Register now or log in to join your professional community.
Venture capitalists, business angels, public funds, accelerators. If you want to have a chance of getting funding for your startup, you should ask to the right type of investor. Every startup has an ideal one. You just have to figure out who he is. But how?
The answer is simple: it all depends on the stage where the startup is. If you have just an idea for a startup, you can’t ask for funding to a venture capistalist. Or better, you can. But you probably won’t have any chance to be taken into consideration.
Different investors are looking for different startups. Everyone has its own goal and its own pro and cons for the startup. Here is a brief list of typical investors, with a description of what they are looking for.
Friends & FamilyYou, your friends and your family are your first investor. If you have just an idea, they are the ideal investor for your. But keep in mind: this money is easy to get, but could be dangerous if you make it to grow.
Public FundsIf you already have a working MVP, then you should be interested in applying for public funds.
Goal: create wellness for citiziens and territories.
Pro: The funding they provide you with is usually a easy to get small quantity of money. This may help you start making big things anyway.
Cons: long and beauroctratic application, money don’t arrive straight to your bank account the day after you win the call. You usually have to wait a considerable amount of time.
AcceleratorsAt the same stage, you may decide to apply also to a startup accelerator.
Goal: making big money.
Pro: you get also “smart money” and access to a network of startups and investors.
Cons: the amount of funding is usually small, the investor loose interest soon.
Business AngelsThey are individuals who invest their own money. They are the perfect investor for you if have just ended an acceleration program or you already have a public beta online.
Goal: through investing in your startup they want to confirm their status.
Pro: they really care about your success.
Cons: They rarely make “follow-up” investments.
Venture CapitalVCs are the most sophisticated investors. The mindset of any type of investor is shaped by VCs. They might be interested in your startup only if you can prove that you already have some traction.
VCs have all the same structure. They collect money from banks, pensions funds etc. With this money, they costituite their own fund. The fund has a duration divided into an investment period and a deinvestment period. At the end of the fund, they have to exit from all of your investments. Exits are a must. So if a VC is interested in investing in your startup, be sure he has already figured out a way how to exit the investment.
Best moment when to approach a VC? When it is at the end of the investment period. Mangers will be in a hurry to invest all the money of the fund that left.
By explaining the concept exactly the same way how you have thought while you convinced yourself that this is a good startup and you should be investing your valuable time and energy in this Project. To add more would suggest to learn mostly the preference or liking of the investors so that can give relevant examples using their likeness to showcase Profitability and way forward.