When businesses overcome that initial challenge but struggle accepting the terms offered, they are often working against their own interests, not for them as they would like to believe. Concerns about dilution, loss of control, and other issues often cloud the critical concern: filling the gas tank enough to make it across the finish line (or at least to the next available gas station).

Management is best to remember that the main objectives in financing a business is to achieve an outcome where the Company’s business plan is fully funded in order to maximize the potential return. Sometimes this needs to be pursued at the expense of dilution or control. Provided that the best offers have been sussed out, taking the money and keeping moving forward proves time and again the better choice than to delay, decline and/or offend.

Inevitably, if the venture is successful, the founders will have a loyal investor base eager to put money into the next one s/he starts. That is a powerful thing, especially in this investor environment.

Lew Turnquist

Birmingham, Alabama – 26 January 2012 – The Food Security Group is pleased to announce the addition of a new strategic technology partner, The Dryland Agriculture Institute (DIA) at West Texas A&M University.

“Almost forty percent of the land on the planet is classified as arid or semi-arid, and those lands will need to support almost one billion people by 2050.  Increasing agricultural productivity in those regions through the use of advanced technologies is one of the requisite pillars of global food security going forward,” said Bud Kirchner of the Food Security Group.  “By adding The Dryland Agriculture Institute at West Texas A&M University to our world class roster of advisors and technology collaboration partners we significantly improve our ability to identify, commercialize and proliferate some of those badly needed solutions.”  “Through this partnership, we stand a better chance to enhance the quality of life for countless millions of our fellow citizens of this globe,” according to Pat O’Brien, President of West Texas A&M University.

New Strategic Technology Partner:

The Dryland Agriculture Institute at West Texas A&M (DIA) is a global leader in advancing practical dryland farming solutions; and a focal point for researchers, educators, extension workers, and administrators developing workable strategies and technologies for improving the sustainability of dryland agriculture systems worldwide.  Specific areas of emphasis include:

• Efficient Use of Water
• Wind and Water Erosion
• Soil Fertility and Organic Matter
• Drought Resistant Germplasm
• Deficit Irrigation
• Management of Pests
• Management of Rangelands

Whether creating a liaison between promising companies and industry thought leaders or being a conduit for the commercialization and development of agricultural efficiency solutions, the addition of yet another important strategic partner to the FSG ecosystem further strengthens our ability to advance badly needed technology solutions.

About The Food Security Group

The Food Security Group (www.foodsecuritygroup.com) was formed to pursue opportunities related to the challenges of producing sufficient food to feed the world’s expanding population through our focus on supporting technologies related to advanced fertilizers and related solutions, enhanced nutrient dynamics, seeds and genetics, pest and disease control and post harvest technologies. Our initial role will be to resolve the business challenges restricting the deployment of high potential agricultural technologies. The Food Security Group was founded, incubated and is advised by Kirchner Private Capital Group (www.kirchnergroup.com).

For inquiries, please contact:

W.B. (Bud) Kirchner
205.313.0784
wbkirchner@kirchnergroup.com

During copulation as insemination nears, the male Australian redback spider flips into a position where he hovers over the females jaws…literally offering himself to be devoured. Ascertaining the reasons for this ultimate sacrifice have been stymied since there aren’t many post-sex males left around to chat with and the ones that remain don’t make very good interview targets. However, one might speculate that the male’s behavior has something to do with prolonging intercourse and increasing the odds of passing on his genetic material. In brief, the outcome is worth the sacrifice.

In a recent national television interview, KPCG founder Bud Kirchner pointed out that great economies are built on innovation, tenacity and sacrifice. The same might be said for early stage, small and mid-size businesses. Indeed, sacrifice is something that most founders of startups and leaders of successful work-outs find keenly familiar.

A question that leaders are asked is: “Is it worth it?” When it comes to business leadership, the question itself is misguided and reflects naivety. The word “it” refers to “sacrifice” and implies sacrifice is singular. The sacrifices that most successful business leaders and businesses make are plural and may change over time.

So another way to frame the question is: “Are the sacrifices worth the return?”

Indeed, while sacrifice in its plurality is optional, so is success and survival.

Dr. Patrick McNees

Birmingham, Alabama – 13 January 2012 – The Food Security Group  is pleased to announce the addition of a new advisory board member, Charles Stewart who is interim CEO at Heifer International.  Heifer International is a global non-profit who has provided livestock and plants, as well as education and training in sustainable agriculture to help improve nutrition, income, hope and opportunity for financially disadvantaged families around the world.

“We continue to grow and expand our team and reach. The response to our group has been beyond my expectations since we launched it and we are very excited to add another advisory board member,” said W.B. (Bud) Kirchner, Co-Founder of  The Food Security Group. “Mr. Stewart is an excellent addition to our team and compliments our current board very well.” concluded Bud.

“I am very excited to join the growing advisory board.” commented Charles. “The work that the Food Security Group is doing is very important in the world right now and I am happy to be able to be a part of it and contribute my expertise.”

The Food Security Group will continue to expand its team and its reach into the food security ecosystem as the world continues to struggle with the issue of food security for a large percentage of its population.

About The Food Security Group

The Food Security Group (www.foodsecuritygroup.com) was formed to pursue opportunities related to the challenges of producing sufficient food to feed the world’s expanding population through our focus on supporting technologies related to advanced fertilizers and related solutions, enhanced nutrient dynamics, seeds and genetics, pest and disease control and post harvest technologies. Our initial role will be to resolve the business challenges restricting the deployment of high potential agricultural technologies. The Food Security Group was founded, incubated and is advised by Kirchner Private Capital Group (www.kirchnergroup.com).

For inquiries, please contact:

W.B. (Bud) Kirchner
205.313.0784
wbkirchner@kirchnergroup.com

“Over the course of the last twenty-seven years we have built a unique platform for small- and medium-size businesses,” said Bud Kirchner, CEO and Founder of Kirchner Private Capital Group. “Our success has been predicated on our ability to attract best-in-class talent and these five individuals are clear examples of this. Collectively, they bring more than 125 years of experience as operators, investors, and transaction experts and they will enhance our platform for the benefit our clients and partners.”

Cameron Davies and Dr. Patrick McNees have joined KPCG as Managing Partners. Mr. Davies joins KPCG with more than a decade of capital market and financial services experience, where he has acted as a trusted advisor to numerous public and private companies and has been a profiled speaker at events targeting the investment community across North America. Dr. McNees leads KPCG’s Health and Life Science Integrated Focus Area and brings more than 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, advisor, academic, and inventor. He was the founding CEO and Chief Scientist at Applied Health Science, Inc. and co-founder and President of North Rim Systems and Computer Associates, a software firm.

The Company also added seasoned veterans Jack Callaway and Clete Walker as Managing Directors to the M&A team. Mr. Callaway comes to KPCG with decades of investment banking experience including several years as Vice President at NBC Securities Inc., a subsidiary of First American Bank. Mr. Walker brings deep M&A experience to KPCG having executed more than one hundred transactions in his career.

In addition, Vince Krynski has joined the team as a Managing Director with the Transition Management group. Mr. Krynski joins KPCG from Streetlight Intelligence where, as CEO, he led the turnaround of the publicly listed technology company.

“Despite current market conditions we continue to grow and enhance our team with highly experienced professionals,” said Lew Turnquist, Senior Managing Partner. “We have always believed that people and relationships are at the foundation of building a superior platform for small- and medium-sized enterprises. These additions will not only continue to enhance our reach and reputation but, more importantly, will help our clients achieve their operational and transactional objectives.”

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About Kirchner Private Capital Group
Kirchner Private Capital Group is patterned after the original model for a merchant bank. Our team is comprised of successful business people who now apply their operational, transactional and investment experience to the unique needs of early- and mid-stage companies and their investors. We pride ourselves in both the quality and quantity of the long-term relationships we have built over the last 27 years. www.kirchnergroup.com

For further information:
Lew Turnquist
Senior Managing Partner
Phone: +1 (205) 313-0784
lturnquist@kirchnergroup.com

Cameron Davies
Managing Partner
Phone: +1 (416) 420-2861
cdavies@kirchnergroup.com

This makes sense when you think about it. Uncertainty breeds concern. Uncertainty breeds rumour and speculation. Uncertainty breeds paranoia. Most people, in the absence of fact, will fear the worst. And that fear, in turn, stresses them out.

Now, if this is true about uncertainty and its effects on stress, then it holds that the inverse is also true. And, in my experience it is. I have looked back on companies that I have led through what should have been the most stressful of times (when payroll is at risk) and, counter-intuitively, the staff have remained productive and resolute. Very few left, and those that did parted with only good things to say about the company.

What was the secret? Bi-weekly staff meetings where everything that is going on was laid out for all to see. By simply knowing they were no more than 2 weeks out of the loop, employees felt they were empowered to weigh their options and overwhelmingly they stayed.

This is the powerful effect of fighting uncertainty.

Lew Turnquist

Each year we are pleased to make a donation to the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation (www.cdhaf.org). The charity uses money raised to further its programs to build and introduce multi sensory environments to individuals with cognitive, emotional and physical impairments.

To help you better understand the important role the foundation plays in our society, we invite you to view a PBS documentary on the Christopher Douglas Hidden Angel Foundation that we believe you will find both informative and inspirational. The video is particularly relevant to the large number of individuals with friends and loved ones dealing with issues such as Autism, Alzheimer, Down’s Syndrome and other conditions that impact an individual’s ability to interact with the world around them.

Click here to view the embedded video.

During this holiday season and year round we encourage you to consider their activities when you make charitable donations. Even a small amount can make a big difference. If each visitor to their website was to donate only $50.00 they would be able to provide permanent facilities to enrich the lives of 50 people with special needs each month. www.cdhaf.org/donations

Together we can help to enrich these individuals lives.

Corporate

“I am very pleased to welcome someone with Clete’s experience and reputation to our M&A group,” said W.B. (Bud) Kirchner, CEO and founder of KPCG. “He has successfully completed more than one hundred transactions for small and medium size business and we are looking forward to leveraging his diverse experience across all areas in the firm. His addition continues to demonstrate our commitment to enhancing our capabilities to provide best in class services for our clients.”

KPCG is one of North America’s leading boutique merchant banks focused on all aspects of the small and medium enterprise providing asset management, transaction management and operational management services. Kirchner and Company Inc., the M&A arm of KPCG, provides M&A advisory and transaction management services with a uniquely operational approach.

Clete brings to KPCG his deep M&A experience, having managed more than one hundred transactions in his career. He began as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand before moving on to operating roles in early-stage growth companies. He was one of the early employees at MedPartners, Inc. / Caremark Rx, Inc. and was Vice President of Finance and Corporate Strategy as it grew to be a multi-billion-dollar company. Clete went on to found three separate companies in the health care arena before serving as President of CFB Investment Co., a venture capital firm, where he also took on turnaround mandates for companies in its portfolio. Most recently he served as Vice President of Development for Surgical Care Affiliates, one of the country’s largest providers of specialty surgical services.

“I am looking forward to working with the exceptionally talented and experienced group of operators, investors, and transaction specialists that have been assembled at KPCG,” said Clete Walker. “Our expanded M&A capabilities position us to build upon KPCG’s reputation as leaders in the private capital space and I look forward to making a strong contribution to the Company’s future growth.”

About Kirchner Private Capital Group
Kirchner Private Capital Group is patterned after the original model for a merchant bank. Our team is comprised of successful business people who now apply their operational, transactional and investment experience to the unique needs of early- and mid-stage companies and their investors. We pride ourselves in both the quality and quantity of the long-term relationships we have built over the last 26 years. www.kirchnergroup.com

For further information:

Lew Turnquist
Senior Managing Partner
Phone: +1 (205) 313-0784
lturnquist@kirchnergroup.com

In essence, the company had no map to detail how to get from where it was to where it needed to go.

We worked hard to develop a 4-year strategic plan in partnership with the management team.

But that turned out to be only half the problem. Even with a strategic plan in hand, Management couldn’t demonstrate either the ability or the willingness to execute against it. Many of the operational processes were substandard and the CEO wouldn’t support actions necessary to improve them.

So, even with a map, they couldn’t read it. They needed a compass too.

We acted as interim CEO in order to provide stable leadership while directing the executive team to dramatically reduce burn rate, and focus, at the expense of all others, on the key initiatives mapped out in the strat plan.

In the end, the company found its way out of the forest, and at last report, hadn’t wandered its way back in again.

Chris Butlin

A mantra oft recited. Yet somehow, regularly missed in the operation of small- and mid-cap companies. Companies that underperform are usually doing so in large part because they don’t know why they are underperforming. They simply don’t track their key performance indicators.

Sometimes that’s because they don’t bother, but sometimes that’s because they don’t know what those KPIs are. Or to use the metaphor of the “dashboard” for the list of KPIs, sometimes the driver ignores the gauges, but sometimes they don’t have any gauges at all.

The solution to the former lies in improved discipline. The solution to the latter lies in tracing those aspects of operations that can firstly be measured, and secondly have the highest relationship to the success of the business. In different industries, those can be very different things – SaaS companies will be keenly interested in Customer Acquisition Costs, manufacturing companies in throughput. But consistently, key performance indicators exist and by paying attention to them, Management can get a sense of where their company is underperforming and to what degree.

But I remain amazed at how many companies operate without a temperature gauge,  or choose to ignore it, then complain about the mystery of why their radiator cap blows and steam spews from the hood.

Lew Turnquist

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