"Getting Funded in Today's Market" April 21, 2008

A seasoned veteran's guide to finding startup money in any market

There are venture capitalists, angel investors, private investors, hedge funds, banks, and wealthy individuals. It's easy to get overwhelmed by choices and to focus on the wrong sources. But the best way to begin is to start with those closest to you, your direct connections. Remember the saying "You are who you know?"
But before you go out and raise money, you have to decide first if you're ready to raise money. And second, figure out if there is any possible way to bootstrap the business. In a startup environment, money rarely solves all of your problems and often complicates it.
However you approach it, the first money that you raise for your business is referred to as seed capital. There are many ways to raise the seed capital to get started: personal savings, getting cheap loans with 0% APR credit cards, second mortgage on your house, angels and 3 Fs : family, friends and other fools who'd invest in your crazy idea. The term "fools" is used affectionately because seed capital is the riskiest money.
Startup money, whether it comes from you personally or other sources, is precious. Every penny needs to squeak as it slips through your fingers. With every dollar spent, your initial goal needs to be focused on getting the business to a point of viability; a point where your product or services are sold and the income is sufficient to keep the business afloat. Its far better to build a business without investor money, but in either case, having proved out your business model and proving that people are willing to pay money for whatever it is that you're selling puts you in a far better position to make decisions.
As you can see, finding money is complicated. No two situations are alike and answers are rarely simple. Join us we step through the decision process with someone who has been through it many times. Vic Ahmed is a seasoned expert at raising money and invites you to bring your most pressing questions.

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of DaVinciDeb.