Welcome to My 3rd Quarter 2019 Dividend Report. This Report is dedicated to tracking my quarterly dividend income. Many of you already know I love Growth and Income stocks as a great way to beat inflation while companies pay you to wait while they execute there growth plans. My Goal is to average $5,000/month or $15,000/quarter in dividend income.
3rd Quarter 2019 Dividend Income
Dividend Income by Year
Behind the scenes graph data
My 3rd Qtr 2019 Dividend Income
Money Sense With Kyle Quarterly Dividend IncomeBy Year
My dividend income is devised of investments in Altria (MO) in the Tobacco Industry and Blackstone Group (BX) in the Asset Management Industry. Blackstone Group current stock price $50.95 and dividend yield 3.91 % (.48/share $1.92/year) pays a fluctuating dividend based on company results. Altria’s current stock price $46.40 and dividend yield 7.25 % (.84/share $3.36/year) pays a consistent dividend and has raised the dividend 54 times the past 50 years.
3nd Quarter 2019 Blackstone Group paid .49 / share or $2,970.97 vs .48 / share $2,880 the 2nd Quarter 2019 based on 6,063.205 shares owned. Blackstone Group Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “In the third quarter Blackstone again generated strong results for our investors, who in today's challenging environment look to our firm as a critical solutions provider. Our ability to execute on scale investment opportunities across a broad array of strategies is highly differentiated, as demonstrated by $16 billion of deployments in the quarter and a record $62 billion over the last twelve months. Our investors continue to entrust us with capital for both new and existing strategies, including nearly $150 billion of inflows during the last year – culminating in industry-record Total Assets Under Management of $554 billion, up 21% year- over-year.”
3rd Quarter 2019 Altria Group paid .84 / share or $8,672.02 based on 10,526.275 shares owned. Altria Group Inc. MO said Thursday 8/22/19 it will raise its quarterly dividend by 5%, to 84 cents a share from 80 cents. The cigarette and smokeless tobacco products seller said the new dividend will be payable Oct. 10 to shareholders of record on Sept. 16. It has now reached the 50-year dividend increase milestone, as the latest increase marks the 54th time it has raised its dividend over the past half century. The new annualized dividend rate is $3.36 per common share.
The 3rd Qtr 2019 I reinvested my dividends $8,672.02 and purchased 202.4370 shares at $42.84 stock price on 10/10/19. I now have 10,526.275 shares of Altria.
This is why Growth and Dividend stocks make good Money Sense. I will see you next quarter and report news and distribution.
Q&A Interview questions Tom Fanelli CEO / Founder Convesio
Q&A Interview questions Convesio.
Welcome everyone. I'm Kyle Martin Financial Blogger at www.moneysensewithkyle.com. Today we have Tom Fanelli CEO / Founder of Convesio for a Q&A Interview to learn more about this startup company, What they do?, Where are they going?, How they will get there?, Obstacles along the way, and Why to invest in Convesio. Welcome Tom!
Thank you for having me.
Tom..tell us about yourself
Originally from Florida, I have been in technology, product and marketing roles over 20 years. My first real business was an agency in Southwest Florida that I started in the late 90’s. We eventually got into web design services way before there was anything like WordPress. I relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area over 10 years ago to join a software startup. That startup was acquired almost a year later by a company, RealPage. Not long after the acquisition, we took that company public on the NASDAQ (RP). After 6 years, I moved on to a large corporation that owns several hosting companies and currently hosts over 4MM sites. Throughout my career I have always been close to scalable web platforms, high volume hosting, and have had a passion for agencies. This is what brought me to the place of creating Convesio.
What does your company do?
We provide a scalable, high performance platform for agencies to create and manage WordPress websites. Technology for hosting really falls into two major categories. The first being legacy shared hosting, and by that I mean everything in that world from Dedicated, VPS, and Cloud Servers. Essentially this technology has not undergone any major evolutionary leap forward. The other category is where Amazon, Google Cloud, etc are positioned. The problem with these is they are costly and require special expertise to deploy and manage. This leaves many agencies in a really hard spot. Convesio is there to fill the void with a simple to use and cutting edge solution.
Where will your company be in 5 years?
I like to refer to Flywheel who was recently acquired by WP Engine at only 6 years old. When WP Engine purchased Flywheel they disclosed they were doing $18MM in Annual Recurring Revenue. WP Engine also indicated they were approaching an IPO and valuation of approximately a billion dollars. Once WP Engine goes public my thought is the market is going to heat up substantially. I see a lot of parallels between where the WordPress market is and where RealPage’s market was when we had our IPO. If you look at the PropTech market 10 years ago, it was not nearly as developed as it is now. VC money is pouring into it and more companies are going public, this was all facilitated by RealPage breaking the glass ceiling. I think a similar thing is going to happen in the WordPress space, but even more extreme.
How far along are you? What's your biggest obstacle?
We’ve made tremendous progress in the last year. When we started we were not even sure this idea would make it out of R&D and now we are at a stage where we have raving fans who would be really bummed if they couldn’t use Convesio anymore. That proves we are delivering on our value propositions. In many ways we have the product, experience, and traction to build on our early stage success. The challenges now are staffing and providing a great customer experience as we scale.
Who are your competitors? Who is the biggest threat?
Clearly WP Engine is a threat, simply because they have financial means and once they go public are going to likely be motivated to solidify their position in the market. Other competitors are companies like Flywheel (recently acquired by WP Engine), Kinsta, and Pantheon.
How will you make money?
We are a subscription based SaaS platform, so our primary means is to offer monthly or annual packages for our platform. In addition, we have several other revenue streams we will bring online as we grow to diversify our revenue.
On Wefunder.com Convesio has raised $713,218 of a $200,000 – $1,000,000 goal with 376 investors. How do you plan to spend the money raised?
The bulk of our funds will be used to scale marketing, sales, and support. We do have some continued investment in product and will need to scale servers as we grow customers, but the primary focus is sales and customer experience.
How are you different from other managed WordPress providers?
Our platform is very different. This is hard to explain without getting super technical, but we have built our platform from the ground up, designed to squeeze every drop of performance out of WordPress. Most hosting providers use the same legacy technology. So in this way we are very different, more scalable, stable, and faster.
What’s Next?
Our fundraising ends in October 2019, after that my focus is going to shift to scaling revenue and customers as quickly as we can without sacrificing quality of service.
Why should we invest in Convesio and how?
Hosting is a $100B a year business globally. There are no signs the growth in WordPress will slow down anytime soon. Over 75MM sites use WordPress and it’s the dominant choice by designers and agencies building websites. This is a rare opportunity to invest in a platform akin to Amazon Web Services but for WordPress. We have a very different approach the competitors in this space and our team is made up of seasoned experts. I’m confident this market is going to see significant growth during the next 10 years. Investing is easy, just visit our profile on WeFunder and you can start investing for as little as $100. Here's the Link: https://www.wefunder.com/convesio
Thank you Tom for sharing with us this exciting technology to create and manage WordPress websites. Audience, you now have the inside scoop on Convesio straight from Tom Fanelli the CEO / Founder of Convesio. Hosting sites can be costly and require expertise to deploy and manage. Convesio is there to fill the void with a simple to use and cutting edge solution. If you are interested in investing in this startup company the current campaign is at this Link: https://wefunder.com/convesio
Any questions contact Tom at Tom@convesio.com or use the Leave a comment on my website www.moneysensewithkyle.com That’s all for today. Thank you and we’ll see you in retirement.
The startups that raise on Republic set the terms at which they sell their securities.
Investing on Republic is free for Investors.
Unless specified otherwise in the deal terms,
Republic collects from the startup 6% of the total amount raised
and 2% of securities offered in a successful financing.
The 6% of the total amount raised comes out of the proceeds of the offering. Companies raising on Republic may also use the proceeds of their successful financing to pay for the escrow agent and other transaction-related fees.
Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below and I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post, but these are all products I highly recommend. I won't put anything on this page that I haven't verified and/or personally used.
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The startups that raise on Republic set the terms at which they sell their securities.
Because the startup company issuing the securities is private, you cannot sell your
securities on the public market, making it potentially difficult to find a buyer.
In fact, you are
restricted from reselling your securities in the first 12 months
post closing of the offering, unless the shares are transferred:
to the company that issued the securities
to an accredited investor
to a nuclear family member:
a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse or spousal
equivalent, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships.
in connection with your death, divorce, or other similar circumstance
to a trust controlled by you or a trust created for the benefit of a family member
(defined as a child, sibling or parent of you or your spouse) or
as part of a later offering registered with the SEC.
Any transfer during this period is still subject to state and foreign laws.
You should know that there may be no market for the securities after the initial 12 month
restricted period. Once the 12 month restricted period ends, any sale or disposition of
the securities you hold must comply with applicable federal, state and foreign laws.
It is important that you only invest capital with the expectation of holding your investment for an indefinite period of time, and with the real risk of a total loss of your investment in mind. Only invest an amount you can afford to lose without changing your lifestyle.
The startups that raise on Republic set the terms at which they sell their securities.
Companies fundraising on Republic must disclose a limited amount of information to you, including:
a. general information about the company, b. its officers and directors, c. a description of the business, d. the planned use for the money raised from the offering, often called the use of proceeds, e. the funding goal, f. the deadline for the offering, related-party transactions, g. risks specific to the company or its business, and h. financial information about the company.
You should use this information to determine whether a particular investment is appropriate for you.
The type of financial information disclosed as well as verification of finances varies based on whether the company has raised via crowdfunding in the past, as well as the amount being raised.
$107,000 or less – financial statements and certain specific line items from income tax returns are required, both of which are certified by the principal executive officer of the company.
$107,000.01 to $535,000 – financial statements are reviewed by an independent public accountant and the accountant’s review report is provided as well as certification by the principal executive officer of the company. A review is some level of scrutiny of the financials by a CPA.
$535,000.01 to $1.07 million – if first time crowdfunding, then financial statements reviewed by an independent public accountant and the accountant’s review report if available are disclosed: otherwise financial statements audited by an independent public accountant and the accountant’s audit report must be prepared and disclosed. An audit provides a higher level of scrutiny by the accountant than a review as well as some verification by the accountant.
Each offering has a discussion forum where you should ask any questions you have and review those asked by other investors. These channels can be useful both before and after making an investment.
Once an offering has closed, the company will provide updates on the results of its operations and financial statements through its website on an annual basis. These updates are likely to be less regular and robust than those provided by public companies to their shareholders. Republic likely will not retain any relationship with the company. Republic does not make the Company’s post-closing disclosure available to you through its website.
Read Next: Selling restrictions Republic’s commission Invest in promising early-stage companies Become an investor
Q&A Interview questions Sama Jashnani Co-founder/CEO DownToDash
Q&A Interview questions DownToDash
Welcome everyone – I’m Kyle Martin Financial Blogger @ www.moneysensewithkyle.com. Today we have Sama Jashnani Co-founder / CEO DownToDash for a Q&A Interview to learn more about this startup company, What they do?, Where are they going?, How they will get there?, Obstacles along the way, and Why to invest in DownToDash.
Kyle – Welcome Sama!
Sama – Thank you so much for having me, I really appreciate it.
Kyle – Sama..tell us about yourself
Sama
I am an entrepreneur, connector, speaker and I also love dancing, trekking, adventure, food and just meeting new interesting people. I co-founded a social enterprise and e-commerce platform and worked at a global marketing agency. I also got a full scholarship to study Marketing and Strategy at Warwick Business School.
Kyle – What does your company do?
Sama
DownToDash is an app to make quality activity buddies. It connects people in the same location based on what they are down to do, whether it is workouts, sports, movies or other activities. Users can post specific plans, for example, play Tennis on Thursday at 5 pm at McCarren Park and other users can join. We will also add closed networks within the app for students and employees. For example an employee can verify his account through a delloitte.com email address and connect with employees only. Our focus will always be on the security of our users and finding a high-quality activity buddy. We will use Artificial intelligence and our algorithm to match people based on their skill level and ensure that they are a good match for the experience.
Kyle –That’s some cool technology. Where will your company be in 5 years?
Sama
We project to be at 3.5 million users and $ 13.83 million in revenue in 5 years, using a conservative approach. We want to be the one-stop shop for meeting people all over the world. You can discover experiences, book the experience and your means of transportation through one app. We will also incentivize users to socialize by adding group discounts for experiences. We believe we have a strong exit potential and strategy (WeWork recently acquired MeetUp for $200 Million).
Kyle –Outstanding. How far along are you? What's your biggest obstacle?
Sama
We have 5286 users, 3913 monthly active users and 60,000+ successful plans created on the app. We created an internship program that was selected to be in the Top 100 Internship programs in the US by CNBC. Make it and want to scale this ambassador base. Also, we were recently featured on Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Season 3. Our biggest obstacle is the inability to scale quickly without sufficient funding.
Kyle – Ok great. Who are your competitors? Who is the biggest threat?
Sama
The most similar existing platform is Meetup but Meetup operates only for groups and has no age filter. Bumble Bff and Vina are friend-focused but are only for female friendships. They are not focused on specific plans (example Tennis on Thursday at 5 pm). Moreover, Bumble is also a dating app. Our focus on activities and specific plans is our unique selling point.
Kyle – We want to know, How will you make money?
Sama
We offer $75, $100 and $200 per month advertising packages for the marketing of events and experiences. We are working on automating this process by incorporating ‘bookings' within the app, for example two people can book a Tennis court through the app and we will charge them a fee. We will also add paid accounts for users with premium features for $3 per month and gather patterns in our data to provide guidance and predictive analysis to companies that deal with specific cohorts.
Kyle – On Wefunder.com DownToDash has raised $19,550 of a $50,000 – $1,070,000 goal with 70 investors. How do you plan to spend the money raised?
Sama
51% towards technology and product development, 35% towards marketing and 14% towards our team and legal expenses. We will immediately invest in revamping the product and adding exciting features such as closed networks. We will also start Instagram ads and influencer campaigns.
Kyle –Fantastic! How are you different from other competitors?
Sama
Our focus is on security of our users and finding a high-quality activity buddy is what makes us different. Users love that our ‘plans’ feature is spontaneous and allows them to do what they love, according to their availability and preferences. Our millennial-friendly branding and positioning also gives us an advantage.
Kyle – I know users love to know security is important and finding a high quality activity buddy set you apart. What’s Next?
Sama
We got into Founder University by Jason Calacanis and are super excited to explore the tech ecosystem in San Francisco and also promote the app there.
Kyle – Why should we invest in DownToDash and how?
Sama
Technology and social media have been criticized to create loneliness, isolation and depression. We are using technology to foster real-life interactions and want to change the way people meet all over the world! This is your one chance to come onboard with this exciting opportunity of investing in an upcoming social media giant! Here is a link to our campaign: https://wefunder.com/downtodash/
Kyle – Thank you Sama for sharing with us this exciting technology to bring people together. Audience, you now have the inside scoop on DownToDash straight from the Co-founder CEO of DownToDash. It’s a new exciting app that's going to be secure and bring high quality activity buddies together. If your interested in investing in this startup company the current campaign is at this link: https://wefunder.com/downtodash/. Any questions contact Sama atsama@downtodash.comor use the Leave a comment button on my website http://www.moneysensewithkyle.com.That’s all for today. Thank you and we’ll see you in retirement.
The startups that raise on Republic set the terms at which they sell their securities.
Please be sure to carefully review the Risk Disclosures. The following section is excerpted from that lengthier document.
Some of the key risks to know before you invest in startups:
Crowdfunding investments are highly risky and speculative. You should do your own research and scrutinize all disclosed risk factors before making an investment decision. The following are some of the key risks applicable to Republic offerings:
Speculative. Investments in startups and early-stage ventures are speculative and these enterprises often fail. Unlike an investment in a mature business where there is a track record of revenue and income, the success of a startup or early-stage venture often relies on the development of a new product or service that may or may not find a market. You should be prepared to lose your entire investment.
Illiquidity. Your ability to resell your investment in the first year will be restricted with narrow exceptions. You may need to hold your investment for an indefinite period of time. Unlike investing in companies listed on a stock exchange where you can quickly and easily trade securities, you may have to locate an interested private buyer when you do seek to resell your crowdfunded investment.
No voting rights. A Crowd SAFE does not provide voting rights to its holder, unless and until the Crowd SAFE or the note is converted into an equity stake. If and when you receive voting shares in a company, your voting rights will likely be diluted when the company raises additional funds.
Cancellation restrictions. Once you make an investment in a crowdfunding offering, you can cancel the investment at any time and for any reason up to 48 hours before the offering deadline.
Valuation and capitalization. Unlike listed companies that are valued publicly through market-driven stock prices, the valuation of private companies, especially startups, is difficult. You risk overpaying for the equity stake you receive. The class of equity being sold via a crowdfunding offering may have fewer rights than other equity classes issued by a company.
Limited disclosure. The company must disclose information about itself, its business plan, the offering, and its anticipated use of proceeds, among other things. An early-stage company may be able to provide only limited information about its business plan and operations because it does not have fully developed operations or a long history to provide more disclosure. The company is also only obligated to file information regarding its business annually, including financial statements. Under certain circumstances the company may cease to publish annual reports and holders of the Crowd SAFE will have no information rights.
Investment in personnel. An early-stage investment is also an investment in the founding entrepreneur(s) and/or management of the company. Being able to execute on the business plan is often an important factor determining whether the business will be viable and successful. You should also be aware that a portion of your investment may fund the compensation of the company’s employees, including its management. You should carefully review any disclosure regarding the company’s use of proceeds.
Possibility of fraud. As with other investments, there is no guarantee that crowdfunding investments will be immune from fraud.
Lack of professional guidance. Many successful companies partially attribute their early success to the guidance of professional early-stage investors (e.g. angel investors and venture capital firms). These investors often negotiate for seats on the company’s board of directors and play an important role through their resources, contacts and experience in assisting early-stage companies in executing on their business plans. An early-stage company primarily financed through crowdfunding may not have the benefit of such professional investors.
Again, please be sure to review more extensive Risk Factors here.
The startups that raise on Republic set the terms at which they sell their securities.
You’ve probably heard the term “crowdfunding” before: perhaps in the context of a Kickstarter campaign or a GoFundMe page. It’s basically a financing model that collects small sums of money from a large number of people — i.e. the crowd — over the internet. Equity crowdfunding uses that same basic model, but it's appropriate for startups, rather than causes and creative projects, and in return the backer gets a percentage of ownership or a financial stake in the company.*
* – On Republic, they typically get the Crowd SAFE.
How is equity crowdfunding different from other types of crowdfunding?
There are essentially three kinds of crowdfunding: reward-based, donation-based and equity-based.
1 Reward-based crowdfunding Is when you contribute money and get a reward in return. This is mostly used for creative campaigns, and there are often varying levels of rewards, or perks, that correspond to pledge amounts. Think Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
2 Donation-based crowdfunding Is when you contribute money without expecting anything of value in return. This exists largely to fund charitable causes, like building a well in Kenya, or personal campaigns, like helping someone pay their medical bills. Think GoFundMe, YouCaring and CrowdRise.
3 Equity-based crowdfunding Is when you contribute money to help fund the growth of a company, and receive a slice of the financial pie in return (but you can get perks too). These campaigns tend to yield much larger funding amounts. Think AngelList, FundersClub and yours truly, Republic.
What is Title III and why is it a big deal?
Equity investing isn’t new, but in the past only “accredited investors,” or wealthy people who earn more than $200,000 a year or have a net worth of over $1 million, were allowed to take part. In theory, this was to protect the non-wealthy from bad decisions and financial ruin, but the flip side was that ordinary citizens were denied the opportunity to invest as they saw fit. For example, AngelList, the world's most popular online investing platform, only allows accredited investors to invest. That all changed in May 2016, when the SEC launched the new rules under the name “Title III” (full name Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, also called Regulation Crowdfunding or Reg CF for short). President Obama’s words after he signed the bipartisan act, designed to make it easier for small companies to fundraise:
“For the first time, ordinary Americans will be able to go online and invest in entrepreneurs that they believe in. — Barack Obama”
The rules stated that 1) entrepreneurs can now raise up to $1 million in a 12-month period from non-accredited investors, and 2) investors can invest a limited amount per 12-month period based on their income and net worth. It might sound a bit dry, but this is big. We're talking democratization-of-finance big. It means potentially opening up to the masses opportunities once reserved for the rich. It means a level playing field, where citizens interested in investing are no longer treated differently based on the amount of money that they have.
Why we’re excited
Because more investors mean more startups, and more startups means more social innovation and progress. This is what it looks like to fund the future. That’s why Republic is focused specifically on Title III equity crowdfunding. Read more about our mission here.
Why you should be excited
Well, we think you should be. To help you decide if startup investing is for you, see: how do I start investing in startups. Even if you’re not ready to invest right now, join Republic — we’re a community of tens of thousands of people interested in startups and investing.
The startups that raise on Republic set the terms at which they sell their securities.
What is the Crowd SAFE?
A Simple Agreement for Future Equity
A Crowd SAFE is an investment contract between investors and companies looking to raise capital.
Individuals make investments in exchange for the chance to earn a return—in the form of
equity in the company—if it’s acquired or has an IPO.
The Crowd SAFE was created by Republic
and is an equity crowdfunding-specific version of a SAFE,
a financial instrument widely used by angels and VCs investing in startups. It’s now used by
several industry players in various forms.
How does it work?
Investors using the Crowd SAFE get a financial stake in the company, but are not immediately
holders of stock. Investments are converted to equity if certain “trigger events” occur, such as
the company’s acquisition or IPO.
Risk note: trigger events are not guaranteed. Investors should see them only as possibilities.
How much can I earn?
Your return depends on your investment amount, the company’s exit valuation (how much the
company is worth if and when the trigger event happens), and the terms of the Crowd SAFE.
Helpful calculators demonstrate how different offering terms and company outcomes produce a range of returns on investments.
Risk note: If there is never an exit valuation you may never get a return on your investment.
Risk note: Calculators can't be used to project performance of one particular investment, but
can serve as an educational tool for those making investment decisions on our platform.
Terms of the Crowd SAFE
Each company can customize its Crowd SAFE, including or excluding certain provisions. Most
include a valuation cap and a discount. If the Crowd SAFE includes both a valuation cap and a
discount, the provision more favorable to the investor applies if there is ever a trigger event.
Valuation cap
The valuation cap specifies the maximum valuation at which the investment converts into
equity shares or cash. This means that investors, when a trigger event occurs, receive
equity shares or cash at the valuation cap price—no matter the valuation at which the
company sells. Therefore, the higher the valuation of the company at the time of sale, the
greater the investor’s return.
Discount
If a trigger event for the company occurs, the discount provision gives investors equity
shares (or equal value in cash) at a reduced price relative to what others pay at IPO or for
the company’s acquisition.
Risk note: If there is never an exit valuation you may never get a return on your investment. If no subsequent equity financing or trigger event occurs, the Crowd SAFE will not convert and produce no return for the investor, likely leading to a loss of invested principal.
