What is the FinTech Book?  http://thefintechbook.com/

It is the 1st globally crowd-sourced book on FINTECH which will compile the insights and stories of the FINTECH community. [And the Fairshare Model is a candidate for inclusion]

Why is it important?

To date there only exits a fragmented source of knowledge on the Sector. This is reflected by the fact that the FINTECH sector is both recent in its development and wide in its scope. Therefore crowd-sourcing its content appears the best way to create a comprehensive book on the sector.

Who is the Audience:

Unlike other tech sectors the FINTECH industry will impact every one either directly or indirectly. Indeed if before finance was “needed by all but benefited a few” the FINTECH sector is now changing this by bringing back value to retail and institutional clients.

The FINTECH book aims to become an educational and inspiring piece of work targeted to entrepreneurs, financial institutions, decision makers, investors and consumers.

How does the Crowd-source process work?

There is a 5 step process for authors and the community spanning from March until July 2015.

  • Authors – Pitch their ideas by submitting via e-mail an initial 300 word article to the editors before the 30 April 2015.
  • Authors – Define their ideas by choosing one of the pre-selected topics.
  • Community – Throughout May the community can select the initial articles they wish to see in the FINTECH book

See Fairshare Model abstract https://medium.com/the-fintech-book/the-fairshare-model-90943089ae59

  • Authors – Selected authors must expand on their initial articles to have a 2,000 word chapter by the 30 July 2015.
  • Authors – Non selected authors will have their details and topic acknowledge in a special chapter.

The editors will then compile and edit the work ahead of the publication of the Book, due November 2015.

March 8, 2015 Update

The March 8, 2015 update adds two chapters. Chapter ten explores the potential for cooperation–cooperation within a company’s micro-networks of shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers–to provide a tool for competition. Chapter ten explains the Tao of the Fairshare Model. This is my favorite chapter and it will pride grist for thought for anyone with an interest is the defining characteristics of capital structures.

Here’s how chapter ten ends:

 This chapter concludes Section II, which began by examining a range of ideas about two macro-economic concerns that provide context for the Fairshare Model—economic growth and income inequality. It then considered how the ability to cooperate creates might offer diverse ways to address these twin challenges and how Fairshare Model promotes this. This chapter identified two structural elements that determine how a capital structure allocates uncertainty in an equity financing, something that will inform the discussion about economic growth, income inequality and equity crowdfunding. It also presented the most remarkable aspect of the Fairshare Model—it provides venture-stage companies a reason to offer public investors a low valuation. As a consequence, the model enables a well-performing team to create more wealth for themselves than if they use a conventional model and to create competitive advantage when it comes to managing human capital.
The tao of the Fairshare Model is clear—it is to balance the interests of entrepreneurial companies and public investors.
This section has been broad in content and philosophical perspective. Section III returns to narrower micro-economic matters, issues that come into play when venture-stage companies raise venture capital in a public offering—valuation, fraud and failure.

Karl

Jan. 29, 2015 exposure draft adds chapters on economic growth & income inequality

The exposure draft uploaded Jan. 29, 2015 moves the discussion about the Fairshare Model to a macro-economic level. The first two chapters in Section II deal with how the model fits into the on-going debate about how to spur economic growth, job creation and address growing income inequality.

All are topical subjects. Although the Fairshare Model is not designed to address any of them, they provide a macro-economic context for the micro-economic matters that were discussed in the first six chapters that comprise Section I.

I’ll add two more chapters to Section II in the weeks ahead. One  will deal with the potential for the ability to cooperate to be a competitive differentiator in the decades ahead and the other will deal with philosophic matters.

By the end of February, I’ll start Section III, which will lead off with chapters on valuation.

Karl

Jan 14, 2015 exposure draft of book has two new chapters

A new exposure draft of my book-in-progress is available in the Resources section. Two new chapters have been added, bringing the total to six. Chapter five will be of particular interest because it describes five types of companies that may adopt the Fairshare Model and illustrates scenarios for Performance Stock conversion.

I am grateful to those who comment on my book-in-progress. This crowdvetting process is very helpful to me on many levels.

Karl

 

Link

In June 2013, I participated in a debate about equity crowdfunding that followed the format used in NPR’s Intelligence Squared program.
The two teams argued opposite sides of this question “Will equity crowdfunding and the JOBS Act benefit both entrepreneurs AND investors.”

The moderator was securities attorney Bruce Methven. Howard Leonhardt (Leonhardt Ventures) and Thad Leingang (VentureDocs) argued that the answer was “yes.” Ron Weissman (Band of Angels) and I were on the team that argued that the answer was “no”–that investors would not benefit.

This question hangs over the implementation of tha equity crowdfunding section (a//k/a Title III) of the JOBS Act. I just discovered that the debate is on YouTube.

The order of speakers is Howard (arguing yes), Ron (arguing no), Thad (arguing yes) and me (arguing no). My remarks start at the 16:40 mark.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_giNK4gYqs

What is the Problem with a Conventional Capital Structure?

Under the Resources tab is new draft material from my book-in-progress about the Fairshare Model.
There are three chapters for you to contemplate and respond to (I hope).
Chapter four, in particular will be of interest to anyone with securities expertise.

The Fundamental Problem: Valuation
Praise aside, a conventional capital structure has a fundamental problem, an Achilles’ heel. At the time of an equity financing, it requires the issuer and investors to set a value for future performance. For venture stage companies, this is hard to do in a rational manner.

You can test this assertion even if you are a novice about capital structures and valuation. When you meet someone who raised money for a company or who has invested in one, ask “What was the valuation?” Follow that question with “Why did that make sense?”

Chances are that you will see uncertainty and anxiety play across their face. Why? It could be that they don’t know what the valuation is. Perhaps, they know the number but not how to calculate it. Most certainly, they don’t know how to evaluate it, or, they are not confident that it makes sense.