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Presenting Your Case to Investors is Rarely Free
Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Feb 15 2012)
If you are new to the startup space and Angel investing, you probably don’t realize that some groups of Angel investors charge entrepreneurs a fee to pitch to their groups. This practice has caused a rousing debate among key players, with some calling it a scam, and others defending it as necessary to cover expenses. Jason Calacanis, a well-known entrepreneur and Angel investor, opened the debate a while back in a strongly-worded article on his blog which attacked the practice on ethical grounds
Comment Mentions: Jason Calacanis Marty Zwilling
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10 Ways to Get Investors to Listen to Your Business Pitch
Explore Business & Small Business (Feb 14 2012)
If there's one thing I've learned from a couple decades of talking to small-business owners, it's that entrepreneurs are always excited about their business. But translating that enthusiasm into a pitch that makes investors plunk down their money is a whole different ballgame. Appealing to investors is a skill unto itself, but it can be learned. Here are ten tips on how to craft your investor pitch: 1. Keep it short. You should be able to quickly describe what your company does and why it's inno
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The Startup Clock Starts When You Incorporate
Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Feb 14 2012)
The official start date for your startup is the date you incorporate the business. This is obviously important for tax purposes, but may also dramatically influence how potential investors, customers, and competitors look at you. My rule of thumb expectation is that it should take two months to set up the legal entity, six months to finalize the business plan, and by the end of the first year have a prototype product ready for customers. At this point every potential investor will listen. Timeli
Comment Mentions: Marty Zwilling
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5 Tips to Fund Your Business
Explore Small Business University (Feb 12 2012)
Small businesses have proven to be the spine of any economy. According to the report published by Small Business Administration, for more than a decade, 64% of the new jobs have been generated by small businesses. In the year 2011, Startup America was launched by the government to boost the growth of small businesses. Though there’s expert advice available to start your venture, funding is still an issue with many small business owners. When the economy is just recovering from a downturn, it is
Comment Mentions: Small Business Administration
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Entrepreneurs Due Diligence on Investors Is Smart
Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Feb 11 2012)
Due diligence should always be a two-way street. A while back, I published an article on “Startup Due Diligence Is Not a Mysterious Black Art,” describing what investors do to validate your startup before they invest. Here is the inverse, sometimes called reverse due diligence, describing what you should do to validate your investor before signing up for an equity partnership. I’ve had startup founders tell me that it’s only about the color of the money, but I disagree. Particularly if you are d
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Companies that would do best without venture capital
Explore danshapiro.com (Feb 7 2012)
I run a small taxi company outside of Boston Massachusetts. My community has been targeted for casino development and I am looking to expand my business. Could you possibly provide some advice on how to find venture capital? For someone who lives in the startup world, this looks pretty silly. But I’m sure I’d say a lot of silly things if I were getting in to the taxi business, too. So I figured I’d point him to a simple explanation of why taxi companies (actually, services companies in general)
Comment Mentions: Google Dan Shapiro
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Beyond Money, What Do Young Startup Founders Want?
Just as investors invest in startups, startup founders make investments in their investors. From both sides of the table, profitability and long-term value are shared objectives: investors want to make investments that yield high ROIwhile entrepreneurs want to build products and business models that mature into game-changing companies, buyouts and IPOs. Especially for Gen-Y entrepreneurs, the startup scene is a "buyer's market" where the chances of finding funding and ultimately succeeding are s
Comment Mentions: San Francisco Washington Los Angeles
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Most Investors Bite Only at Specific Startup Stages
View all 2 articles » Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Feb 5 2012)
If you are looking for an outside investor, you need to know how they see you. Different types of investors look for startups at different levels of maturity. If your startup is at the wrong stage for the investor you are approaching, fishing for money is a waste of time for both of you. For instance, if your company is only a few weeks old and you have zero customers and your product offering is still in design, don’t expect someone to hand over $10 million to fund your efforts. It wouldn’t wor
How to find angel investors for your startup - chicagobusiness.com
Comment Mentions: Marty Zwilling
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3 Things Investors Should Never Be
If you are like me, you may be tempted to think like this:
Often we say "there's just no time" or "I don't have enough time" when presented with the opportunity to go to a networking event, or sit on a panel, or talk to a group of entrepreneurs. Schedules are full, that's why we have them. But just as it is important for entrepreneurs, it is incredibly important for investors to stay connected.
But often staying connected pays off when you least expect it.
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10 Things Every Startup Founder (And Employee) Should Know
Explore Business Insider (Jan 31 2012)
1/11 Congrats! You have an idea. BUT....Don't join an incubator so you can find a technical co-founder. If you can't find someone to code, learn. All it takes is some logic. Try Codecademy or Udacity. So now you need money to fund your idea. Try angel investors first. They are usually entrepreneurs who have sold their businesses and can mentor new startup guys. If they want to give you money, you get a check right away. Unless they have
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Has Your Business Failed (and You Just Won't Admit It)?
Every small business struggles. Struggle is what you signed up for when you became an entrepreneur. (I'd say we're still struggling at Sageworks, and we've made the Inc. 500 twice.) Even the most successful business builders have all gone through moments when they wondered whether they should call it quits and try something differe
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How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast
Explore How to Change the World (Jan 27 2012)
This is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there a
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Keep Term Sheets Simple for Quicker Cash to Spend
View all 2 articles » Explore Startup Professionals Musings (Jan 27 2012)
Remember a term sheet agreement is not a deal until the check clears. Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an Angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. But due diligence and paperwork take time, and can change everything. It’s true that Angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. However, there is no set pattern of terms an entrepreneur might
Five Top Tips for Soliciting Accredited Investors - Fox Small Business Center
Comment Mentions: Marty Zwilling Brian Hill Dee Powers
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7 Tips on How to Raise Startup Capital
Explore shopify.com (Jan 25 2012)
Raising startup capital ain't easy. In fact, many entrepreneurs who decide to fundraise say it's the most intimidating and challenging aspect of starting a business. To help you get started, here are seven quick tips on how to raise startup capital: 1. Plan Everything Out Once you decide to raise money, your first step is to make a plan. It's really important that you clearly outline your plans and goals in your business plan. Bplans.com is a great resource to help you get started. They have a m
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Five tips for juggling eels (a.k.a. raising money for a startup business)
Explore The Silicon Cape Initiative (Jan 19 2012)
Mobiflock makes smartphones and tablets safe for children, individuals and businesses, by providing services to monitor and manage mobile devices, secure private information, manage mobile workforces, and protect devices from viruses and malware. GigaOM named the company one of the 10 most promising mobile startups in 2011, and they were recently awarded first place in the first South African This Week In Startups pitch contest, hosted by well-known investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis. In
Comment Mentions: Jason Calacanis South Africa
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