How to Find Venture Capital
Beating the Bushes for the Right Venture Capital Deal
There is a saying that "You don't find venture capital; venture capital finds you." And that's just about the whole truth.A number of years ago, it was a common practice to write a business plan and shoot it off to 100 or more venture capital firms, hoping that one would "stick". Sometimes one would. Sometimes nothing stuck. At this point in time such an approach is a humongous waste of time and energy.
You see that saying in the first paragraph? The one about venture capital finding you? That is the key to finding venture capital. Place your company in a position where the venture capitalists will discover you. That's not as difficult as it sounds. For example:
Do venture capitalists attend a particular industry show? Not only do you need to be there, but you should be a speaker of some sort, or at least have a booth or table to present your company.
Are there industry magazines that vc's read? If you can't get a full fledged article printed, at least get some letters to the editor printed.
Does your bank have a venture capital fair? (It should.) Not only should you be a presenter, but you should get a personal introduction from your banker to a venture capitalist or two.
Do you have a supplier who has contacts with venture capitalists? or a client? Recruit the president of that company to tell them about you.
Make your company as visible as possible.
But don't be shy. When you've got the visibility, go ahead and approach the venture capital firm that you've targeted. If it is indeed the right one, they will recognize your name, and they will talk with you.
Finding venture capital is very often an issue of simply targeting the right venture capital firm. There are literally thousands of firms out there. Probably no more than 1-2 percent of them would be remotely interested in your company.
Take a look at what venture firms have funded what companies in the past year or so. This will provide an excellent window into what they are looking for.
Look to large companies in your industry too -- many of them have venture capital arms. These funds aren't necessarily advertised. They just exist in the background, waiting for the right investment to come along.
Consider approaching a large company with a joint venture proposal, rather than a stock purchase.
And, no matter what you do, go in prepared. There is just nothing worse than having someone interested, and you have no business plan or presentation to hand them.
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