Corey Massella is a partner with the accounting and business consulting firm Citrin Cooperman, and is the CEO of the firm’s SEC Solutions Group. He has more than 20 years of experience in counseling entrepreneurs in financial and business strategies. He is also a board member and sponsor for Keiretsu Forum and the president of Long Island Capital Alliance and a board member of the prestigious MIT Entrepreneur Forum in NYC.
“In the technology sectors, the entrepreneurs themselves are usually their own breed”, he says, which motivates him to help those startups that are barely surviving as well as advises businesses that are thriving. He said that while “thrivers” need money to fuel expansion; “survivors” need money to bankroll a change in the business, and carefully consider all possible capital sources weighing the benefits versus the drawbacks.
He said that while it’s more difficult for the business fighting for survival to acquire funds, it’s not impossible. His advice is to produce supportable financial projections, balance sheets, and income statements, and cash flow reports to show that historically, they have been stable and are only going through a short-term bend in a line of successes.
However, dependent on the severity of the need for funds is a caveat: “They will have to show their commitment to their businesses in other ways with some serious collateral. This could mean their homes or another major asset. Those that have properly planned and kept and monitored key performance indicators will be prepared in advance for a downturn, they’ll give themselves the best shot of turning around the business.”
