Kent Palmer was born in Oakland, CA, the fourth of five children. His parents came from a farming background in Idaho, and Kent grew up helping tend the family garden known in their community for its variety of vegetables and fruits. Sports were an obsession from an early age. Along with his many friends, Kent biked far and wide in Oakland playing pickup basketball, developing the athletic skills that led to his being named Most Valuable Player of his high school team. Bay Area teams were a passion, with Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants emerging as Kent's childhood hero (greatest ballplayer of all time) and the Oakland Raiders and Giants remain favorite teams to this day.

As a 16 year old, Kent took his first job at a local Italian restaurant, and the proprietor taught him many important lessons about the value and discipline of hard work, as well as the complexities of operating a business. That experience inspired him to study business management at Utah State, then Brigham Young University, from which he earned his Bachelor of Science, focusing on marketing. After graduation, Kent joined Safeco Insurance Company and their property/casualty claim department in Salt Lake City. As a field representative, Kent would visit the company's agents to discuss their client's claims needs, a customer service attribute that set him apart from his Safeco colleagues, and enabled him to accept a marketing position with Guaranty National. This upward change in career path led to marketing, underwriting and business development posts with Guaranty and Fireman's Fund, with a promotional transfer to Denver with Guaranty as their regional manager, while leading all business aspects for the company, including opening new territory covering the Midwestern United States.

In 1994, Kent was recruited by Kemper Insurance of Long Grove, IL as National Marketing Officer for their $500 million book of "main street" business. From this headquarters post, Kent helped successfully lead the merger of several Kemper businesses into one subsidiary, then achieved steady growth rates culminating in $25 million new business annually. Correctly anticipating a downturn in business and a weakening in employment stability in the insurance business, Kent decided to seek his second career as a librarian. After obtaining his Masters in Library Science from University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, he learned of a position called Business Librarian at Public Libraries. When Naperville Public Library opened that position in 2012, Kent jumped at the opportunity and has enjoyed every minute of this new business experience.

Shortly after coming to Naperville, Kent initiated a renewed focus on offering programs specifically for small business owners, seeking help from local SCORE mentors in the process. Kent's relationship with SCORE blossomed as well as with the Naperville Development Partnership, the Naperville Chamber of Commerce and the City of Naperville. This collaborative spirit caught the attention of the Naperville Library administration, and that support resulted in the creation of the business startup center called NaperLaunch in 2014. Kent considers Fox Valley SCORE to be his most significant partner in this successful endeavor. Small Business Workshops and nighttime SCORE mentoring sessions at the library and the SCORE Business Roundtable held every third Thursday of the month round out this partnership.

Along with the previously mentioned allegiances to Bay Area sports teams, Kent has had interests in bicycling, hiking, backpacking and golf over the years. A voracious reader, he is able to average 4-5 books monthly despite his busy schedule and formidable daily commute from Crystal Lake to Naperville.

He and wife Delray have two daughters, but visits with their kids and 5 grandchildren are precious times, as they live in Gallup, New Mexico and Abu Dhabi, UAE.

SCORE is proud of its relationship with Kent, NaperLaunch and Naperville Public Library, and wishes all continued success in their efforts in helping small business grow.

Kent Palmer can be reached at (630) 961-4100 or kpalmer@naperville-lib.org.

 

Manna from Heaven: 10 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know About Angel Investing

Angel investors invest in early stage or start-up companies in exchange for an equity ownership interest. Angel investing in start-ups has been accelerating. High-profile success stories like Uber, WhatsApp, Facebook, and others have spurred angel investors to make multiple bets with the hopes of getting outsized returns. Financier Richard Harroch recently shared his thoughts on frequently asked questions from entrepreneurs about angel financing.

1. How much do angel investors invest in a company?

The typical angel investment is $25,000 to $100,000 a company, but can go higher depending on a variety of factors.

2. What are the six most important things for angel investors?

*The quality, passion, commitment, and integrity of the founders.

*The market opportunity has the potential for the company to become very big.

*A clearly thought out business plan, and early evidence of obtaining traction toward the plan.

*Interesting technology or intellectual property.

*An appropriate valuation with reasonable terms.

*The viability of raising additional rounds of financing if progress is made.

3. What do angel investors like to initially see from an entrepreneur?

*A clearly articulated elevator pitch for the business.

*An executive summary or pitch deck.

*A prototype or working model of the proposed product or service (or at least renditions).

4. What financial questions should the entrepreneur anticipate from angel investors?

• How much capital are you raising?
• How long do you expect that capital to last?
• What will be your monthly burn rate of that capital?
• Do you have detailed financial projections for the next two years?
• What are the key assumptions underlying those projections?
• What are the key cost components for your product or service?
• What are the unit economics?
• What are the most likely gross margins at 2 years, 5 years and 10 years?

5. What questions should the entrepreneur anticipate about marketing and customer      acquisition?

• How does the company plan to markets its products or services?
• What is the company's PR strategy?
• What is the company's social media strategy?
• What is the estimated cost of a customer acquisition?
• What is the projected lifetime value of a customer?
• What is the expected sales cycle between initial contact and closing of a sale?

6. What questions should the entrepreneur expect concerning the management team?

• Who are the founders and key team members?
• What relevant domain experience does the team have?
• Why is the current team uniquely qualified to execute the company's business plan?
• How do you plan to scale the management team as the company grows?

7. What ways are typically available to an entrepreneur to locate angel investors?

• Fellow entrepreneurs
• Lawyers and accountants
• Angel investor networks (groups that aggregate individual investors)
• Venture capitalists and investment bankers
• Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo

8. What questions should a CEO ask of potential angel investors?

• Can you refer me to other entrepreneurs you have worked with in the past?
• What amount of follow-on investment do you think our company will need?
• How do you think you can be helpful to us in growing and sustaining the business?
• What other investments have you made in our space or industry?

9. Will angel investors typically sign nondisclosure agreements?

   No. Angel investors see too many deals and you don't want to impose a roadblock to getting

   an investor interested in your company. The entrepreneur should be very careful about the

   type and extent of confidential information it discloses to the angel investor.

10. What factors determine the appropriate valuation in a seed round of financing?

     Ultimately, valuation is determined by negotiations, but key factors include:

• Experience and past success of the team.
• Competitive environment
• Amount of investment and resulting dilution to the founders
• The value add expected to be brought by the investor
• Market comparables
• Potential for a big exit.

Richard Harroch is a Managing Director and Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at VantagePoint Capital Partners, a venture capital fund located in San Francisco.