Episode 101:

Small Business Finance

What You Will Learn:

Why many entrepreneurs struggle with small business finance complexities, and how Lorne’s firm helps owners build a solid financial foundation
How Simple Startup helps new entrepreneurs build up their financial education, and how the firm gives a fresh perspective even to more experienced entrepreneurs
Why putting a solid foundation in place for your business is the key to ensuring smooth, consistent future growth
What key considerations Lorne recommends you keep in mind before seeking outside funding for your business
Under what circumstances it might be worth looking for outside capital, and why fear often holds entrepreneurs back from taking opportunities presented to them
Why it takes a tremendous amount of self-awareness to drive a business forward and take the right risks and opportunities
Lorne shares advice and best practices for getting debt for your business, and why you might consider exchanging equity for financing rather than taking on debt
Why it is crucial that any party you partner with in exchange for equity be aligned to your Vision and be positioned to help you grow
Why your financial decisions should be based on how they help you reach your long-term goals and what impact they will have on your business today
Why there are two kinds of investors, ones focused primarily on profit and others focused on growth potential

About Lorne Noble:

A serial entrepreneur, Lorne Noble combined his favorite aspects of the corporate world and prior businesses (the analytics and helping young companies) when he founded Simple Startup, his fourth company, in a location fit for a former professional ski racer, Boulder. Simple Startup was born from observation, experience and necessity. Having worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs, he often saw the same pattern repeated where incredible startups with mind-blowing vision and drive lacked a handle on their finances and suffered because of it. Entrepreneurs were making decisions based on gut feel rather than hard data leaving them open to risk when raising money and implementing strategy. They were unable to translate their vision into a sustainable, profitable business model.

As principal and co-founder of Simple Startup, Noble dives into the analytics of the companies he advises while helping them simplify their finances, understand their numbers and make smart, informed decisions at every stage of business. He leads a talented group of financial analysts who are experts in investment-ready accounting, fractional finance support, business taxes and more, helping companies from idea to IPO and beyond.

Noble began his career as an investment analyst where he led the due diligence process for over $2.5 billion in investment transactions. During the 2009 financial collapse, Noble became disenchanted with his corporate career and began the pursuit of his MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain where he became hooked on entrepreneurship. His passion for entrepreneurship led him to launch three different technology platforms: Career Mentor Me, Help More and My Healthier Body. His certificate in Advanced Financial Modelling from the London School of Business and Finance enabled him to further entrench himself into one of his favorite pastimes tinkering with Excel spreadsheets.

After moving to Boulder, Colorado for a new adventure, Noble acted as the finance mentor to high-impact companies at the Unreasonable Institute, Girl Effect Accelerator and Singularity University. He also served as the founding member of the inaugural Financial Architect Program at the Unreasonable Institute. In pursuit of the latter, Noble has worked with numerous accelerators and organizations including Techstars, Cartier Women’s Initiative, Unreasonable Group, Next Wave Fund, Uncharted, Singularity University, the Nike Sponsored Girl Effect Accelerator, YPO+ Accelerator and Galvanize. He is always looking for new partnerships to help entrepreneurs change the world.

Noble lives with his family in Boulder and has been fortunate to live in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Spain, France and the Dominican Republic. Noble absolutely loves finance, even going so far as to play with Excel on vacation, but he adores his girls Amber and Lyla even more. They enjoy going on adventures as a family including skiing, kite surfing, mountain biking and traveling.