Private Equity Investing in Direct Selling

"No one should invest so much as a dollar in a direct sales business without reading Private Equity Investing in Direct Selling. Brett Blake exposes this mysterious industry to clear-headed analysis that allows for better diligence and higher investment returns." - Best Selling Author Devin Thorpe"Author Brett Blake does a masterful job explaining in easy-to-understand language, what direct selling is-and more importantly, what it's not. Although this book is aimed at the financial community, I see it being a go-to resource within our own industry, the media, as well as anyone looking to understand the channel's unique nuances."Todd Eliason, Publisher & Editor in Chief, Direct Selling NewsWhether you are considering an investment, joining a company as a new board member, or a corporate executive, or you are an owner considering a transaction, Private Equity Investing in Direct Selling will help you make wiser decisions and improve your returns. Too many investors have needlessly lost money in direct selling because they did not understand how to identify a pretender from a contender. Too many founders have taken money but didn't know how to leverage the expertise and relationship of their investors. Brett Blake decided to write this book to help investors make smart investments and to be more valuable partners to their portfolio companies. "I've seen one too many bad deals, and I hope this book will prevent them from happening in the future," said Blake.Blake said, "My goal in writing this book is simple: I want to make sure investors benefit from the cash-rich economics of a channel that is evolving into mainstream social selling. As more investors see improved returns, more capital will be available to fund the dreams of direct selling founders and the millions of homegrown business owners that sell in this channel."Direct Selling companies need more capital, but even more, they need the help of smart investors and savvy executives from outside the industry to help close the gap between current practices and those that will help it scale into the mainstream of public acceptance."Brett Blake leveraged his relationships to perform front-line research for this book. He interviewed dozens of direct selling CEOs and investors and captured their experiences and best thinking in this book. He also documented more than 125 deals, summarized due diligence questions every investor should ask, and created a comprehensive list of the KPIs that the most successful direct sellers use to measure the health of their business. The documentation alone in this book would cost companies thousands of dollars in consulting fees to learn.