Show Me the Money

Yesterday I wrote an extensive post on my personal blog about some thoughts I’ve had about Venture Capital and Philanthropy. I wanted to expand some more on the implications of this for SweetClarity and I thought it would be more proper and effective to do it here.

I have (and I am practicing) trust & faith in this world we live in and create. I think it would be great if SweetClarity could be leveraged without external funding. It’s definitely possible if we get the right people on board. I think that the more progress we make independently the closer it will bring us to relevant funding. In my mind SweetClarity is NOT a non-profit organization - it is for profit. Profit is required to pay artists for their creative work and to sustain SweetClarity and the people who make it happen. I am convinced that SweetClarity will be financially rewarding for all involved. It will take time and perseverance to make this happen.

Yet, the financial status of SweetClarity disturbs me. I have dedicated the past two years of my life to art and the past year to SweetClarity. During these two years I have had some unsteady income from some consulting work I do. I keep this to a minimum because my heart is with SweetClarity and I prefer to invest my time in it. I have been living off savings from my previous hi-tech career. This scares me. I have taken measures to lower my personal burn-rate to give me as much time as possible.

Given my personal status and the fact that I want to get more people on board - I am naturally leaning towards raising money. As I put efforts into this (hence my thoughts on Venture Capital & Philanthropy) I can feel this tendncy beginning to change form. Despite my personal discomfort, I am beginning to feel that maybe it’s a good thing that we have not yet managed to raise any funding.

I don’t trust the overall market dynamics of Venture Capital. I recently approached the first and only VC fund based on (1) their investment in another company that I felt resonated well with SweetClarity and (2) because of the personal qualities of the directors of the fund. I thought I should give it a chance. I believe that people shape the world - that good VC people can therefore find a way to help us by properly interfacing SweetClarity with the dynamics of VC business.

As for philanthropy - I feel that SweetClarity will be best served with a philanthropic backing. It is as difficult to find as VC. There are many philanthropic financial sources but I have not yet found one that is capable of containing SweetClarity. Art is a low priority compared to helping the underprivileged (which is in high fashion). Those that do invest in art usually invest in familiar settings ranging from large investments in new museum wings through to supporting a specific art competition that is expected to have some local social impact. They are supporting and captivated by the classic art institutions and not really open to the innovative artistic challenge embodied in SweetClarity.

With VC I feel uncomfortable talking about equity because I feel that only financial qualities are valued while SweetClarity has much more to offer. With Philanthropy nothing would please me more then to give back much more then was given (or simply forwarding that money directly to other relevant investments) knowing that that money will be used to support other quality investments.