How to Find Reliable Venture Capital Partners through a Placement Agent
Posted on Thursday, July 14th, 2011 at 1:13 am.
One of the decisions a company must consider while fund raising from potential venture capital partners is to look for a good standing placement agent. This is in order for a company not to spend too much of its own time seeking for seed capital, mezzanine capital, or growth capital funding for startups or various business expansions. A company can be better served using a placement agent that has a strong network of seed capital, venture capital and growth capital connections, allowing the company to focus more on their core competencies and other management issues rather than spending so much time seeking for investment partners.
Placement agent acts as an intermediary in the world of fundraising. Agents are sometimes individuals but more often a firm who assist entrepreneurs, private equity groups, or institutional investors who are willing and capable of investing. Their main function is to help connect those who are seeking to raise venture capital, and other various investors who are interested in investing capital into companies who are looking to raise funds.
It is a very challenging task for a placement agent to connect entrepreneurs with venture capital partners. Companies located along Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley who can raise venture capital, growth equity, or mezzanine debt with reasonable ease will obviously not consider using an agent. But for companies located outside Silicon Valley in areas with less developed venture capital markets, an agent is a very reasonable option.
As companies search for venture capital partners or equity investors, it is important to seek out the partners who will offer favorable terms. Placement agents generally have legal backgrounds with representation from top Silicon Valley law firms and provide valuable legal counseling. Agents work to seek investors who have strong value propositions along with their financial investment through their experiences, expertise, and network of contacts.
GrowConnect offers a range of private placement services to entrepreneurs as well as private equity groups. With a vast network of equity investors and high caliber legal representation GrowConnect will work to raise capital for your offering.
Citrix Startup Accelerator Challenge
Posted on Monday, July 11th, 2011 at 11:03 pm.
Entrepreneur Challenge
by Nathan Jorgensen
This is a really interesting competition for those of you who have tech start-ups seeking seed capital funding.
www.citrixstartupaccelerator.com
The Citrix Startup Accelerator Global Challenge is a focused program for discovering entrepreneurs internationally for direct investment. We are looking for the best and brightest new businesses doing cutting-edge work in software technology, especially in the areas of mobile + cloud computing.
Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital Investors
Posted on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at 5:35 am.
Venture capital is not an easy game. Not all venture capitalists have been successful investing in start ups in different fields such as infrastructure, innovation, biotechnology, information technology, or software. Investing in these types of businesses involves great risks and hard works, not to mention the huge amount of money that they have to venture in. Venture Capitalists assume enormous risks with high levels of uncertainty.
Successful VC investors accept uncertainty as an integral part of being in business. They must be ready to face many crises and allow temporary failures without having to panic. After all, failure is the mother of success. Even Thomas Edison, a genius inventor, failed a thousand times before he finally succeeded with his inventions or discoveries. Talk to an entrepreneur or to any group of up-the-corporate-ladder type businessmen who sees innovation and creativity as the path to profitability and long term sustainability, and they will share openly about failures, mistakes, and setbacks as steps along the path to success.
Venture Capitalist Adi McAbian, a 36 year old successful entrepreneur who is the managing director of TwistBox, and a board member of the Internet Task Force of Boston, has a proven track record for creating, growing and selling successful businesses. He shared that the secret lies in being able to harness that idea and quickly bring it to fruition in a cost-effective manner. “Many budding entrepreneurs get too caught up with the massive amount of detail involved in creating a burgeoning company’s infrastructure, rather than focusing on the business itself,” explains Adi McAbian, “I advocate outsourcing the basics to those that specialize in this. To be successful in this tough economic climate, you need to focus 100 percent of your attention on your business model and customers.”
On the other hand, mastering the VC game combines the right mix of facts, advices, people and stories. Integrating the experiences of notable entrepreneurs is extremely helpful and beneficial. Dee Power and Brian E. Hill, authors of Secrets to Unlocking Venture Capital for Your Company, also shared the secrets to obtaining venture capital:
- Preparation – It is imperative to prepare yourself and your company in searching for seed capital or growth capital by developing a clear, concise, and realistic business plan that would make the reader excited about the opportunity that your company would present. Failing to clearly identify the opportunity is the most critical mistake that entrepreneurs make, according to venture capitalists. Before you approach an investor, speak to advisors or other entrepreneurs who have worked with them to find out as much as you can. Provide a strong and experienced management team with diverse range of expertise. And do not make simple mistakes such as wrong spelling, grammar, or computation.
- Positioning – To make sure that what you are offering is what they are looking for, research the investment criteria of the venture capitalists. A company that does not match with the venture capitalists’ investment criteria is the second most common reason why they are being declined. It is also important to get referrals by other VC firms, and get one if you do not have one yet.
- Perseverance – Keep trying. Do not give up. Follow up your submitted plan through phone call, fax, or email weeks after your proposal. Or you can be persistent by calling the VC firm everyday. Continue to widen your network of contacts to give you more avenues of approach to the investors. And most of all, believe in your passion about your company.
An accomplished venture capital investors spend a lot of time digging into an entrepreneur’s past failures because they believe that such failures will make an entrepreneur more amenable and responsive. Success stories have many milestones – positive and productive, or even setbacks. But it is not what you lose from setbacks, rather what you learn from it and apply that would make a ventured business a success.
How to Re-Apply for Startup Loans or Seed Capital after your Bank Declined
Posted on Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 11:46 pm.
So your bank declined after complying with all the requirements necessary in applying for a startup loan? It is very discouraging when after all the efforts you have invested in and the time consumed of securing all the documents needed, you were still rejected by your bank. This loan rejection could affect your business lines of credit for future business loans. But do not take it personally because there are always challenges when going through the business loans application process. Try to stay calm and find out why your application was not approved.
It is imperative to know and understand why your loan application was not approved by your bank. Most of these financial institutions would not go through the details as to why your application was declined because they are afraid they might be offending you, but knowing the reasons why can be crucial to your business success and it can be very helpful in your subsequent business loan applications. You may ask your lending officer politely and tell him that you understood why they would not be able to help you; however, you need to know the reasons of their disapproval in preparation for your next loan application.
After being turned down from your local bank, stay calm and do not lose your hope. The rejection of your loan application may only reflect the financial health situation of the bank, perhaps the bank is not really in good financial shape and are only offering loans to their best valued customers. But it does not mean that you are not one of their best valued customers, perhaps these clients are their loyal customers who have been in business with them for such a very long time. If you have been their client for such a very long time as well, perhaps you were the last one to apply.
There are few best options left for you in acquiring startup loans or seed capital for your startup business. Your best solution is to look for a financial firm that offers unsecured business loans which do not demand for many requirements unlike your local conventional bank. It is best to partner with this type of unsecured business financing firm who understands your financial needs and helps you obtain unsecured lines of credit.
There are angel investors network as well that can provide you seed capital that eliminates unnecessary applications which could also have resulted in disapproving your previous loan application. This network of investors may help you analyze your business plan, offer essential coaching for entrepreneurs seeking to raise venture capital, and will work with you to accomplish your goals. Partnering with angel investors for your startup business enables your business to succeed and they will continue to help your existing business for future expansion.
There are several financial institutions other than banks where you can obtain business funding for your startup business or business expansion. If you are not familiar in your area, you may search on the internet and apply through online, or you may call their hotline numbers and they would be happy to assist you with your financial needs.