“Addressing the media business‘s cashflow crunch” - The Rebooting Show

For much of his career, Bernard has either worked for agencies or run his own agency. That gave him the insight that there was a need for a new type of financing option for the media business that took into account the reality that payment terms are longer than for most industries.

“One of the most difficult things about owning an agency is keeping the lights on. We were always chasing receivables and doing our best to pay the freelancers, pay the staff, keep the rent paid. Clients, of course, had their own ideas about what timely payment was.”

A common mistake media businesses make is using growth equity to fund day-to-day operations. This is a tempting solution since money is money, but Bernard points out that’s an inefficient use of capital since that money is meant to fund expansion, not everyday expenses.