Using a throwaway account, since we are semi well known. We are a mature, cash flow positive and bootstrapped company that is sitting on a business checking account with $280k in it. $100k is earmarked for 2015 taxes with a known due date. The rest is just general operating funds, about 3 months of run. What should we be doing with this cash that we can't necessarily spend, but don't want to have sit idle making no money for us? Are there any good options that beat the measly < 1% rate a CD would get?
Additional details: I am mostly interested in hearing about financial instruments. We do have a murky path to fueling more growth with some strategic hires (a designer might go a long way), but my founder and I are trying to ramp up our team, and our ability to manage that team, in a controlled and smart fashion. Meaning there is obvious gains to be had with an additional web dev and a designer, but it feels like we are 6 months out from having the right culture/structure/management skills to use them effectively. We went from 5 to 8 full time employees this year, so adding more is a bit risky feeling.
Keep it in cash & cash equivalents. Here is a great write-up on companies that looked at higher yield options:
<a href="http://www.feld.com/archives/2015/04/cash-policies-startups.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.feld.com/archives/2015/04/cash-policies-startups....</a>
Tripling your rate of return from 1% to 3% is only an extra $3600 a year. I suspect the same amount of effort applied to your core business would yield a better return on your time and mental energy.