Andrew Ponomar

Here’s the dirty secret of most growing LMM companies: The founder still holds 95% of the playbook in their head. So when it’s time to scale, there’s no infrastructure to support it. Just more stress, faster decisions, and a growing cast of people being told to “just figure it out.” Eventually you hit a ceiling—and start making expensive guesses to break through it. New leaders. New systems. New playbook… cobbled together at high cost and high risk. This is what FlightPlan fixes. Not with theory, but with the exact systems private equity expects before they invest. Things like: - Deal-grade org mapping Send this to the founder who needs a wake-up call. Continue the conversation at our next Learn Live session https://lnkd.in/eJDFsJdG AlphaEquity Builder - The Scalability Development Platform. Our strength is in our numbers! Follow the AlphaEquity Builder LinkedIn page and help get the word out to other business owners just like you. #CrowdScale #LearnLive

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New tax law changes are making Venture Capital significantly more attractive for US-based LPs. The updated Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) rules create a tiered system that rewards earlier exits: 3+ years: 50% tax-free 4+ years: 75% tax-free 5+ years: 100% tax-free (unchanged) Plus, the individual cap increased from $10M to $15M per company. This is big for venture funds. Previously, QSBS only kicked in after 5 years, which meant many successful exits (especially in today's faster cycle environment) missed the tax benefits entirely. Now, even a 3-year exit to a strategic acquirer can deliver meaningful tax savings. US-based investors now have a compelling tax-advantaged reason to allocate more capital to venture over public markets. The math = A $5M gain on a 4-year exit that previously faced full taxation now saves $1.25M in federal taxes (75% exclusion). For family offices and high-net-worth individuals sitting in public equities, this creates a strong incentive to move capital into qualified small business investments. Not tax advice disclaimer etc etc - but if you're an HNWI or LP interested in understanding how these QSBS changes could impact your portfolio allocation, happy to walk through the specifics.

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Great overview of the Florida VC ecosystem 👇 What stands out is not just the ~$2.85B raised, but how distributed and specialized each region is becoming. • South Florida → crypto, fintech, LatAm access • Tampa Bay → strong early-stage pipeline • Orlando/Space Coast → deep tech, defense, space • North Florida → emerging operator-led funds Tax advantages help, but the real story is growing density of founders, angels, and operators building locally. Still early compared to SF and NY, which is the opportunity. Who are the next Florida-based funds or angels getting active?

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I’ve spoken to over 2 dozen MDs at PE firms I can confidently say that the arb of figuring out how to implement Vertical AI at portfolio companies is very real right now It will fundamentally change underwriting for those who can do it predictably and unlock generational returns. Most are aware they need to act. Very few have.

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IRR is the new ARR. Real assets eat software. For the last decade, software dominated every pitch deck and portfolio. “ARR” became the holy metric - predictable, scalable, compounding. But the game is shifting. In an era of high rates, inflation, and capital scarcity, the investors who win aren’t chasing infinite SaaS multiples — they’re compounding real cash flows from real assets. IRR is the new ARR. • ARR measures growth in promise. • IRR measures growth in value. • ARR scales with market sentiment. IRR scales with cash and time. Software ate the world — but now, real assets eat software: • Energy, logistics, data infrastructure, and housing are where exponential demand meets physical constraint. • The best returns aren’t in new apps - they’re in reinventing how atoms meet capital. The next generation of builders and investors will treat electrons, warehouses, and solar fields the way we once treated APIs. The real economy is the new platform. This is why we started Eclipse!

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Valuation multiples are one of the most misunderstood tools in early-stage fundraising. Too often, founders and investors misuse revenue multiples as a shortcut, treating them as fixed inputs rather than sanity checks. At Equidam, we advocate for a more disciplined approach: ✅ Use EBITDA multiples when modeling exit potential (VC Method, DCF with Multiple) ✅ Use revenue multiples for screening and benchmarking ✅ Always base multiples on public comps, not anecdotal private rounds ✅ Avoid “reverse-engineering” valuations to fit your target With Equidam, you can apply EBITDA or revenue multiples to forward projections, benchmark against 30,000+ public companies, and blend this into a five-method framework.

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