Billionaire, Celebrity, Genius: Working with Unicorn Investors

Jan. 14, 2020 at 12:00 AM


To play this video, become a BevNET/NOSH Insider or Login.

When securing investments -- from a celebrity or otherwise -- it has to be the right fit. In a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019 in Santa Monica, Abe Minkara, Founding Partner/CIO of investment firm Legacy Knight Multi Family Office (and former managing director at Mark Cuban Companies), explained how entrepreneurs should prepare to leverage investors. Additionally, if utilizing “celebrity” investors — whether well-known entrepreneurs, industry-specific experts or entertainment personalities — executive teams should ensure those partners can authentically use their platform and momentum to move a brand forward.

“They all bring something different,” Minkara said. “It’s about consistency as well. One Tweet or one post is not going to do anything — it’s the consistency and the storytelling that's going to make the difference.”

Additionally, entrepreneurs themselves are often their own best celebrities, he noted -- and their friends and family tend to better understand their vision and provide better support. For early stage brands, simply building an advisory board of experts can be helpful, and later transition into a more formal board of directors. Brands should use these advisors to help build a retail strategy -- although Minkara himself believes that often, starting small with one dedicated retail partner is best.

“Have one first,” he said. “Then figure out the strategy of how you want to approach every other channel in the brick-and-mortar space.”

Back
View the Full Content Calendar
Back
View the Community Call Calendar