>> good morning. welcome to "your business" find out if crowd funding will work for your business. and she is a five-time olympic gold medallist. that plus what you need to know to prevent your computer data from being held hostage. that and a lot more coming up next on "your business".

>> hi there everyone. welcome to "your business" where we help your business survive and grow. today we have a great new way some of you may be able to get funding. owd funding has been around for a while and equity kround funding is new. when you raise money through

platforms like kick start you give funders rewards. with equity you're actually selling a piece of your company. we headed to distilled as they made the crowd funding public. we'll show you huh this all works. it's 11:00 a.m. on june 27th and distilled, an l.a. based fashion line is about to make history. >> hold on. >> three, two -- >> at that exact moment distilled distil distilled equity offer add chance to own part of the company. distilled is the first company raising capital through equity

crowd funding newly approve bid the government. >> we have been working on this for a long time. it is not a super simple process. >> friends since childhood they started distilled in 2014. the affordable fashion line is filled with seasonless wardrobe essential with high quality denim at the core. what is distilled? >> we are distilling your closet in only the black, white and den denim. >> help from family, friends and smaller adventure funds. two years in they needed to take the sales and marketing to the next level. >> what were the different options you looked at? there is also the option of take it to the valley or new york.

>> it was the only way to go. they instinctively knew it could be a game changing. >> we decided to use regulation a plus. >> it allows you to raise money from both accredited investors who have more than a million dollars or from regular americans. >> people fell into two caps on this. this is great or this is crazy. and so we are hoping it fall sboos the great category. >> mark and corey could test the waters. their investment platform. after sending out a series of e-mail blasts announcing the campaign they could see day mount of indicated sfwres potential investors. >> we worked with our customer

base. >> once they decided to proceed and determined the percentage of the company they wanted to sell it was a long and in-depth proce process. >> you'll need to have a video. >> high-end essentials to make it last. >> it is such a profound shift in how companies can raise. >> they showed an interest that was nearly three times the $6 million they were looking for. it is easy for people to express interest. the raem test goes when the site goes live. so far they have raised nearly $900,000. in the first 12 hours how many times did you check to see how many people invested? >> hundreds if not thousands of times.

>> with the financial regulations set. while this new option appeals to many it's not for everyone. >> if you're not prea paired to sell your company like you sell your product it is not for you. >> let's just do it. >> it is something you have to be out there and really marketing this. >> some key things to remember first. >> number one, how big is your social network? if you're using a social network you want to make sure it is enough. >> what else? >> i need to make sure i have enough time to do this. the third is understand that the most important phase, it's preparg for battle. getting your game plan together and executing your plan. >> through the crowd funding mark and corey are building engaged and passionate consumers

who are more tharn just customers. >> i thought it was unique to be involved with the first brand venturing into this investment and one day i can say i was part of that. it is really special. >> i don't think you can get loyal customers that now own a piece of the brand. venus williams racked up a silver medal making it the only in history to win five olympic medals. she is the head of v-star interiors and 11 by venus. we sat down with this small business star to find out how she ball lans her time and why she'll never settle for less than her best. >> i wake up in the morning and

what i can achieve. it is the same thing for v-star. you know, i had drawn it out and everything. it was trying to make sure it was me. i was like do you like it? after that i got a lot more c confident. it is nice to have constructive criticism. sport teaches you so much. it gets you ready for life if you allow it to. for business, what it taught me, of course there's nothing around hard work. vib able to apply lessons of preparation and lessons and goal setting and even team building. you do have a team. you have your coach and your physical trainers and some times play doubles. for me, i know that i'm involved

and that's important because that's what's set the tone for our business and made us successful is me being involved with our team and their team being involved with me. it works for us. it's not necessarily top priority that people know but it's nice if they know. it is an adventure. i give my strength and encouragement. i like to conquer things. it is about creating a culture and giving people not only work that's meaningful. it is honesty and transparency with each other and also our clients. i have a lot of none my life. i work very hard. on the court i am kind of not so emotional and i'm very, you

know -- i don't know what you call it, poker face maybe, but that is nothing like what i am off the court. i am just a jokester. in the office you get to see more of that. i think it is better than that. >> i always wanted my businesses to transcend anything i did on the court to represent something outside of that and to go much longer than what my tennis game will. just as in tennis, every day i have tried to get better and win every match probably never played a perfect match in my yies. i think i will always try to be better with it every single day. when you do that the sky is the

limit. stories about malware. people need to understand their employees need to be targets. at the most bake basic it is designed to hijack a computer system by blocking access to data until a sum of money is paid. it can be devastatdevastating. how do you avoid getting in a situation like this in the first place? he has been a pioneering force for more than 20 years it is so good to see you. i'm so glad we are talking about this. nobody wants this to happen to them. let's talk about what to do to protect yourself so that this doesn't happen to you. backing up your data is number one. >> yeah, absolutely tlchlt is

really three things we recommend. the first one is the number one way is through e-mail. you have got to protect your e-mail and e-mail servers and make sure it doesn't come through. you need to protect your users on any device at any time. people typically work from coffee shops, at work abdomen from home. as you so well pointed out, you have to back up your data. it has to be. >> if you back up your data, is it not a problem? if i have some other internal system i get this ransom ware information and what do i do? i just restore the operating system? get a new computer? >> yeah. because all of your files are

inacce inaccessible you have to reinstall is operating system and restore all of your file frs that cloud back up service. >> so if i backed up may data it is fine, right? it might be scary and a pain to restore everything but i don't have to worry about the sky is falling? >> absolutely. you have to make sure you're backing up your data frequently. you don't want to lose a week of work or a month of work. >> and you have to make sure all of your data is backed up. some systems have you check off what you want backed up. some don't for instance back up your e-mail. >> for sure. yeah. all of your data is really important to you and your business. >> and you also talk about improving your network hygiene, what do you mean by that? >> you to make sure your network is safe. you can protect yourself with a

fire wall or a cloud service which allows you to do this. >> and integrate defenses. what do you mean by that? >> it is about taking multiple products but actually have them innovated in a way that has them more effective than two, three or four products. looking at a solution is something we highly recommend for high businesses. >> can you explain that a little more? what do you mean here? >> yeah, taking let's say your e-mail, end point and cloud services and getting them from one vendor really takes away the management of one, two, three or four products. >> got it. then it's easy tore protect them, back them up, restore, etcetera? >> yep. >> we know about ransom ware by

i have seen people getting a message saying there is something wrong with your files. you to call this number immediately. sit a blue or green screen. it seems like ransom ware and they click it off and it eventually disappears. >> yeah, the attackers are attempting to trick you. there is actually nothing wrong but they are tricking you. they ask you to phone a number or send an e-mail or go to to a web site. when grow there they ask you to pay to fix that problem. you should ignore that message, close the browser and move on. >> and i have seen people are afraid suddenly they will be asked for ransom. if it closes you're good?

>> yes. >> all right. thank you so much. this is so incredibly important and to your point, you know, back up your data and you'll be okay. >> yes. thank you very much. we have preached this many times on this program. your brand is everything. if customers have an issue with us a then tis authenticity here are five times to improve your brand's credibility. one, third-party awards. two, customer reviews. customers want to see what others are saying about your services before they take the plunge themselves. have a good round up on your web site. three, post video content in order to give people the opportunity to see and hear you. this is help garner.

display certified trust sales on your your site and five, communicate your brand personality. make sure the tone, message and format can gaze the company's rack rattly and engaging way. after their own frustrations they realized they could change the experience for themselves and ever where. create a razor that is a cut above the rest. we have their story. >> some times inspiration is starring back at you gnat, a dream so powerful you can't let it go!

>> andy and i were pulling our friends together at parties to have focus groups. >> getting you invited to parties? >> yes. >> they wanted to give men their best shave ever. it is an old world -- >> it is to look left and find right? >> what does that mean? >> we shouldn't take the status quo for granted. >> i need a shave. can anyone help us? >> we live here. our office is here. >> and around the block their very own barbershop. it is dedicated to the art of shaving, where you'll walk out feeling like a million bucks,

actually make that a billion. he has one success under their house. it transformed the eyeglass industry and a unicorn in the business of start-ups. they don't like talking about whether they are there yet. >> how close are you now to being a unicorn? >> i think -- >> you hate that question don't you? >> no. we don't think about evaluation as a goal. >> has there ever been a moment where you feel like you can't keep doing this? >> there have certainly been moments to test my patience and keep going. what's the alternative? i think the way jeff and i are both wired is roommates. >> they always wanted to start a company together but they never imagined it would lead them thousand of miles from new york to germany where they have been

making razors for years. >> they were so impressed >> it took a year for tough they gauc negotiations. >> you're two guys in your 30s. you buy for $100 million a factory in germany. you walk in day one and you think -- >> we thought oh boy, this is going to be a lot but we fundamentally believed in our vision to go do this. >> these two young business school buddies are now employing 500 german workers. >> actually grinding the edge of the blade. >> their factory making harrys razors, shipped to the u.s. and delivered to your doorstep. back in new york they reflexed on their journey so far. >> i find it inspiring.

>> me too. >> you have to have a level of drive to push through those moments where things, you have to manage the highs and the lows. >> you have to surround yourself with talented people. whatever people are that you are. >> you have to be so passionate about it that all you can do is just think about it and want to work on it. >> his next challenge is this year he's going to have his first child. >> my wife says you have no idea. >> when we he come back, should you get funding for your business if you're afraid of debt? plus our viewers favorite tools and apps to help your small business. will your business be ready when growth presents itself?

american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. >> how does somebody that's debt adverse take that step and really get the financing that's necessary to move my business forward. >> you know, i think that a lot of us are debt adverse. who wants to voluntarily sink into debt with a lot of uncertainty in your future but that's what entrepreneurship is

and there's no chance at having great reward if you don take on great risk so, you know, i think the best tip that i can give for someone risk averse and debt adverse in that way is to find where you'll have your contingency plan and to know when you're going to have a stop gap because at least you can mitigate the risk in that way. >> we now have the top two tips you need to know to help your small business grow. let's spro deuce our panel and get their advice. he previously founded and sold five companies and cnbc contributor is an entrepreneur, investor, speaker and author. good to see you. >> you too. >> chris let's start with you. one tip to grow their business.

>> first it's embracing technology so that you can get the most out of your business in terms of not just analytics that you're using in your back office to determine top sales, end of day sales, but also the products that are generating the greatest margin for you throughout the dayful more than one business you need to know this across your businesses. >> easy to say but for somebody that doesn't do this where do they begin to figure out what kind of technology to use. >> often times you'll go to google and start doing searches or yahoo! and start doing searches. reading up on within your field of business, technology that can make the difference for your business but the best thing that douk is arm yourself with information about technology that's available to grow your business. it will help you compete with the big guys. >> carol, you're up.

>> so sometimes entrepreneurship can feel lonely but help is not a four letter word and there's so many people out there that want to help but i think that small business owners don't know how to ask for help so my tip is first of all you have to be very clear on what you juan. too many say i would love hel and they're vague or give 7 areas where they need help. pick one very specific thing. i want to get an introduction to technology ceos that make decisions about products i make. something specific so people can have that top of mind. once you have been very specific about it you want to make it easy for them. far too many people make the ones trying to help them jump through hoops. if you're asking for an introduction write an introduction and send it to the person and say listen you can go ahead and change the language to

make it suit yourself but i wanted to make this as easy as possible for you. and give them enough time. i cannot tell you how many people i know, even very influential people and small business owners that know better and have asked for help in a time crunch because they have done a poor job of managing their own time. if you want somebody else to help you make sure to give them enough time to get it done and then a little bonus always say thank you and be grateful at the end. >> thank you for your advice. both very helpful. >> thank you. >> some of the pest advice comes from small business viewers. here's suggestions that can make running your business more efficient and more profitable. >> one podcast is called start up and it's basically a journey of two individuals that are starting a tech company and there's a lot of tips and

stories that will help small businesses grow and you can learn from it and i do recommend it. >> i also like to use trip it for all of my travels, either business or pleasure. you look everything through your own, through your e-mail. miraculously you have your whole itinerary. >> since we started business we have been using smart sheet which is a data base where you can just pick up any po, any order and it's very useful because all of your sales force can get connected on real time and upload their orders and to a central data base that can prepare the orders to get ready for shipment. >> one of the tools that i use

that is really helpful is google alerts. there's a lot of research and stories that are done and presented about maple and the industry and sustainability and climate change and i get that through google alert so i get information on a constant basis which provides me with a lot of information for my blogs. and it's invaluable to get all of that information coming in. >> this week's your biz selfie comes from tracy that owns 360 business designers in virginia beach virginia. she sells gently used clothing and accessories for women and men. thank you for sending the picture in. now for the rest of you, pick up your cell phone and take a selfie of you and your business and send it to us at your business@msnbc.com or tweet it to@msnbc your biz with the #your biz selfie. thank you for joining us today.

if you have questions or comments just send us an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. also you can go to our website, open forum.com/your business. we have posted all of the segments from today's show plus a lot more and don't forget to connect with us on our digital and social media platforms as well. we look forward to seeing you next week. until then, we make your business our business. will your business be ready when growth presents itself? our new cocktail bitters were doing well, but after one tradeshow, we took off. all i could think about was our deadlines racing towards us. a loan would take too long. we needed money, now. my amex card helped me buy the ingredients to fill the orders.

opportunities don't wait around, so you have to be ready for them. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. >> after donald trump's latest campaign shake up. is it too little too late? >> sometimes in the heat of debate you continue choose the right words. believe it or not, i regret it. >> a top trump advisor weighs in. >> also an alternative to hillary clinton? one-on-one with green party candidate jill stein and is this city the next flint? shocking environmental injustice in indiana with generations of children at risk. >> two of the children have tested positive for lead in their blood. >> it's not fair. we should have been