05 abr The process of looking for money must match the needs of the company
Where you look for money, and how you look for money, depends on your company and the kind of money you need. There is an enormous difference, for example, between a high-growth internet-related company looking for second-round venture funding and a local retail store looking to finance a second location.
In the following sections of this article, we'll explore six different types of investment and lending options. This should help you determine which funding options are viable for your business and which investment options you should pursue first.
1. Venture capital
The business of venture capital is frequently misunderstood. Many startup companies complain about venture capital companies failing to invest in new or risky ventures.
People talk about venture capitalists as sharks, because of their supposedly predatory business practices, or sheep, because they supposedly think like a flock, all wanting the same kinds of deals.
This is not the case. The people we call venture capitalists are business people who are charged with investing other people's money. They have a professional responsibility to reduce risk as much as possible. They should not take more risk than is absolutely necessary to produce the risk/return ratios that the sources of their capital ask of them.
Who should pitch to venture capitalists?
Venture capital shouldn't be thought of as a source of funding for any but a very few exceptional startup businesses. They can't afford to invest in startups unless there is a rare combination of product opportunity, market opportunity, and proven management.
Venture capital professionals look for businesses that they believe could produce a huge increase in business value within just a few years. They know that most of these high-risk ventures fail, so the winners have to win big enough to pay for all the losers.
Typically, they focus on newer products and markets that can reasonably project increasing sales by huge multiples over a short period of time.