The Love for the Chiefs, the Love for the City!

Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl bound! The Chiefs won the AFC Championship by beating the Buffalo Bills on January 26th. They will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles during Superbowl LIX. This is a historic matchup as Super Bowl LIX marks the second time in three years the Chiefs and the Eagles face each other. It is safe to say that Kansas City (and its surrounding areas) are proud of the Chiefs!

This past holiday season, the Chiefs and Kansas City reached a whole new level – being the stars of a Hallmark Christmas movie. There were multiple cameos, many locations throughout Kansas City, and the spirit of Chiefsmas all wrapped into an hour-and-a-half movie. Kansas City has been booming with pride. The city is welcoming visitors at record levels as Visit KC (the region’s primary destination sales and marketing organization) deploys its “From the Heart” campaign to engage and drive more than 28 million visitors.

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

When the vast majority of people hear the word “entrepreneur” they think of a person that had an idea and set off to build a company from scratch. Building something from nothing is daunting to many people and the fear of failure and the unknown represent a large barrier that prevents many would be entrepreneurs from taking the leap into owning their own businesses. One option for those would be entrepreneurs that are a bit more risk adverse is to take the route of entrepreneurship through acquisition. Entrepreneurship through acquisition is, in its simplest form, just buying a business that is already operating.

Lessons from FARMCON: Kevin Van Trump’s Wisdom on Investing in Startups

Last week, I had the privilege of attending FARMCON in Kansas City, MO. Hosted by Kevin Van Trump, FARMCON brings together some of the sharpest minds in agriculture for a few days of networking, learning, and inspiration. For those unfamiliar, FARMCON isn’t your typical conference—it’s half market overview, half start-up incubator and designed to push boundaries and equip agricultural entrepreneurs with tools to thrive in an industry that’s as challenging as it is rewarding.

Kevin Van Trump, who is the man behind The Van Trump Report, is a well-known name that is synonymous with innovation and insight in the ag sector. Kevin started from the bottom of the commodities world in Chicago and built his reputation by not only understanding market trends but by helping others navigate them. Through his report, read in over 35 countries, and his consulting firm, Farm Direction, Kevin has become a trusted voice for farmers, investors, and executives alike. Kevin has an overarching passion for rural America—a passion that shines brightly at FARMCON.

While FARMCON covers a range of topics, Kevin ran a panel that offered insights on investing in startups, and his comments stood out as particularly impactful. His decades of experience investing in ag-tech startups and other ventures have taught him hard-earned lessons, many of which he shared during the conference. Here are my top five takeaways:

Another CTA Update: Anybody Getting Whiplash Yet…?

The injunction from required reporting detailed in this post of December 4, which was then lifted as mentioned in this subsequent post on December 24, and as detailed in this client alert, was put back in place as described in this post from last Friday! If that’s not enough to give an entrepreneur with a small business whiplash, I’m not sure what is.

The current bottom line is that no filings are currently required under the CTA while the injunction is in place. Reportedly, the next court hearing on this matter has been scheduled for late March, so maybe enough time to get out of the neck brace…

Hot Off the Press: CTA Reinstated by Fifth Circuit Court

The injunction in my prior post on this topic has been lifted and BOIR reports are officially required again, with a slightly extended deadline. 

Read our official client alert for more details. 

Happy Holidays!

The Regulation Burden and Small Businesses

Ever since the passage of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in 2021, business attorneys (and, hopefully, small business owners) have been analyzing, preparing for, complaining about, and deciphering the CTA and the required beneficial ownership reports required by it. Recently, several events have increased the emphasis on the CTA, including the fast-approaching original deadline of January 1, 2025 for companies formed prior to 2024, and the decision by a Federal Court in Texas to grant a nationwide preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the CTA. After having spent a year in the CTA trenches, I’ve seen first-hand how burdensome it can be for business owners to satisfy, and it piqued my curiosity as to the cost of complying with regulations as a small business owner in the United States.

The regulation burden in the United States – while having its merit for protecting individuals and consumers – is staggering. I recently reviewed a study conducted for the National Association of Manufacturers entitled “The Cost of Federal Regulation to the U.S. Economy, Manufacturing and Small Business.” In this study, the National Association of Manufacturers found that the cost of federal regulations to the U.S. economy totaled $3.079 trillion dollars (yes, trillion with a “T”) in 2022, with an average annual compliance cost to a U.S. firm of $277,000 dollars. For small manufacturers (as defined in the study), the cost was about $50,100 per employee to comply with these regulations.

Farewell

My first blog post, as co-editor of entreVIEW, appeared on March 18, 2011. This post is number 90. It is also my last as I’ve decided to put down my entreVIEW pen.

Over the last thirteen years, my posts mainly have been about books, with maybe a film or article thrown in for good measure. I’ve endeavored to highlight certain themes that reflect on entrepreneurial ideas and views, especially where such messages aren’t abundantly clear from the book’s topic. (My reading list has indeed been eclectic.) Looking over what I have written, I also see that, whether consciously or not, the posts allowed me to reflect on my own personal experiences over the last 42 years of practicing law, and even from earlier phases of my life.

Maybe this is the reason I’ve enjoyed writing these posts. I’m not sure anyone has read them (other than my tolerant co-editor, Dan Tenenbaum). I hope that someone out there, after skimming one or two, has been inspired to pick up a book out of curiosity, or perhaps as a palate cleanser during a feast of financial reports and profit and loss statements.

And so I bid farewell. It’s been a good run.