Startup investment survey...

seniorclique

Hi All,




 


I`m kind of curious...how many members have actually developed a relationship here that truly lead to an investment partnership and getting their project "off the ground" so to speak?




 


Seeing all types of listings by people looking for investors, has anyone actually found their investment partner/s here?




 


It seems as though there is no lack of advice. Yet, I haven`t seen any postings that have had success in getting their project funded...alot of people offering suggestions leading to their own sites soliciting funds from startups...am I missing something?




 


Signed,




 


Curious

seniorclique

Hi Craig,
 
Thanks for the feedback.
 
I guess I was under the wrong impression. Given the plethora of startups here looking for investment and the number of investment advisors, I thought this was more of a meeting place if you will.
 
I have certainly found alot of useful information but seem to be missing stories from companies that have been successful in raising seed capital.
 
It might be interesting to see a thread dedicated to members sharing their experiences in raising initial funding. Any takers out there?

Rich

Hey, Joseph -
 
a few things: first, I WISH there were a way for me to share with you the emails i get every week saying that StartupNation was the spark, provided the resources, helped establish a customer base, inspired someone to action, etc. You`d get a huge rush just seeing all of the positive feedback. These are often private messages and direct emails so they`re not really in the whole community`s eye unfortunately, and some of the great successes aren`t revealed. i sometimes blog about success stories, though, so you may want to subscribe to my blog.
 
my guess is that the site is currently not the best connector of entrepreneurs with investors. that`s not the site`s primary objective. but we know the importance of capital to startups. that`s why we`ve been doing the elevator pitch contests and exercise for years on our radio show and why i include pitch tips at all of my speeches.
 
having said this, in November we`re doing a significant version upgrade of our site and it will include specific ways for you and investors to connect.
 
as for Craig`s comments about threads getting shorter here at the site, it`s been a fascinating last few months. Our site traffic has surged over 113% and is trending upward from there. Some threads turn into 5-pagers and some only get a few comments. I`m glad to know that you`re gaining value from what we`re trying to do to help entrepreneurs and will take your questions in your posts in this thread as an interest level in functionality that encourages contact between enrepreneurs and investors.
 
best,
 
rich
 

robertj

As a follow on to Rich`s points, I`d like to add:
1. Except for the "professional" venture investor types (VC firms, hedge funds, etc) most investors prefer to maintain a low profile. Most of the Private Investors I`ve met don`t talk about their investments in "public".  Furthermore, entrepreneurs prefer to keep the identity of their private investors confidential.  So what we read or hear about are the big deals involving the aforementioned professional investor community.
 
2. The investors I have met, who have chosen to support early stage enterprises, say that the people/ person was an important (the key) factor in their decision. It`s difficult to get to "really" know someone from a web interaction alone and many private investors are hesitant to "declare" their interest because they feel it "changes" the entrepreneurs behavior. In fact, I know of several situations where the investor decided to participate after spending several days (at a seminar) "watching" the entrepreneur and getting to know them.
 
3. My opinion, based upon experience and observation, is that web sites where you can "connect with investors" - deal in quantity rather than quality. There is little (if any) review or vetting of situations and thus, a large percentage of the "opportunities" posted are not capital ready.  This means a low success rate - which is often perceived (by the posters) to be caused by a lack of investors present.
 
Although I can`t be specific (see above) I have connected through StartupNation with some people who are open to supporting the "right" situation and I have connected with entrepreneurs (who became clients) and  who have successfully acquired external capital. However, I am not personally aware of anyone who made a connection here that directly led to an investment.

robertj

In general, an "acceptable" return depends who you are dealing with and how they perceive the risks. The higher the risk the higher the return.
There are many factors that influence the perceived risk starting with time. The longer it will be before they realize their return - the higher they perceive the risk.
If you`d like to discuss the specifics of your situation, send me a PM or contact me directly.