| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Finding a Venture Capital Firm
Many ventures are faced with the challenging task of raising venture capital. The first part of this process is finding the right venture capital firm (VC). While this may seem simple, it isn't. There are thousands of venture capital firms in the United States alone, and going after the wrong ones is one of the most common reasons why companies fail to raise the capital they need. When seeking a venture capital firm, there are six key variables to consider: location, sector preference, stage preference, partners, portfolio and assets. Location: most venture capital firms only invest within 100 miles of their office(s). By investing close to home, the firms are able to more actively get involved with and add value to their portfolio companies. Sector preference: many venture capital firms focus on specific sectors such as healthcare, information technology (IT), wireless technologies, etc. In most cases, even if you have a great company, if you fall outside of the VC's sector preference, they'll pass on the opportunity. Stage preference: VCs tend to focus on different stages of ventures. For instance, some VCs prefer early stage ventures where the risk is great, but so are the potential returns. Conversely, some VCs focus on providing capital to firms to bridge capital gaps before they go public. Partners: Venture capital firms are comprised of individual partners. These partners make investment decisions and typically take a seat on each portfolio company's Board. Partners tend to invest in what they know, so finding a partner that has past work experience in your industry is very helpful. This relevant experience allows them to more fully understand your venture's value proposition and gives them confidence that they can add value, thus encouraging them to invest. Portfolio: Just as you should seek venture capital firms whose partners have experience in your industry, the ideal venture capital firm has portfolio companies in your field as well. Portfolio company management, since they are industry experts, often advises VCs as to whether the company in question is worthwhile. In addition, if your venture has potential synergies with a portfolio company, this significantly enhances the VCs interest in your firm. Assets: Most companies seeking venture capital for the first time will require subsequent rounds of capital. As such, it is helpful if the VC has "deep pockets," that is, enough cash to participate in follow-on rounds. This will save the company significant time and effort in maintaining an adequate cash balance. Finding the right venture capital firm is absolutely critical to companies seeking venture capital. Success results in the capital required and significant assistance in growing your venture. Conversely, failing to find the right firm often results in raising no capital at all and being unable to grow the venture. As President of Growthink Business Plans, Dave Lavinsky has helped the company become one of the premier business plan development firms. Since its inception, Growthink has developed over 200 business plans. Growthink clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share.
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Why Small Business Must Turn to PR If small business had no important outside audiences, it wouldn't exist.But since they do have external "publics," it's doubly unfortunate when those same small business owners seem unconcerned about the very outside folks whose behaviors can place a choke-hold on their business!And worse, are so casual about public relations, the best way to move those behaviors in their direction. Overcoming Your Biggest Competitor Before you read any further in this article, I'd like you to take a moment and write down who your biggest competition is.OK, got it?I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you that no matter what company you wrote down, you're wrong. Your Ideal Client - A Key Concept for Solo and Small Business Marketing "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."--Bill CosbyHave you ever had clients that were more trouble than they were worth? Maybe they were always late to pay, or didn't do what they said they'd do. You Are Invited Business card size works well for invitations to special events.What do you visualize when you think about invitations? More than likely you are thinking about a wedding or a party. A Portable Trade Show Exhibit Makes for an Easier Show You can make your trade show experience much easier by using a portable exhibit. Since you control everything related to transporting it and setting it up, you won't have to hire firms to for those things for you. Tips For Successful Home Show Businesses Opportunities for home show businesses have never been more abundant. If you're thinking about joining the ranks of those in the many show businesses at home available, use these quick tips to get going. Direct Mail - For Small Businesses We hear a lot of talk about junk mail nowadays. Many people will tell you that they dump it straight in the trash. Small Does Not Mean Invisible! Running a business on the net these days can be like looking up into a clear night sky; it can leave you feeling very small and insignificant.I am a one-person operation, and I also offer personal service. How To Start A Blind Cleaning Business Quickly And Easily Starting the blind cleaning business is one of the best marketable business ideas you could latch on to. If you give the requisite amount of time and dedication, there will be no cap on your earnings. Making a Donation to Bring MORE Business How a donation is different from a sponsorship and what is the advantage to you?Donations are different from sponsorships, as a sponsorship is more likely to headline you for an event whereas a donation will let you be listed as one of the many donors. You do not need to headline every event to get business attention; you can simply donate an amount of funds and be listed. Five Quick Ways to Speed Up Cash Flow At one point or another, almost every business runs short of cash. Whether due to normal fluctuations in demand or an unexpected decline in sales, cash shortfalls are the bane of every company, and are responsible for sleepless nights for many business owners. Why is My Restaurant Not Full Every Monday Night? In a quest for customers and to keep those customers, restaurants are now compelled to develop a marketing plan. Marketing plans are a crucial component for anyone who has the desire to make their restaurant a success. Starting A Concrete Cleaning Pressure Washer Business Concrete cleaning can be a lucrative business to start. Here are some tips which will help you do it right. The ABCs of Fundraising There are many little details that go into making sure your fundraising event is a successful event. The key is to have all your fundraising details laid out in front of you before you even start. Dealing With a Crooked on the Take Government Worker Many government department heads are on the take. Oh they'll jump up and down and swear legitimacy, but it just is not so. Window Cleaning Business Start Up Should you buy a business opportunity or Franchise if you want to get into the window cleaning business? Or just start your own and work hard; grow the business into a full-time profession and expand from there? Let us talk briefly about window cleaning franchises is in general.One could argue without too much difficulty that buying a window cleaning franchise is simply a waste of money, after all you could simply go down to be 99 cents store and by a bucket 3 towels and a squeegee and hey, you are in business right? Well one could argue that, since to really be in business, you probably need to get a business license, insurance, buy some business cards and make a few flyers. A Gift Basket Home Business is an Easy Way to Wrap up Profits You want to know more about making money with your own gift basket home business. You are a creative person and want a career that you can control and find rewarding at the same time. Presentations and Sales Automotive Detailers Many auto detailers fall short in their sales presentations. I have often shopped the competition to see what their knowledge base was to gage their worthiness as a formidable competitor in the market place. Why You Need A Virtual Assistant How much is your time really worth? Is it worth £50 an hour or £100 an hour? YOUR time is most valuable because it is your responsibility to generate new revenue for your business. Doing small and often trivial admin chores yourself does not really add value to your business and the sensible solution is to delegate those less profitable tasks by hiring someone more than capable of carrying them out, but who's hourly rate is somewhat less than your real financial worth. Professional House Cleaning - The Dirty Little Secret Are you tired yet of all the books out there telling you how easy it is to start a house cleaning business? I'm not inferring that all their information is bad, but let's be honest about how "easy" it really is.There's a dirty little secret hanging over the cleaning trade that nobody talks about, but every professional cleaner runs into.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
