You Make the CallSituation 1
David Bernstein needs help financing his Lodi, New Jersey”based Access Direct Inc., a
six-year-old $3.5 million company. “We”re ready to get to the next level,” says
Bernstein. “But we”re not sure which way to go.” Access Direct spruces up and then
sells used computer equipment for corporations; it is looking for up to $2 million in
order to expand. “Venture capitalists, individual investors, or banks,” says Bernstein,
who owns the company with four partners, “we”ve thought about them all.”
Question 1 What is your impression of Bernstein’s perspective on raising capital to “get
to the next level”?
Question 2 What advice would you offer Bernstein as to both appropriate and
inappropriate sources of financing in his situation?
Efforts to exploit the competitive advantage of specialized products across international
markets may be more important to small businesses than to their large competitors.