coming up on muss nbc's "your business," this clothing company was one of the first to look for financial backing through equity crowd funding. find out how they did it and whether equity crowd fund will work for your small business. she's a five-time olympic maeldist, now find out about the entrepreneurial side to tennis great venus williams. that plus what you need to know to prevent your computer from being held hostage by ransomware criminals. that and a lot more, coming up next on "your business."

hi there, everyone. i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business." where we help your small business survive and grow. today we have a great new way some of you may be able to get funding. crowd funding has been around for a while, equity crowd funding is relatively new. when you raise money through platforms like kick start you

give funders rewards. like a product ar a t-shirt. with equity crowd funding you're actually selling a piece of your company. we headed to los angeles to the fashion company distilled as it made its equity crowd funding offer public. to take a closer look ho toe you how 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 equity crowdfunding campaign went live, offering their brand evangelists a chance to own part of the company. >> i'm so excited. >> distilled is the first fashion and accessories company to raise capital through crowdfunding. newly approved by the government.

>> we have been working on this for a long time. this is not a super simple process. >> it's not for the feint of heart. the direct to consumer, affordable fashion line is filled with seasonless wardrobe essentials with high quality denim at the core. ♪ what is distilled mean when it comes to your collection? >> we're distilling your closet into only the most essential pieces and only in black, white and denim. >> we need to reshape this. >> okay. >> we'll be good to go. >> okay. >> mark and corey funded their launch with help from family, friends and some smaller angels and venture funds. now, two years in, they needed an influx of capital to take the brand sales and marketing to the next level. >> what were the different options you looked at? >> there's always the option of go take the deal new york.

>> they both felt that equity crowdfunding was the way to go. they instinctively knew it could be a game changer. >> we decided to use regulation a-plus, a new crowdfunding act. >> it allows you to raise money from accredited investors, wealthy individuals that have more than a million dollars net worth or regular americans. >> two people fell into two camps on this, this is great or this is crazy. and so we're hoping it falls into the great category. >> before deciding to move forward with an offering, mark and corey could test the waters with the help of seed investment, their equity crowdfunding investment platform. after second out a series of e-mail blasts to tens of thousands of people announcing the campaign, they could see the amount of indicated interest from potential investors. >> we worked with our existing customer base. i mean, that was the group we wanted to activate in this. >> once they decided to proceed

and determine the percentage of the company they wanted to sell, it was a long and in-depth process to get approved. >> you need to focus on your marketing campaign, legal documentation. need to prepare a video. >> we're focused on making high-end essentials built to last. >> you have to give the back story to make people realize why this is a profound shift in how companies can raise capital. >> before distilled's fund-raising campaign launch, potential investors showed an indicated interest that was nearly three times the $6 million they were looking for. but it's easy for people to express interest. the real test comes when the site goes live. so far, distilled has raised nearly $900,000. >> from the minute your offering went live -- >> right mpl in the first 12 hours, how many times did you check to see how many people invested? >> hundreds if not thousands. it's a full-time gig. >> equity crowdfunding became

legal this may. while this new option for fund-raising appeals to many, it's not for everyone. >> if you're not prepared to sell your company like you sell your product, this is not for you. this is not a process for shrinking violets. this is something you have to be prepared to be out there, marketing this on a full-time basis. >> some key things to consider first. >> number one, how big is your social network? if you're going to be using your social network to raise money, you want to make sure it's large enough to do that. >> what else do you need to ask yourself? >> do i have to the time to do this? crowdfunding is not an easy way, it's a new way to do a difficult thing. the third tip is understand the most important phase, it's the prework campaign, preparing for battle. it's really getting your game plan together or how you're going to raise this money. and then executing your plan. >> through thur equity crowdfunding, mark and corey are building a tribe of engaged and passionate consumers that are

more than just customers. >> i thought it was unique and special to be involved with the first brand that's venturing into this area of investment. hopefully one day they get big, i can say i was a part of that. it's really special. >> i don't think you could get better brand investors than loyal customers that own a piece of the brand. ♪ venus williams rack up a silver medal in rio, making her only the second tennis player in history to ever win five olympic medals. the court isn't the only place she's the boss. she's the head of v-star interiors and her own athleticware line, eleven by venus. we sat down at her headquarters in jupiter, florida, to find out how she balances her time between her successful athletic career and her companies and while she'll never settle for anything less than her best. ♪ >> i wake up in the morning

excited about tennis and what i can achieve. it's the same thing for v-starr and eleven. >> one of my first designs, i had to drawn it out and everything. i was trying to make sure that it was me and then i showed it to serenserena. she's like do you like it? she's like, what do i mean, i love it. we know each other so well. we're always so honest with each other. it's nice to have constructive criticism. the sport teaches you so much without you knowing it. that's the best part, it's the best teacher. it gets you ready for life if you allow it to. for business, what it's taught me, of course, there's nothing around hard work. also i've been able to apply lessons of preparation and planning and goal setting and even team building, because even though tennis is an individual sport, you have a team, you have your coach, your physical trainers and you sometimes play doubles. for me, i know that i'm involved. that's important because that's

what has set the tone for our business and what's made it so special and made us successful is me being involved with our team and our team being involved with me. so it's a two-way street. that works for us. and it's not necessarily top priority that people know but it's nice if they know. entrepreneurship is an adventure, definitely a choose your own adventure. i get my strength and courage and encouragement from having a challenge. i like to conquer things. i like to know it didn't conquer me. it's about creating a culture and giving people not only work that's meaningful but a purpose. we have a culture of honesty and transparency and that's important. not only with each other but also with our clients. i have a lot of fun in my life. i work very hard. i don't think people see that side of me. on the court i'm kind of not so emotional. i'm very, you know, i don't know what you call it.

poker face maybe. that is nothing like what i am off the court. it's very opposite. i'm just a jokester. i think in the office they get to see a little bit more of that. reputation is so important. it's everything you have. it's everything that every person has is their reputation. you don't have that, what do you have? >> i've always want my businesses to transcend anything that i did on the court and to represent something outside of that and to go much longer than what my tennis game ever will, even though i've been playing for a lot of time, i like to think the businesses will be around longer than i ever spent on the court. desi starr and eleven are my matches. i probably never played a perfect match in my eyes. i think it will be the same for eleven and v-starr. i will try to do better every single day.

when you do that, the sky's the limit. >> stories about malware and n ransomware attacks. at its most basic, it's a type of malware designed to hijack a computer system by encrypting a computer's contents or blocking access of data until a sum of money is paid. it can be devastating. how do you avoid getting into a situation like this in the first place? dan hubbard is a product chief technical officer at cisco. he's been a pioneering force in internet security for more than 20 years. it's so good to see you, dan. i'm so glad we're talking about this. >> thank you very much for having us. >> 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. >> yes. absolutely. there's really three things we

relevant. the first one is the number one way that typically people get insected is through e-mail. protect your e-mail, your e-mail servers and make sure that doesn't come through your e-mail systems. you need to protect your users on any device at any time. people typically work from coffee shops, at work or, of course, from home. lastly, you so well pointed out, you have to back up your data. it doesn't matter if your data is on a laptop or on your central server, it has to be backed up. >> got it. if you back up your data, is it not a problem? let's just say i'm a small business, using some cloud service to back up my data or i have some other internal system, i get this ransomware message on my computer, i just say, i'm ignoring that. what do i do? i have all my data somewhere else. i restored the operating system, get a new computer, what would i do? >> because your files are

inaccessible, you have to rebuild your computer, essentially, re-install the operating system and restore your files from the cloud backup service. >> if i backed up my data, basically i'm fine, right? it might be scary in the moment, it might be a pain to restore everything but i do not have to worry that everything is falling apart, the sky is faing? >> absolutely. you've got to make sure you're backing up your data frequently. you don't wk of work or heaven forbid a month of work. do that in realtime or at a minimum, once per day. >> you have to make sure all of your data is backed up. some systems have you check off what you want backed up. some of them don't automat, for instance, back up your e-mail. >> yes. for sure. all your data is really important to you in your business. >> you also talk about improving your network hygiene. what do you mean by that? >> as a small business owner, make sure your network is safe from these types of attacks and you can protect yourself with a fire wall, a best practice, or, of course, with a cloud service

which allows you to do this and do this without the burdensome of management and overhead. >> integrate defenses. what do you mean by that? >> integrated defenses is about taking multiple products, but actually having them integrated in a way that makes them more effective than having two, three or four disparate products. we highly recommend that for businesses. >> explain that a little bit more. are you talking about anti-virus software? what do you mean here? >> yes. taking let's say your e-mail, your end point and your cloud services and getting them all from one solution really takes away the management overhead of having to manage one, two, three, maybe even four different products. >> got it. got it. then it's easier then to protect them, back them up, restore them, et cetera? >> yes. >> i want to ask you one last question before you leave. i have seen -- we know about

ransomware. i've also seen people get a message basically saying it's a blue screen or green screen saying there's something wrong with your files. you have to call this number immediately. and it seems, first to me like ransom ware, but then they click it off and it eventually disappears. what's that? >> yes, yes. this is a type of social engineering where the attackers are attempting to trick you that something is wrong with your computer. there's actually nothing wrong with your computer. but they're tricking you to make it look like there is. they ask you to phone a number or they actually ask you to send an e-mail or go to a website. when you go there, they attempt to ask you to pay to fix that problem. and the actual problem doesn't even exist. so you should just ignore that message, close the browser, close that window and move on. >> got it. because i've seen this happen where people are afraid, suddenly they are being attacked and going to be asked for ransom. and so if that happens, keep trying to close it. if it closes, you're good?

>> yes. >> thank you so much. this is so incredibly important and to your point, point one, two and three are back up your data and you will be okay. >> yes. thank you very much. we've preached this many times on this program. your brand is everything. and if customers have an issue with its authenticity, they'll be heading over to the competition. there are five tips from entrepreneur.com to improve your brand's credibility. one, third party award. displaying accolades will boost confidence in your company and the services you offer. two, customer review. customers want to see what others are saying about your services before they take the plunge themselves. so have a good roundup of klein the testimonials on your website. three, post video content in order to give people the opportunity to see and hear you.

this can help garner more trust in your brand than stock photos and text cams. four, display certified trust seals on your site so clients know you're taking all measures to protect their transactions and information. five, communicate your brand's personality. make sure the tone, message and format can base the company's character accurately and in an engaging way. after their frustrations with shaving, they realized they could change the process for themselves and men everywhere. the business plan was simple, cut the middleman and create a razor that's above the rest. it will soon be available in target stores. keir simmons has their story. >> reporter: sometimes inspiration is staring back at you in the mirror. >> i'm andy.

>> i'm jeff. we founded harry's. >> reporter: a dream so powerful, you can't let it go. >> we were talking to people incessantly about razors. we were pulling our friends together at parties to have focus groups. >> getting advice at the parties. >> reporter: andy and jeff wanted to give men the best shave ever. their company, harry's was born, equal part internet startup and old world craftsmanship. >> one of our values is to look left to find right. >> reporter: look left to find right. >> yes. >> reporter: what does that mean? >> we shouldn't just take the status quo for granted. >> reporter: like the every day shave. i need a shave. can anyone help around here? >> this is our neighborhood. we live here, office is here. >> reporter: down the block, their very own barber shop. ♪ dedicated to the art of shaving,

where you walk out feeling leak a million bucks. actually make this a billion. jeff has one success under his belt. he founded a company that's transformed the eyeglass industry and is worth over a billion dollars. doing the same with harry's ain't easy. jeff and andy don't like talking about whether they're there yet. >> how close are you now to being a unicorn company? >> i think -- >> you hate that question, don't you? >>. >> no. we don't think about valuation as a goal. >> has there ever been a moment where you have felt like i just can't keep doing this? >> there's certainly been moments that have tried my patience and ability to keep going. what's the alternative? i think the way jeff and i are both wired is, like, just figure out a way. >> reporter: they met as college interns, becoming friends. they always wanted to start a company together. but they never imagined it would

lead them thousands of miles from new york to germany where they've been making razors for 100 years. >> in the whole manufacturing process, really the secret sauce is the blade itself and the blade edge. >> reporter: they were so impressed they bought the factory. itself a challenge. they don't speak german. it took a year of tough 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. >> reporter: these two young business school buddies are now employing 500 german workers. >> they're grinding the edge of the blade. >> reporter: their factory making harry's razors, shipped to the u.s., sold online and delivered to your door step. back in new york, the two reflecting on their journey so far.

>> i find it inspiring. >> me, too. >> what are your three tips? >> you have to have a level of drive to push through those moments where things go bleak. you have to manage both the highs and the lows. i think it's surrounding yourself with really talented people. particularly people that are better at whatever it is they do than you are. you just have to love your idea and what you're doing. you just have to be so deeply passionate about it that all you can do is think about it and want to work on it. >> reporter: andy's next challenge? later this year, his wife will have their first child. >> my wife tells me all the time, you have no idea what we're getting into. when we come back, should you get funding for your business if you're afraid of debt? plus, you're 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 n job, or fill a big order or eand your office and take on whatever comes nt. find outow american express cards and servic can help prepare you for growth at open.com how does somebody who is 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 really wants to voluntarily sink into debt with a lot of

uncertainty in your future? that is what entrepreneurship is and i always say there is no chance at having great reward if you don't take on great risk. and so i think the best tip that i can give for someone who is risk adverse and debt adverse in that way is to find, you know, where you're going to have your contingency plan and to know at what point you need to have a stop gap. because at least you can mitigate, perhaps, some of the risk in that way. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help your small business grow. let's introduce our panel and get advice. chris palma is the president and general manager of ncr small business he previously funded and sold five companies. and cnbc contributor carol roth is entrepreneur, investor, speaker and author. good to see both of you. >> thank you. >> you too, j.j. >> let's start with you, chris. >> okay. >> one tip you think our

audience can use for their business? >> absolutely. i think probably first is embracing technology so you can get 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 sales, end of day sales but also the products that are generating the greatest margin for you throughout the day. if you've got more than one business, you need to know this across your businesses. i would say leveraging technology across your business. >> easy to say. for somebody who doesn't do this, where do they begin to figure out what sort of technology they should be using. >> often times you'll go to google and do searches or yahoo! and start doing some searches. reading up within your field of business, technology that can make the difference for your business but as a small entrepreneur, the best thing you can do is arm yourself with information about technology that's available to grow your business. >> got it.

>> it will help you compete with the big guys. >> carol, you're up. >> so sometimes entrepreneurship can feel very lonely. but help is not a four letter word. there are so many people out there who want to help entrepreneurs. the small business owners sometimes don't know how to ask for help. my tip is, first of all, you have to be very clear on what you want. too many entrepreneurs say i would love help and are vague or maybe they give seven areas that they need help. pick one very specific thing. i want to get an introduction to technology ceos who make decisions about products that i make. something really specific so people can have top of mind. once you have been very specific about it, make it easy for them. far too many people make the ones who are trying to help them jump through hoops. if you're asking for an introduction, go ahead and write an introduction, send it to the person who you want to make that introduction 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. i think that's really helpful. the last thing is give them enough time. i cannot tell you how many people i know, even very influential people, small business owners who should know better who have asked for help in a time crunch, because they've done a very poor job of managing their own time. if you want somebody else to help you, make sure to give them enough time so that they can get it done and a little bonus, always say thank you and be grateful at the end. >> thank you both so much for your advice. both very helpful. >> thank you, j.j. some of the best advice to get comes from our small business viewers. here's some of their latest suggestions for online tools and apps that can make running your business more efficient and profitable. >> one podcast i would recommend, it's called startup.

it's basically a journey of two individuals starting a tech company and there's a lot of tips and just, you know, stories along the way that will help small businesses grow. you can really learn from it and i do recommend it. >> i also like to use trip it for all my travels, business or pleasure. you book everything through your own e-mail. it pulls everything out of the e-mail and loads on to this app. miraculously you have your whole itinerary. >> since we started business we've been use iing smart sheet. you can fill it in in any order on any type of device, iphone, ipad. it's useful because your sales force can get connected on realtime and upload their orders to a central data base that can prepare the orders to get ready for shipment.

so one of the tools i use that is really helpful is google alert. there's a lot of research and a lot of stories that are done and presented about maple and the industry and sustainability and climate change. i get a lot of that information through google alert. i get a full feed of information on a constant base i which provides me with a lot of information for my blogs. i run two blogs for tom wood maple. it's invaluable to get that information coming in. this week, your biz selfie comes from tracy. she owns 360 vintage designs in virgeachinia b virginia. she sells gently used clothing for women and men. 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 yourbusiness@msnbc.com to we can feature it here on the show or

tweet it with the hash tag your biz selfie. if you have questions or comments, send an e-mail to "your business" at msnbc.com. also go to openforum.com/yourbusiness. we posted the segments from today's show plus a whole lot more. don't forget to connect with us on all of our digital and social media platforms as well. we look forward to seeing you next week. until then, i'm jj ramberg. remember, we make your business our business. brought to you by american express open. visit openforum.com for ideas to help you grow your business. d tr 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. nd out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. august fridays are supposed to be dull. it's supposed to be the sort of thing where you can leave a little early from work and nobody notices because there's nothing really going on. this is an august friday that has not been dull. we have changed the list of things that are supposed to be on our show tonight about 17 times over the course of today, because new news kept breaking, that kept displacing other smaller stories. it's been a weird, intense, and surprising day. in the presidential campaign, we woke up to news that the ceo of the trump campaign, from breitbart news, we woke up to news today that trump campaign chief steve bannon has an arrest record for domestic violence