Episode 422: Alternative Ways to Fund a Business with George Dubec
When George Dubec and his wife sold the largest singles network in South Florida in the early nineties, the buyer was another matchmaking firm looking to expand into events. What they were actually paying for was the database. "They couldn't replicate me and my wife as the face of the business," George says. Nearly forty years later, that lesson still drives how he advises business owners.
George Dubec is considered one of the top business and social networking experts in the United States. He began his career as an engineer, rising to executive staff at Packard Electric, a division of General Motors, before moving to Florida in 1985 to build companies of his own. He has hosted radio and TV programs including the Internet Business Hour, has judged the Web Awards since 2006, and now serves on the advisory board of America's Real Deal, a business investment television show.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
How business owners can access capital outside the standard fundraising path, including tax credits, tax refunds, and legal settlements that already belong to them. Why a customer database may be the most saleable asset a company owns. How fractional deals, crowdfunding platforms, and crypto-based sweeteners are reshaping who can invest and who can raise. And why a two to five minute pitch video now opens more investor doors than a polished deck.
GEORGE'S JOURNEY:
George grew up in Boardman, Ohio, in a town he compares to Happy Days, where he saw the first television set in the neighborhood and the phones were still party lines. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college, attending Youngstown State University. He spent roughly eighteen years at General Motors as an engineer before buying his job out and relocating to South Florida in 1985.
With his wife he built the largest singles network in South Florida, running it from 1985 until about 1992, before online dating existed. After selling, he moved into the early web with a company called Webstream, hosting sites, then building them, then adding search engine optimization. He launched the Internet Business Hour radio show in 1998 and ran it for about twelve years. He technically retired from the company in 2010 and shifted into alternative funding work with business owners.
KEY INSIGHTS:
Data is the asset owners undervalue. The buyer of George's first company wanted the list, not the events. He now maintains a database of forty thousand clean email addresses and tells owners to build one, because it can generate revenue long before an exit and may be what a buyer is actually purchasing at the exit.
There is money most owners never look for. George describes himself as an alternative funder, helping business owners recover capital through tax reimbursements, tax credits, tax refunds, and legal settlements. As he puts it, going out with a pitch deck and asking for money is really tough, and most owners stop at the one channel they already know.
Widened access comes with a vetting problem. Alternative investments were once closed to all but the wealthy. Opening them up has real benefits, but George is candid that many of these platforms have two or three years of history and no track record to evaluate. "It's kind of like the wild frontier. It's like digging for gold."
The pitch video is the new front door. Investors are buried in decks and one-pagers they do not have time to read. George recommends a two to five minute video of you and your principals as the thing that earns the deck a read. What investors are assessing in those minutes is whether the person pitching has the attitude, moxie, and experience to make it work.
Freedom requires a system. Asked what freedom means to him, George argued that eleven superstars who each do their own thing will never win a football game. "You gotta find a system that suits you, that you can be free in the system."
Perfect for business owners who have been told that bootstrapping and venture capital are the only two real options for funding growth.
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FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/georgedubec
FOR MORE ON GEORGE DUBEC:
https://theultimatenetworker.com
https://techunfilteredagi.com
https://www.americasrealdeal.com
FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/
Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.
Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!
Episode Highlights with Timestamps
[02:17] Growing up in a no-tech Ohio town and seeing the neighborhood's first television set
[06:36] Eighteen years at General Motors, buying his job out, and starting the largest singles network in South Florida
[09:07] Selling the business and why the buyer was really after the database
[13:43] Crypto coins as an investor sweetener, fractional deals, and other funding paths outside the usual channels
[25:00] The four ways companies get funded on America's Real Deal, from sharks to a private stock exchange
[26:23] Why a two to five minute pitch video matters more than the deck
[44:27] Freedom inside a system and the football team analogy
Guest Bio
George Dubec is a business and social networking expert based in South Florida. After roughly eighteen years as an engineer at Packard Electric, a division of General Motors, he moved to Florida in 1985 and co-founded the largest singles network in South Florida with his wife, operating it until the early nineties. He then entered the early web industry with Webstream, working in hosting, web development, and search engine optimization, and launched the Internet Business Hour radio show in 1998, which he hosted for about twelve years. He has judged the Web Awards since 2006. Today he works with business owners on alternative funding sources, serves on the advisory board of the business investment show America's Real Deal, and hosts a new podcast called Tech Unfiltered. He is writing a book titled How to Thrive and Survive in the New High-Tech AI World.
Related Episodes
Episode 350 with Tom Dillon covers when not to take venture capital money and walks through alternative funding sources including private credit, SBA loans, term loans, and sale-leasebacks. It pairs directly with George's argument that most owners default to one channel and stop.
Episode 370 with Gerry Hays examines democratizing access to early-stage investing through very small stakes, which speaks to the same tension George raises between widening access and protecting less experienced investors.
Episode 351 is a solocast where Corey explores deal structures beyond mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising, including joint ventures, strategic alliances, and licensing agreements. A useful companion for owners looking to grow without a traditional raise.
Keywords/Tags
alternative business funding, tax credits for business owners, tax refunds, legal settlements, pitch video for investors, America's Real Deal, crowdfunding, Start Engine, WeFunder, fractional investing, private stock exchange, accredited investors, customer database value, business exit, authority marketing, personal branding, podcasting for business, AI agents, networking, deal-driven growth, DealQuest Podcast, Corey Kupfer, George Dubec
