

The Insider's Guide To Finance
Cory Cleveland
The Insider’s Guide To Finance brings you stories from the front lines of financing public and private companies.
We host seasoned CEO's, fund managers, bankers, brokers and business experts who answer your questions about how to properly finance opportunities and build outstanding success stories.
We dig into the educational ‘how to’s' and mechanics of structuring good deals. You’ll also hear about strokes of luck, tense negotiations, the pressures of closing, as well as how to best engage investors and navigate the private and public markets.
We host seasoned CEO's, fund managers, bankers, brokers and business experts who answer your questions about how to properly finance opportunities and build outstanding success stories.
We dig into the educational ‘how to’s' and mechanics of structuring good deals. You’ll also hear about strokes of luck, tense negotiations, the pressures of closing, as well as how to best engage investors and navigate the private and public markets.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 8, 2020 • 54min
Capital Markets: Does your team have what it takes? w. Andrew Osis
When companies go public, and even before, they need to have a solid understanding of the capital markets. However, in Canada, there is a critical shortage of these skills in publicly-traded companies, which play a determining role in success. As a capital markets professional, Andrew Osis, co-CEO of Magnetic North Acquisitions Corp, has connected his corporate finance career to company building.From analyst roles to investment banking positions, Andrew has evaluated countless deals, managed capital, and been through billions of dollars of transactions. He shares insights from his 25-year plus capital markets career along with what Magnetic North does. They find companies with strong products or services which have management weaknesses, take control, and lend their expertise to turn things around.With his extensive experience in the capital markets, Andrew has seen that the biggest piece of success for a company is ultimately its people.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

Jun 5, 2020 • 27min
Behind the mic with host, Cory Cleveland
We're celebrating episode 50!It was suggested to do an episode where someone interviews me so I reached out to my good friend Mark Raffan, host of a #1 rated podcast, "The Negotiation Ninja". In this episode, we reflect on 50 episodes, lessons from our guests and talk about what lights me up with the how-to properly finance deals and engage investors.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

May 29, 2020 • 41min
Can ESG create capital gains?
ESG is becoming a strategic advantage. Ebel Kemeling is the Managing Director of ESG and Responsible Investing at MJ Hudson. Ebel advises fund managers and companies on how to establish, execute and measure long-term Environmental, Social and Governance programs - or ESG.The amount of capital now seeking sustainable growth through sustainable investments is staggering and that means ESG has grown beyond just being a thematic niche for some private equity managers. As we discuss, having an ESG program in your company can become a very valuable long-term advantage for not only attracting capital but also attracting top talent, de-risking the business and also doing better for the planet.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

May 21, 2020 • 37min
Risks and Rewards of Going Public w. Richard Carleton
What are the benefits of going public? And most importantly, what are the risks versus the rewards of making such a decision? Richard Carleton is the CEO of the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), which plays a material role in supporting early-stage companies and their access to the capital they need for executing their business plans. Richard and the CSE are making a point of living their slogan of being ‘the exchange for entrepreneurs’. Richard tells us that one of the CSE’s goals is to lower the cost of capital for companies when compared against other capital sources, like private equity or venture capital. Overall, Richard’s one rule for standing out is to communicate, communicate, communicate! Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

May 12, 2020 • 38min
$750 million GONE! w. Oren Klaff
Oren Klaff is the best-selling author of Pitch Anything and Flip the Script, and a successful entrepreneur and financier. Oren has raised hundreds of millions for companies and has strong opinions on how to do it correctly.Oren's approach to capital raising will make you throw out everything you thought you knew about selling you and your business. He sheds light on why your sales, marketing, or even relationship-building skills aren't your strongest tools. In fact, they may even hinder your ability to fundraise. His thinking around raising capital for big ideas is a paradigm shift. When you go into a pitch meeting, you need to know your audience while also demonstrating that you don't need them.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

May 6, 2020 • 36min
Chicken S#!t CEOs w. Mogens Smed
Mogens Smed has been referred to as “the most fireable CEO”. In fact, he is an outstanding success that caries this as a badge of honor. He has achieved great success, building himself, his teams, and his companies up from a very painful bankruptcy almost 40 years ago. He has built two multi-hundred-million dollar public companies and he is on the way with a third – Falk Built.In this interview, you are going to hear from an entrepreneur and leader that has paid a heavy price for staying true to his vision and values. Mogens doesn’t waver in his convictions and that has lead some to say he is polarizing. He speaks with such conviction about what it really means to be a CEO and he has the experience to do it.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

May 2, 2020 • 40min
Raising a $100,000,000 Series B. with Jason VandeBoom - Ep. 45
Jason VandeBoom has bucked the Silicon Valley trend of raising money wildly and living to "fail fast". Jason is the founder and CEO of ActiveCampaign. He recently raised a $100,000,000 Series B financing for his company, but unlike so many software entrepreneurs, he has been building his same business for over 15 years.In this episode, Jason shares with us why he chose a measured approach to grow ActiveCampaign. For him, valuation figures do not correlate with validation.Instead, the customer experience is his North Star, so much so that he still reads customer reviews to keep his finger on the pulse of the company. Jason and his service-minded approach to business is truly inspiring. We loved having him on the show. Be sure to tune in.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

Apr 24, 2020 • 34min
Raising Capital for Big Ideas w. Daniel Eberhard
Dan Eberhard is the CEO of KOHO, a fintech company that focuses on democratizing the best financial products for Canadians, This is his third successful startup. His first was a decentralized wind energy company that he sold after reaching $70 million in assets!Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

Apr 18, 2020 • 43min
Canada's Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon
Bruce Croxon is a serial entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, whose passion lies in supporting Canadian entrepreneurs. As the Managing Partner of Round 13 Capital, he manages over $325 million spread over three funds.In this episode, Bruce sheds light on these funds and the different strategies the company employs. He talks about the difference between the venture and growth funds along with the varying levels of support Round 13 provides to companies at various stages. We also take a look at why the Canadian venture capital market is becoming increasingly attractive for US firms.Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf

Apr 8, 2020 • 43min
Content Marketing and Capital Raising in Real Estate w. Ellie Perlman
Content marketing and capital raising in real estate are rarely discussed in detail.So, today we speak with Ellie Perlman about the ins and outs of financing real estate investment ideas. Her approach is that her success for herself and her investors is partly due to her taking the conservative route.She compares the current economic crisis with the recession of 2008, helps listeners to recognize the opportunities in the market, and provides guidelines around reasonable fees to charge as a sponsor. We discuss how her former experience as a commercial real estate lawyer has served her and shares her views on what listeners should be doing now during this economically volatile period.Tuning in to this episode, listeners will hear how Ellie and her partners make money with real estate, the type of properties and locations they focus on, how often they close a deal, and how content marketing is helping them to gain exposure. Check out some of our most popular episodes:Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xCLeadership Lessons from Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, and Now, EVCP Growth Equity: https://bit.ly/3LN5GugCanada’s Best Venture Partner w. Bruce Croxon: https://bit.ly/3ppCAt9Stay in the know and follow along:Subscribe to the podcast:iTunes - https://apple.co/43d7C6ZSpotify - https://spoti.fi/43d7SmrConnect with our host, Cory Cleveland on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Lti42oVisit The Insider’s Guide to Finance Website: https://bit.ly/3ANacUrSign up for our free 5-part master class Investor Marketing 2.0: https://bit.ly/42C0FLWFollow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/42grK7wSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/411XXxUSubscribe to The Knowledge Bank Letter - a periodic letter of actionable insights, interviews, and quality curations: https://bit.ly/3pgdAVf