Finding the right investor... Share your tips

[Blarian]

I'm really interested in tips and stories from those of you who have gone through the sometimes difficult process of acquiring capital for web related projects or domain names.

• Where do you start looking?

• What are the pros and cons of the various types of investors?

• What are the most important factors in deciding who to go with? What are reasonable financial "payback" guidelines?

• How many details should you be prepared to share with each investor, before and after signing NDA? Do you reveal your full hand, even after signing an NDA? Should you be worried about any investor that will not sign an NDA?

• What type of contract terms should you require/refuse?

• What are other important details or things that you need to know when looking for an investor?

Feel free to share your tips and stories!

 

[Biggie]

my main investor is .......my credit card

cost 12% interest

 

[Steen]

cost 12% interest

100k line?

Might be a bit difficult to acquire without good income, assets and/or history.

 

[Rarethings]

as far as payback goes- a "reasonable" investor is generally going to look for a minimum of 12 months rev. vs. a 40-60% share of profits.

 

[SouthernTn]

as far as payback goes- a "reasonable" investor is generally going to look for a minimum of 12 months rev. vs. a 40-60% share of profits.

heh, I got one who thinks hes suspose to triple his investment in 1 month.

 

[gmac17]

I've been through the process of raising money. As my lawyer told me early on in the process, "they'll find you when you are ready..."

ie - if you have a good business plan, if you are networked with the right people, if your lawyer is halfway decent you will probably already be in the same circles as your investors.

the hardest part is getting the first investor. After that the rest figure the first guy must have done his homework.

 

[Luc]

for long term projects i advise you to stay away from investors and go through the bank. investors, venture capitalists, etc, are like leeches. once they tag on you'll be the one sweating to make a dollar and they'll just be collecting...

bank. credit cards work too, especially those with the special no-interest financing. credit card checks are sometimes a good idea since they charge you a flat fee. Bank is probably your best bet if you have good credit.

 

[jdk]

You can usually take out a loan against your house like a second mortgage for large amounts of money.

 

[katherine]

As Biggie said Platinum can do wonder ;-)

I think the idea about networking with the right people is also important indeed.

 

[Rarethings]

"I've been through the process of raising money. As my lawyer told me early on in the process, "they'll find you when you are ready..."

ie - if you have a good business plan, if you are networked with the right people, if your lawyer is halfway decent you will probably already be in the same circles as your investors.

the hardest part is getting the first investor. After that the rest figure the first guy must have done his homework."


Well said.

 

[Steen]

I've been through the process of raising money. As my lawyer told me early on in the process, "they'll find you when you are ready..."

ie - if you have a good business plan, if you are networked with the right people, if your lawyer is halfway decent you will probably already be in the same circles as your investors.

the hardest part is getting the first investor. After that the rest figure the first guy must have done his homework.

You named after the bank, GMAC? arty: