Wednesday, 22 November 2017

How To Get Venture Capital Funding For Your Startup

By Sarah McDonald


One of the key challenges faced by growing businesses is generating enough money to offset operational expenditure and make profit at the same time. Such challenges have seen the rise of investment firms that specialize in giving growing businesses venture capital funding. Getting an investment firm to invest in your business is not an easy thing to do. Luckily, there are some steps you could take to enhance your bargaining chip during your initial pitch.

To begin with, you must know exactly what this type of financing entails. If you imagine getting funds is as simple as borrowing from friends or colleagues, you are misinformed. This is often the most difficult kind of financing to get.

This is simply because the investor you approach first needs proof that your venture will not crumble even after getting its much needed funds. Investors usually grow cold feet once they get a whiff of failure in the ventures they are about to fund. The pitch you make is the main thing that will make a difference on the negotiating table. Make sure the figures you include in your proposal are backed by evidence.

One major mistake that majority of new entrants in business make is approaching multiple investors for financing. This is quite imprudent, especially bearing in mind the fact that the business world is fueled by greed. No investor will take you seriously once they establish you have approached many other investors with the same proposal.

This sort of behavior was at a peak in the business world in the mid 1980s. Nowadays, investors barely stop to hear or read unsolicited pitches. The sole thing you want to focus on is making your enterprise become a brand name before pitching. Once your brand starts to grow, investment firms will approach you instead.

In essence, research is the single most important thing you should be doing in your journey to find financing. Most firms specialize in certain market segments and make it known to the general public. This is aimed at warding off interest from startups that have misaligned interests. You should be able to get lots of information from simply looking at their websites.

There are many other resources that you can use for your research online. Some sites post a great deal of information on capital, local funding associations, advice, book lists and statistics. Some also allow you to search specifically for firms that finance organizations in your market segment. As you conduct your research, it would be wise to avoid firms that are known to wholly take over the businesses that they agree to fund.

The relationship you should angle for is a partnership. From your research, you should get a shortlist of the great firms that are open to solicitation in your area. Make sure you set different times to engage the ones on your list. Lastly, amend your proposal to fall in line with what your investors are interested in. For example, an agribusiness firm may not get funding from a tech centered investment firm.




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