Welcome back from the holiday weekend! If you’re struggling to make your brain work after a few days away, look on the bright side: Nearly 90% of workers feel less stressed after a three-day weekend than they do after a vacation. They also feel 7% less stressed during short workweeks (which this one is, remember?). Plus, all that extra sleep boosts positivity and productivity. See, brain? Now start working again, please! 🧠

Fallen angels: Can you find investors in a struggling economy?

Priceless podcast: The $100 MBA Show is worth a listen.

Duolingo: See how the owl mascot conquered TikTok.

(Source: Shutterstock)

The Federal Reserve’s response to COVID-19 boosted investment in 2020 and 2021, but the party is over and the hangover is here. Venture capital has pulled back to a one-year low, falling $5 billion from March to April, followed by another drop in May.

Should you give up hope of securing funds for your business? Hardly, and here’s why:

Angel Investors Are Still Everywhere

Despite the current economic turbulence, the past couple boom years got a lot of individuals into the game:

• In 2020, the number of active angel investors grew to nearly 335,000, funding a total of 64,480 entrepreneurial ventures. 
• In 2021, venture capital firms raised an astonishing $128 billion in new money, a 47.5% increase over the previous year. 
• Even these figures understate the true impact of angel investors, because not all angel investments are publicly reported or tracked.

It’s Not That Difficult to Meet Them

Many new entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that the only sources of finance are a few huge venture capital firms in Northern California. In fact, wealthy individuals provide the majority of equity funds.

Not only are they located all over the country, but you can access them through websites called “angel networks” — although being introduced to them by a mutual acquaintance can expedite the process. 

You Don’t Need to Be Afraid of Them

It’s natural to feel nervous when meeting with an investor or lender, but they need you as much as you need them. Without a steady stream of good investment opportunities (“deal flow,” as they call it), they can’t earn the fat returns they seek. This quarter’s GDP or unemployment stats may be irrelevant to an investment that spans three or more years.

Optimism Will Make a Comeback

The pace of venture investment has ups and downs. Bearish stock market conditions and a general economic downturn can curb investment — for a while. Angels may pull in their wings until their portfolios recover; venture capitalists may devote more time and attention to helping their existing companies navigate the choppy waters rather than focusing on new investments. But optimism always returns. Always.

Don’t let the power of negative thinking keep you from obtaining vital funding for your business. The money is out there.

~ 44%

Change in global venture capital funding from November 2021 to May 2022

(Source: Crunchbase)

A top-ranked MBA program carries a price tag ranging wildly from $24,000 to over $200,000, but every MBA has at least one thing in common: They all cost more than $100.

Enter WebinarNinja co-founder and CEO Omar Zenhom and his daily podcast (yes, Zenhom somehow posts every weekday), The $100 MBA Show, which distills practical business lessons into a friendly, no-bull, no-frills format. With most episodes landing cozily in the 10-to-15-minute range, the show digs into everything from how to combat inflation as a business to answering questions like “how do I know if my idea has legs?” and “is the email newsletter dead?”

The show gets its name from Zenhom’s budget-friendly webinar series, but there’s a key difference: The podcast is free. With over 2,000 bite-sized episodes, that’s a lot of education for the low price of zero.

People already know they can learn new languages by downloading Duolingo. Rather than pushing that message on TikTok, Duolingo is giving people other reasons to keep the brand on their minds: the adventures of their big owl mascot, filmed (seemingly) on no budget.

Videos of the owl going to the bathroom in their corporate office, becoming the cgo viral. (Under the suit is Duolingo’s global social media manager, Zaria Parvez.)

In a way, this is a modern version of the Ronald McDonald or Tony the Tiger marketing strategy. Now, however, you don’t need millions of dollars in national TV ad buys — just a smartphone and, most importantly, a good social team with exactly the right kind of crazy ideas and fluency in the language of TikTok.

(Source: LinkedIn)

“Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.” 

— Publilius Syrus (85-43 B.C.)

Written by Brian Hill, Carlos Rosario Gonzalez, and Dan Ketchum.