Brian Parks of Bigfoot Capital on Early Stage Debt

I have a firm believe that early stage credit is going to be a feature not a bug in the next 18-24 months for growth stage companies. Valuation multiples are getting compressed and companies are going to need additional runway to get them to their next financing rounds or to profitability. I had a good talk with an expert on the topic - Brian Parks of Bigfoot Capital. You can listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Today, David is speaking with Brian Parks. Brian is the Founder and CEO of Bigfoot Capital. Prior to starting Bigfoot, Brian was on the executive team at P2Binvestor, a working capital-focused marketplace lender. Brian was the Founder and CEO of Brandfolder, an enterprise SaaS digital asset management company (acquired), General Manager at Galvanize, one of the first co-working and coding Bootcamp companies (acquired), and employee #1 at Next Great Place, an online travel distribution company (shut down). Brian began his career in commercial lending at First Tennessee Bank (2 years) and moved into lower-middle market M&A advisory investment banking at The Cypress Group and Green Manning & Bunch (5 years). Brian holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Southern Methodist University and is a CFA Charterholder.

What You’ll Learn:

• What is Venture Debt

• Banked vs Fund Credit

• Path from Investment banking to Operator to Growth-Oriented Loans

• Understanding When is the Time for a Founder to Step Down as CEO 

• Difficulties of Being an Emerging Manager

Favorite Quote:

“You cannot heck track record, It takes time”