1. Work with a small team of your classmates to brainstorm ideas for financing alternatives for Three Twins Ice Cream’s capital needs.
2. Refer to question 1. Rank the list of financing sources that you have developed in order of priority. Briefly explain the advantages and the disadvantages of each.
3. What tips can you offer Gottlieb before he approaches the sources of financing you have listed?
4. Assuming that you have the financial means to invest in a small company, would you invest in Three Twins Ice Cream? Explain. If so, what questions would you ask before investing?

Neil Gottlieb spent several years working in corporate finance at Gap and Levi’s, but his entrepreneurial aspirations finally lured him to start his own company. The Cornell University graduate was considering returning to graduate school but, remembering the delicious fresh orange sherbet his mother made in the family kitchen, he was inspired to start Three Twins Ice Cream in San Rafael, California. Having heard that the Business Planning Class at San Francisco’s Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center was known as “The Mini MBA Program,” Gottlieb enrolled and began developing the business plan for launching Three Twins Ice Cream, the name for which was inspired by his twin brother and sister-in-law, who also is a twin. Based on the research gathered for his business plan, Gottlieb was confident that a market existed for rich, premium ice cream made with all-natural, organic ingredients.