for consideration next month. Club members suggested two of the candidates we’ll consider.

Here is a bit of information about each of the three we’ll consider this month.

Pink Bench Distillery

Founded by two women in Montana, the idea for Pink Bench Distillery grew out of an encounter with a bear. The critter climbed a relatively small apple tree to gorge on the ripe apples. The pair begin organizing the community to harvest and use all the apples, ultimately using the fruit for producing apple brandy. The pair use other wild-grown ingredients sustainably harvested for a wide range of beverages. The company is raising money on Crowdfund Main Street with a $500 minimum investment.

HiveTracks

HiveTracks, founded by a team in North Carolina, has developed a suite of tools to help beekeepers track their hives and gather meaningful data for maintaining a healthy bee population globally. With 75 percent of our food requiring natural pollinators like bees, this is critical for the future of our planet. HiveTracks is raising on Wefunder.

Von Perry

Founded by Treyvon Perry, an African American home builder, the company uses 3D printing technology to build standard-size three-bedroom, three-bath homes in less time and at a lower cost than using conventional processes. Based in the Dallas area, the company was fully booked in 2022 and is raising capital to meet demand in 2023. Von Perry is raising money on StartEngine.

Please join us for the monthly Impact Cherub Club meeting on January 17 at 1:00 PM Eastern. There is no cost or obligation. We’re genuinely having fun! Register here for free.

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