Advice on where to find investment capital please
Discussion
Hello folks,
been a reader of this site for a while but this is my first post
I have been working on a business idea for some time and its now ready to go on to the next stage.
I have now accepted that the concept is far to big for me to develop on my own and I will need investment from something like a venture capital company.
I have been to all the so called new business agencies but have realised that all these monkeys want me to do is sign a form so that they can claim a grant from the local enterprise agency.
They basically do not have a clue about which VC,s I should contact etc
Does anyone on here have first hand experience of a good VC or similar who will actually look at a sound proposal, its all web based business and I have already built a model site to prove out the concept.
Investment would be in the region of £400,000 for an equity stake.
Can any of you guys point me in the right direction
cheers
PAUL
ps my nickname is the number plate on my car, a brand new full road spec 3dr Sierra Cosworth I built from scratch and recently first registered as a new vehicle. The "know alls" said it could not be done which is like a red rag to a bull for me.
been a reader of this site for a while but this is my first post
I have been working on a business idea for some time and its now ready to go on to the next stage.
I have now accepted that the concept is far to big for me to develop on my own and I will need investment from something like a venture capital company.
I have been to all the so called new business agencies but have realised that all these monkeys want me to do is sign a form so that they can claim a grant from the local enterprise agency.
They basically do not have a clue about which VC,s I should contact etc
Does anyone on here have first hand experience of a good VC or similar who will actually look at a sound proposal, its all web based business and I have already built a model site to prove out the concept.
Investment would be in the region of £400,000 for an equity stake.
Can any of you guys point me in the right direction
cheers
PAUL
ps my nickname is the number plate on my car, a brand new full road spec 3dr Sierra Cosworth I built from scratch and recently first registered as a new vehicle. The "know alls" said it could not be done which is like a red rag to a bull for me.
i've just dug this site out of my favorites - hope it's of some use!
www.startups.co.uk/business_directories/browse_results.asp?articleid=76&zsectionid=14&subsectionid=87&directory=Venture%20Capitalists
www.startups.co.uk/business_directories/browse_results.asp?articleid=76&zsectionid=14&subsectionid=87&directory=Venture%20Capitalists
Whoa! 400K.
They will want your soul for that. I have friends who have gone through the startup thing (as have I).
You will find getting that kind of loot for a web-business damn hard to come by and when you do - it won't be your business - you'll be an employee with a more or less decent share options scheme...
Is there any way at all that you can start the business in a small way and grow it organically? This usually means getting venture capital in when your turnover has reached the sort of point where you can negotiate - rather than simply having a conversation that goes "Nice idea. Thank you very much. We'll take over now..."
Mind you. Don't listen to me. What do I know? I've been organically growing the business for ten years and in that time its grown and shrunk and grown and shrunk and...
One day I will sell it...but not for a while I think.
They will want your soul for that. I have friends who have gone through the startup thing (as have I).
You will find getting that kind of loot for a web-business damn hard to come by and when you do - it won't be your business - you'll be an employee with a more or less decent share options scheme...
Is there any way at all that you can start the business in a small way and grow it organically? This usually means getting venture capital in when your turnover has reached the sort of point where you can negotiate - rather than simply having a conversation that goes "Nice idea. Thank you very much. We'll take over now..."
Mind you. Don't listen to me. What do I know? I've been organically growing the business for ten years and in that time its grown and shrunk and grown and shrunk and...
One day I will sell it...but not for a while I think.
As someone who has raised funding from VC's, Angels the EU and the DTi - I suggest that £400K is not an attractive figure for VC's, it may be too little, however it does depend on what market/product you wish to develop.
Try plugging into local Business Angel networks (contact your local Business Link for details) there you may be able to find a small consortium who may be able to fund you.
Make sure you can justify the money, completely, and make sure that 400K is enough, you don't want to leave yourself undercapitalised and needing another round of funding before you have achieved what you thought you would with the first round of finance.
If your idea is good - see if you can fund part using the DTi Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, a SMART award or any other non-investor monies - you can then afford to give less of your company away to investors if you have some of your own capital.
You may wish to use a consultany who will find money for you for a success fee (usually 3-5%), they range from one man bands to large consulting firms (like PKF, KPMG etc).
You're welcome to email me off line (I am not a consultant).
Also be aware of talking about your business proposition to people, you may find yourself breaking some of the FSA rules on investment advice.
Try plugging into local Business Angel networks (contact your local Business Link for details) there you may be able to find a small consortium who may be able to fund you.
Make sure you can justify the money, completely, and make sure that 400K is enough, you don't want to leave yourself undercapitalised and needing another round of funding before you have achieved what you thought you would with the first round of finance.
If your idea is good - see if you can fund part using the DTi Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, a SMART award or any other non-investor monies - you can then afford to give less of your company away to investors if you have some of your own capital.
You may wish to use a consultany who will find money for you for a success fee (usually 3-5%), they range from one man bands to large consulting firms (like PKF, KPMG etc).
You're welcome to email me off line (I am not a consultant).
Also be aware of talking about your business proposition to people, you may find yourself breaking some of the FSA rules on investment advice.
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