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Education

StreetSmarts SM

Steve Feldshuh

“Talk To Steve”

What if you had $1 million to

invest in a payments business?

By Steven Feldshuh done a great job and were recommended by your largest
Merchants' Choice Payment Solutions East restaurant group. You have published some industry
articles and are a committee member for two industry
o, you have been in the merchant service busi- organizations. The good news is you are respected and
ness for several years. You have spent count- haven't crushed people to attain success.
less hours in the field, have worked with call What do angel investors want from you?
S centers, had a taste of operations, handled risk
for six months and understand the current technology Your angel investor wants to invest $1 million in your
available to small to midsize merchants to a large extent. company and, being fair, is looking just for a small piece of
the action. The $1 million would be an initial investment.
Then a call comes in from an angel investor who wants After researching the group represented by the woman
to enter the payments space, because that investor has who contacted you, you realize this is a serious play. And
seen the success of Silicon Valley payment companies and you pause. The issue isn't that you do not feel confident in
wants a piece of the action. You are called because you have your abilities; you just are not sure which direction you
would go and how you would spend the money.

Yes, drawing up a business plan would be a good first
When Square appeared, the concept step, but what idea would you want to develop? Obviously,
you are drawn to the opportunity, because the upside
was shot down by a lot of us merchant results could be huge. The investor is experienced with
level salespeople (MLSs). Who would raising funds but is looking to you for your background
go for high flat-rate pricing, no live and ideas, as well as for your skill in implementing the
business plan.
customer service and the use of a
cutesy iPad? I guessed wrong on that How can you find a game changer?
one like a lot of us did. The idea for this article came from GS Online's MLS Forum.
Forum members Steve Norell and TheCreditCardMan,
along with some other forum participants, believe that the