Jake Pimental

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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Too many founders still buy into outdated financing myths like waiting on SBA loans that won’t come, refusing to lease equipment, or avoiding debt like it’s toxic. The truth? Smart businesses use capital to move faster. Debt isn’t the enemy. Waiting too long to scale is. Don’t let pride in bootstrapping hold you back when the market’s moving. Financial literacy is as critical as your product. Know your numbers, challenge the myths, and grow with intention. #SmallBizFinance #FoundersMindset #Entrepreneurship

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You can turn $100,000 into a $50 million business through acquisitions. This is closer to capital allocation than traditional entrepreneurship. Here's the deal structure. First, the capital stack. You buy a business the same way you buy a house. Equity in, bank covers the rest. With SBA loans: 90% loan, 10% equity. A million dollar business might require $100K to $200K down. Target companies with $1 to $3 million in earnings. Go to sellers that are NOT at market. Brokered deals are competitive and sellers want cash at close. This only works off-market. Here's what you propose: Seller keeps 20% equity in a new entity. Asset sale, their company moves into newco, they keep running it at fair market salary. You write them a check for 60% via bank loan. Remaining 20% is a seller's note: 10% straight note, 10% performance earnout. From the bank's perspective, you created 40% equity. The truth? It's really only 20%, and it's the seller's. Your money in? Approaching zero. But you own 80% of Enterprise Value. Why would a seller agree? Tell them: my goal is to make your 20% as valuable as the 80% we're giving you today. What are the odds you double the value on your own in 3 to 5 years? Now stack earnings. $2 million average per company. Buy 10 just like this. $20 million combined earnings under one entity. Centralize marketing, accounting, HR, governance at HQ. You bought each at 4 to 4.5x. A $20 million earnings business sells for 7 to 7.5x or more. That's multiple expansion, just by combining them. Close the first one. Negotiate the next $100K for the next business. Then newco sells to PE for 7, 8, 9x your $20 million in earnings. That's the path from $100K to $50 million. If you're considering buying a business in the next 12 to 24 months, we built Acquisition Lab for exactly this. walkerdeibel.com

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Here's how a builder doing 3-5 builds a year can do the same as a builder doing 25 builds a month. Before you close on anything, figure out where you're landing. If you're selling, model the sale. If you're renting, run the rental numbers and find out what a lender will actually give you on the back end. Then build your deal around that number, not the appraised value. And in this market, use the conservative exit. Florida, Texas, a lot of the Sun Belt markets. Homes are sitting longer. Builders who went in expecting a quick sale are now holding properties they have to rent. The ones who modeled that scenario upfront are fine. They planned for it. The ones who banked on a fast sale are the ones calling me stressed. Go in with the end in mind. Know your market. Know your numbers. And build a deal that still works even when things take longer than you expected.

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Good discussion from Alex at Stablecore, Brooke from American Bankers Association, and Carson from Sunwest Bank and BankTech Ventures about the history and future of stablecoins, status of the Genius Act, and how Utah banks can think about opportunities in digital assets. Huge topic! Done right this will help smaller banks to still compete and hold deposits, and thus, continue to make loans. It will be awhile before this all gets finalized, so banks will want to pay attention and be involved in this conversation.

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🔔 Tokenized Real Estate will be a community game changer for Pursuit To Own ! Affordability shouldn’t mean exclusion. For too long, ownership has been gated by capital requirements of having a $1 million dollar 💰 net worth. That’s why tokenization matters as it turns real estate from a closed system into an open door 🚪for everyday people . Fractional ownership lets everyday people participate in the same wealth building markets that used to be off-limits. The Pursuit To Own Token isn’t theory it’s financial execution with purpose . Real property. Real equity. Real impact. Super excited to be in partnership with Vernon Jay and Equity Platforms ❗️ It’s time Michael McConnell 🔥 #TokenizedRealEstate #FractionalOwnership #PurposeDrivenCapital #AdaptiveHomeownership #PursuitToOwn

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Erebor Bank, a Columbus, Ohio-based stablecoin bank, raised $350m in funding at a $4.35b post-money valuation. According to Axios, the round was led by Lux Capital with participation from Founders Fund, Haun Ventures, and 8VC.  Co-founded by Palmer Luckey, ahd Joe Lonsdale, Erebor is a new digital bank for the innovation economy including sectors such as AI, crypto, and defense. The bank, which has applied for a US national charter, is not yet fully operational. They recently got approval from The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. https://lnkd.in/ewPbbWfg

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$1M...$2.5M...$5M+......these are the size of Merchant Cash Advances/Revenue-Based Funding deals happening now. I see/hear more of it every week, and I know it sounds crazy. And maybe it is...but this is modern business lending. Because structurally they are often the same as any other MCA, with a shorter term (often 12-18 months), high fixed cost, and weekly payments. But what's different is the size of the company taking them. $20M, $40M, $50M+ in revenue. Often at this level its a PE-backed firm taking on the debt, typically for lack of options anywhere else whether due to speed required, financial condition, or some other pressing circumstance. They might truly need a bridge product to get them through a few weeks/months to whatever event may be on the horizon. Perhaps a sale, or another funding/investment round. So even with the high costs involved, maybe at some point it makes sense to take the cash injection from the MCA if you know you're about to receive a comparatively larger round of funding in a few weeks that can easily pay off the debt? If you're the PE/investment firm behind a potential MCA borrower like this, are you advising for or against it?? #growth #entrepreneurship #eta #boringbusiness #privateequity ______________________________________ 📰 Sign up for my weekly newsletter via email with 25,000 other subscribers discussing all matters small business related, particularly finance...https://bit.ly/3A0Jdrn

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BREAKING: Erebor is getting a charter. Erebor wants to bank Crypto, AI and Defense companies. They raised $225 million at $2 billion valuation in July led by Founders Fund and 8VC. This is 1 of only 5 new OCC charters in last ~10 years. And the 1 of 2 that has received venture funding (the other being Varo Bank in 2018). We need more competition in banking. Glad to see more charters getting issued.

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