Angel Investor and Venture Capital discussion forum

I love getting pitches that start with: You probably hear this all the time, but I REALLY have the best business ever! Here is one where the math really works! Just brilliant.

FundingPosts Perfect Venture Conference V will be in NYC on Nov 12, 2009. We will have 20 early-stage Tech companies and over 40 VCs and Angel Investors!

Our next Sedona, AZ Venture Capital and Angel Investor event will be on Thursday, December 4, 2009.

Our next Dallas, TX Venture Capital and Angel Investor event will be on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Our next early-stage VC and Angel event in NYC is on May 13, 2009 from 2-6pm!

Our next California Venture Capital and Angel Investor event will be on Thursday, March 5, 2009.

Meet 26+ VC Funds and Angel Groups at the FundingPost VC Showcase. Its a Reverse Venture Fair Cocktail Party on Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 from 6-9pm.

Participating Funds: Stonehenge Growth Capital, Tri-State Private Investors, Global Media Fund, Genacast Ventures, Chart Venture Partners, Innovation Ventures, ETF Venture Funds, Originate Ventures, Edison Venture Fund, Rudyard Partners, Connecticut Innovations, DFJ Gotham Ventures, The Verticom Group, NYC Investment Fund, WFD Ventures, Milestone Venture Partners, Intel Capital, New York Angels, Golden Seeds, OmniCapital Group, Argentum Group, iNovia Capital, First Round Capital, Jumpstart NJ Angel Network & Greenhill SAVP and Connecticut Angel Guild

Whats the most important thing that an Investor is looking for today?

The big question I am hearing every day is How is this Wall Street Fiasco affecting Early-Stage VC and Angel Investing? Has the money dried up? Will Venture Funds and Angel Investors still consider my deal? How has this changed their strategy?

We recently interviewed 4 early-stage VCs and Angel Investors, who will be speaking at our November 3 and 4 conference in NYC.

This may sound as absurd to you as it does to me. While searching for angel investors, a company contacted me (several in fact, but one was a real company with real people) and offered to fund my start up to full production due to the type of mfg as long as it's all USA made. (My plan anyhow). Funds are incredible and the employees and business check out with my lawyer. They want the min fee of 100K up front that is refundable in 6 months with funding draw #1. These people check out and as I have been raising the 100K plus attny fees and living expenses for 6 mos. a few people questioned this. They too are running due dilligence and I hate to even think this is a scam. It checks out and the state they are from says they are legit.. my lawyer says they are legit... Research shows connections of these people to all the right groups, but I know scams can run deep. Gut instict said to listen to them, second instinct is in awe.. and finally I am double checking myself. A wealthy potential provider of these initial funds is also doing due dillidence. This is a big deal and a life altering invention that will change the USA and mankind. How often does this kind of thing take place on the up and up?

In response to the FundingPost email for the event on June 5, 2008: The event will focus on best practices in raising capital.... how they determine your valuation.

This one caught my attention... you never let a VC tell you how to determine your valuation. Lol. It's like letting you home buyer tell you how much you should sell the house for!!

I notice the tone of this e-mail focuses on Entrepreneur sucking up to VC. I am an entrepreneur and the way I see it is, it's a privilege for VCs to invest in my company that i bust my chops to make it happen (and not the other way around).

VC and company's are partners in a single mission. Funding post should position it such a way. It's very immature to have entrepreneur who are the having to suck up to VCs. It doesn't have to be that way. It should be a place of gathering for two people with common goal to meet.

What is Angel Capital? How can I get a list of Angel Capital groups?

I have a friend who is writing an article and needs an Entrepreneur who is under 40 yrs old, and whose companies date back to 1999 or so, who now has $5M in revenue or more, who did some creative things to slog through the downturn until things improved. Any industry, don't care about where they're at with fundraising.

Also looking for anyone who is still in business, any age, who's got a '91 recession survival story and grew into a big success, and they're still with the business

Not Really a Question, just a note from me that we InvestorQuestions made the Alltop.com list of valuable resources of Venture Capital RSS Feeds and websites. Its big news making the news!! So this entry is my way of standing behind the reporter and yelling "him mom!"

What are some good strategic ways i can come up with exit strategies for my angel investors. The industry is advertising and the business is car wraps. The future of advertising. (Mobile Billboards.)

Will angel investors look into the personal credit history of the person trying to get the funding for their venture?

I have a california based software company and Im looking to raise my first round of Venture Capital - It seems like I am going to get a low valuation. How can I get investors to give me a better valuation so I give away less of the company?

I am interested in knowing how to place a value or dollar amount for shares as it relates to a startup? For instance if a company needs $500k how do they utilize their shares to raise it?

I would like to raise capital to buy houses to rehab. Who do you recommend?

I have established a high technology startup company in South Africa. Our first project is assembling, marketing and selling branded desktop PCs and notebooks. Our business require start-up amount of $ 3 million to design , develop and pilot out product. Is there an angel investor out there willing to invest in our project?

I'm in California and I'm looking for Angel Investors for my business. I know that there are a lot of rich software execs out here, but I don't know much about angel investing, how it works, how to meet them and what to say. any advice?

i have been in restaurants for a long time and i have a passion for cooking and a very good concept for a new restaurant at lest i think so. the problem is money. my question is how do i go about finding an investor.

What I love, is when an entrepreneur has a term sheet, or is up and running and profitable and then the investors come begging!! But when an entrepreneur really needs the cash to survive and grow the business they are no where to be found!

Whats the best way to follow up with investors?

What does it mean to finance different stages: Angel, Seed, 1st round, 2nd round, later stage?

I am opening a sporting goods store and need $40K to proceed. I am meeting with a venture capitalist in appx two weeks to present my business plan. I have an existing business that is profitable but I have never dealt with a venture capitalist before. Can you give me a general idea of how venture capitalists expect to be repaid, what kind of interest and term they expect, and what kind collateral considering the amount of funds I am seeking?

I would like to find a few investors for my Bar/restaurant, but I don't want to offer a percentage of interest in the business. How should I proceed and How do I pay off these investors?

I have a small pet shop that is presently a sole proprietorship. Would I have to incorporate to raise venture capital?

I am starting a company with a partner and we need to raise capital for a prototype, as well as later capital for production and marketing. We are at the final draft phase of our patent for a brand new product that is necessary for the new technology world. I have attended Angels Investor meetings and have noticed that most people will not invest in companies that have had no sales and have not made profits, however we still need money to create a first prototype.

I would like to raise capital to activate account in London, I have about $59 million to work with once accounts activated. Once I deposit the fee the account will be active and I will be able to use the $59M to grown my business. How can I raise the $100K needed to activate the account?

I need about $1,000,000 to build a factory in Japan. Do I need to give away shares of my firm to get a business loan from angel investor? Can I just give away a percentage of the future profit?

What risks do I run choosing venture capital to start up my business?

I'm raising money for my company - we are telling investors that we are raising anywhere from $100,000 - $10,000,000 to give them a choice. We can do a lot with $100k and a lot more with $10M. Its a great business - we will make a lot of money, but I'm not getting the investors interested.

I have a great company- it's going to be huge once I get some capital. Whenever I pitch to investors, they are never interested? What am I doing wrong?

I met an investor at one of your events 2 months ago - he seemed really interested in my company and told me he would follow up but I never heard from him. Any advice on what I did wrong?

What kind of returns are Venture Capitalists looking for?

I have a properly structured PPM. How do I locate investors or find broker dealers to market my offering?

I have a lawn and garden product with trademarks and many patents pending which I filled out last August. I have completed all the testing and I'm ready to manufacture. Before I start selling on TV, which is my background, and a few years later go to retail--should I look for Angel Investors after creating a LLC or before? Also what percent is the average ownership with this type of investor, and is it forever?

I need to get about $500,000 for my business to manufacture my product - I dont have that much money. How would I go about raising it?

Will I be able to find funding even if my business plan shows zero all thru its financial statement since I don't have any existing revenue? How do I write with such statement?

How is valuation determined for a startup?

What is Factoring?

I have an idea that I want to develop it into a product. At this stage, I am not sure if I can receive financial support from VC or not. My idea will have a great future, but how can a convince a VC and get capital? Thank you in advance.

What you should expect in a term sheet? What should be in your business plan & executive summary? What kinds of customer and revenue requirements investors require? What kinds of technology would work for me? Which kind of capital to raise, and, of course, should you be raising Venture or Angel Capital or using some other sort of financing options like factoring?

I am beginning a software company in the San Francisco Bay area. Are there any special groups or investors that specialize in software industries?

With the high potential that my newly developed seed company has to grow into a multi-billion dollar corporation, starting from the ground up already possessing an outlook worth $20M how can we attract and obtain a substantial capital enough to ensure the support of our company's growth and exposure? We are not looking for ventures more like investors willing to take on a directorial position. How can we show investors that we are sitting on a gold mine idea that will create substantial returns within 6 months of operation? We are willing to work with partners as we have room for two board members willing to invest. We have pitched and have marketed our business plan, but to no avail. It seems as if private investors are becoming more likely than searching for partners or ventures. Please explain how we can attract investors to at least hear what we are pursuing and how it would be in an investors best interest to invest in our company because of our high probability rate of success. We have no competition and no one has ever attempted what we are offering.

How do you go about raising capital?

How does a small minority business access and utilize venture capital?

I have a pressure washing company for 16+ years (I go to trucking companies and washed there fleets of trucks). I want to build an automated truck wash (it's a proven method of washing trucks) and have my business plan and site ready to go but lack the start up capital of $1.8 Million. I am looking for an investor to help me get off the ground. My traffic study show that I should have them paid back in 3 years or less. What should I expect from an investor? I am 36 years young and need some advice on this issue...

Does an Angle Investor look for existing businesses only, or do they look for start-up businesses that have not been created?

What is the normal fee to use a broker to obtain VC funding?

What you should expect in a term sheet? What should you watch out for and be sure to include in a contract?

What does a typical VC arrangement look like? I know that is a vague question, but for example, if a VC company invests say $1,000,000 in a tech company, how does the VC company get a return? Is it a percentage, payments, or a combination of both? Is there an industry standard percentage or does it vary wildly? I am trying to understand if this is the best way for a company like mine to go. Thank you for your advice.

How long should my executive summary be?

How do I actually meet investors?

I don't run a large corporation - its a small business, but Im looking to grow. Are the Investors going to expect me to act like a fortune 500 executive?

I need to raise $600,000 in seed capital to build my web based prototype, but even though its technology, Im finding it hard to find an investor. Any advice on this?

Questions about Venture Capital and Angel Investing: