Business Startups Archives - Page 11 of 12

06/04/201306/28/2017

The risks of family-funded startups

Funding remains one of the most pressing problems faced by business startup owners. More often than not, entrepreneurs find themselves thinking where they would get that money that would help them establish their respective businesses. And while there are a lot of funds available out there for business startups, the reality is that not all entrepreneurs get the financial support coming from angel investors or venture capitalists.

In the end, a lot of business owners who need financial backing rely on the easiest source of funds that they can think of – their family and friends. Initially, this idea is seen as a very good solution to the money problem. After all, relatives and friends are often seen as best people who can support someone who has started his or her own business. But is it really wise to ask your relatives or friends to invest in your business? For most experts, the answer is no.

Entrepreneurs are often advised that they should never mix their personal lives with their professional ones. Doing so would often result in problems concerning the overall performance of the business. A lot of professional entrepreneurs believe that asking for investments from family and friends are not good for the business due to the risks that could lead to serious relationship problems.

Business startups are not always successful. In fact, some studies note that only 25 percent of startups actually expand and become successful. For the remaining 75 percent, it means failure – and loss of lots of money. Such events, while usual for seasoned investors, are not often experienced by your relatives and friends. Unless they are fully aware of the risks, relatives and friends should not be asked for financial investments in business startups.

Moreover, rifts between those involve in the business can arise once the startup begins expansion. With the entry of secondary and more professional investors, the issue of profit often becomes a sore point.

History shows that a lot of businesses failed because of the problems arising between family members. Thus, business startup owners are advised not to get their family and friends involved in their businesses if they have other alternative to get financial resources.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website. Funded.com

05/27/201306/28/2017

Secrets of Successful Business Startup Owners

Successful business startup owners often say that their achievements have to be attributed to their luck. They keep on saying that they were fortunate that they have started their particular business startups on the right place at the right time. To some degree, this might be true. However, it is unlikely that the success of these people can simply be attributed to luck. It’s not.

The truth is that these business startup owners were successful because they have made the right decisions at one point or the other. They have followed a strict set of rules that made them successful. Luckily, these rules are secrets no more. Here are some of the things that ensure the success of fledgling entrepreneurs these days:

They know how to take care of themselves

The most successful business startup owners know that their most important capital is their own minds and bodies. Therefore, those who wish to make it big in their respective industries must know how to take care of themselves to ensure their physical and mental prowess.

Eating healthy and having regular schedule for physical exercise are simple things that ensure the success of business startup owners.

They have activities outside their businesses

Focusing on the business is necessary to ensure its success. Too much attention, however, is not. Successful business startup owners often have other interests outside their businesses in order for them to have a much-needed break from the stress of handling a company.

Having a balanced life often keeps the business owner focused and relaxed that is an important secret to the success of the business.

They know how to lead

Financial capital and passion for the enterprise are not just the things needed for the success of the business. More than these, business startup owners must be able to lead the entire team to attain their goals. No business will thrive without the support of an effective leader who will anything for the good of the company.

They know when and how to make the right decisions

Once in a while, business startup owners would find themselves facing problems that they have to resolve immediately. A common characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is that they all know when to make a decision in order to solve a problem.

The success of the business is often not reliant on the “rightness” of the decision, but in the willingness of the owners to stand by their choices and accept the possibility that they have to amend their earlier decisions for the good of the company.

These are just some of the things that ensure the success of business startup owners. Following these is a big leap toward the victory that entrepreneurs want to attain.

04/15/201306/28/2017

Available Corporate Venture Funds for Business Startups

In recent years, the number of available venture capital funds for business startups that are coming from traditional sources has started to go down. Fortunately, there is a viable alternative – corporate venture funds.

It can be noted that a several multinational corporations have started to allot some of their funds for business startups. Latest data show that roughly around 900 corporate venture funds are currently available for new businesses. Last year, around 16 percent of companies have acquired corporate venture capital, a number that is expected to increase this year.

Corporate venture funds have been available for more than two decades now. But recently, corporations have started to embrace this trend even if it would disrupt the status quo. The reason, they can’t afford not to anything about it.

Several companies have recently declared bankruptcy or have started to vanish because it failed to recognize the changing landscape of the market. For instance, rental company Blockbuster would still be a major player if it recognized startups such as Netflix. This is similar to the case of Kodak. If only it recognized newbies Shutterfly and Instagram, it might have averted declaring bankruptcy.

Fortunately for some companies, they still have time to catch up with the situation. Nielsen, for instance, has already allotted money to fund small investments. Dell is doing the same, maintaining that it will continue investing in startups even with plans for it to be taken private.

Corporate venture capital allows public company to focus on the long term. For instance, American Express Ventures will participate in merger of e-commerce and payments industries. It is also looking for new technologies that could be utilized for the next decade.

If you are an owner of a business startup who is in need of capital, then it is a good idea to look for venture funds from corporations. Securing one would be a good thing, especially since big companies could assure a successful future for your business startup.

03/26/201306/28/2017

Guidelines For Successful Postings

Rules and Guidelines For Successful Postings

Posting your Funding request is essential part of raising capital as creating your Business Plan. In order for you to get the funding you should be able to catch the eyes of the investors. Here are some tips you can follow to attract Investors and funding providers.

Title. Make your title attractive this is the first section our investors will see. Include the title of your business or invention. Make it enticing and give them something they want to hear and continue reading to your letter.

Posting. Write a short summary of your Business idea or Invention that will catch investor’s attention. Make it 2 to 3 paragraph short and make it concise and simple. Avoid too much information and do not copy and paste your Executive Summary. Your posting is not to be confused with a chat or blog. You are selling you and your business to investors and funding providers to raise capital and any posting that is not about your business is not allowed. Remember, concise and to-the-point.

Attach your Business Plan or Executive Summary. If you are looking for an Angel Investor or Venture Capital make sure you attach your Business Plan don’t wait for the investors to ask your Business Plan. Remember your Business Plan is the eye view of your business/invention. If you don’t have a Business Plan yet at least upload an executive summary. (You can use the Free Executive Summary template available upon creating your membership). This will give the investor the immediate reaction that you are serious in getting funds.

Private or Public posting. We have two ways of posting your request either public or private post. If you publically post be aware that everyone who not a member of funded.com will see your postings. While private posting only our registered investors and funding providers can see your funding request.

Avoid Personal Information. Even though we pre-screen funding providers, it is an ever increasingly large group and it is ultimately up to you to protect yourself from anyone saying who they are not and promptly reporting any concerns to us. Therefore we suggest not putting your email or telephone number on a public post. Private postings may not have the traffic like a public posting but is limited to our investor network that is viewing your funding request. Keep in mind that if there are investors that are interested in knowing your business venture they can always email you via funded.com and you will receive an email notification on your personal email if they replied on your posting.

Be patient for responses give some time to our investors to see your request. If you are not getting any responses try to re-write or revised your posting. You may also call us and we can look at your posting and give you tips for success. Try to be more creative and remember you want to create interest in your business or idea and sometime it takes time for investors and funding providers to notice you, especially the right one that will fund you.

03/21/201306/28/2017

3 common pitching mistakes of business startup owners

Securing funds from venture capitalists or angel investors is one of the most difficult tasks of business startup owners. Not only do they need to convince potential investors that they will benefit from the deal, they are also tasked to convince them to believe in the potential of their ideas.

Venture capitalists and angel investors are experienced when it comes to choosing which startups to fund. Most of the time, they know how to separate the entrepreneurs who lack the ability to run a viable business to those who are made to be successful. In order to avoid falling into the first category, business startup owners should avoid committing these obvious pitching mistakes:

Asking for a non-disclosure agreement

While it is understandable that you wanted to protect your ideas, asking your potential investor to sign an NDA on your first meeting is a major turn-off. Unless you have patented algorithms or formula that could be considered as your intellectual property, you have to realize that NDAs do not have much value in the business startup world. Keep in mind there are hundreds of other people out there who might have been thinking the same way as you do.

Asking your potential investor to sign an NDA is a sure way to shoo them away as it inserts a level of untrust worthiness in your supposed partnership.

Talking about equity splits

Opening your pitch with the idea of equity splits at early stage may turn away a lot of potential investors. Of course, it’s important to deal with agreements and percentage points, among others. However, talking about this too much instead of focusing on the product and other more relevant things would surely upset your potential investor.

Determining who will be the CEO is important, but spending all your time arguing the pros and cons of appointing one is futile, especially for business startups that have yet to establish a name for itself.

Failing to present a financial plan

Investors want to know how they will benefit from a deal. So a good business startup owner is expected to present a financial plan detailing how is he or she planning to gain revenue. Be realistic, a business without a detailed financial plan is not a business.

03/01/201306/28/2017

Things to Do When Raising Capital for Business Startups

Business startup owners often have a hard time securing investments from angel investors or venture capitalists. This reality, however, should not discourage entrepreneurs from seeking capital from potential investors.

The truth is, while it is difficult to secure financial support from these people, it’s not impossible to get the money that could boost the capacity of one’s business. Here are five things that could help business owners secure support from angel investors or venture capitalists:

Stop talking, start working

With the number of available tools out there, business owners are now capable of producing prototypes of their products even with a small budget. So instead of just presenting your thoughts using a PowerPoint presentation, you must allot some time and money producing an early version of your product.

These days, angel investors and venture capitalists prefer business owners who “show” their ideas rather than talk about it in front of the potential investors.

Expand your network

Securing referrals from established entrepreneurs can boost your chances of getting the attention of potential investors. With the number of startups seeking for financial assistance in the market, many investors are not paying attention to requests which are not referred by people whom they are acquainted with. Because of this, any entrepreneur who wants to secure capital for his or her startup should expand his network and get referrals from the right people.

Learn the market

Before approaching a potential investor, a business startup owner must first understand the market that he or she intends to work with. Understanding the business landscape, including your competition, will give you insights on how would you present your business to angel investors or venture capitalists.

Choose a long-time investor

A lot of entrepreneurs prefer having a lot of people investing on his or her startup. And while this is usually a good indicator of the status of the business, owners must also understand that many of these investors might choose leave the company after a few months of partnership. This could be disastrous, especially if no one from your pool of investors would stick around with you. In searching for capital, therefore, business owners must look into the possibility of getting investors who are really interested in sticking with the business for a long time.

Understand your investors

Finally, the business owner must try to understand the desires of his potential investor to boost his chances of securing investments. Some angels or VCs might want short sales cycles or a payout after a few years of partnership.

02/19/201306/28/2017

Taking Action: Establishing a Successful Business Startup

There are various factors that have to be considered before one can establish a business startup. This is a very important reminder to every person who eyes the creation of his or her own business. Some people tend to believe that having a good business idea and a competent business plan would ensure the success of a business. Unfortunately, it’s not true.

The reality is that the success of a business startup greatly depends not just on the idea and the plan but also on the actions taken by the owner. What will happen to a potentially revolutionary product if its creator fails to sell it to investors who would assure its distribution to the market?

The bottom line is, a business startup will not flourish if the owner fails to take the appropriate actions and measures that will help the company. It’s like publishing a book – a person can do the best research and write a flawless manuscript but would not be able to publish it because he or she fails to approach people who would critique and actually decide on publishing it.

This is also true when it comes to business startups. While it is necessary to spend some time working on proposals, market analysis, and PowerPoint presentation, one must also accept the fact that it is more important to actually approach potential investors.

Try approaching customers to assess your product or service. You would be also able to understand more about the market. This may help you in establishing your business. The key – stop with your usual activities and start taking actions that would enable you to establish your business startup.

This is not advice to those who have already perfected their business ideas and plans. Actually, these are also applicable to students and other people who are interested to start their businesses but have no idea where to start from. Instead of waiting for that evasive business idea, why not get involved in projects or activities that might spark your interests in a number of fields.

Take action, for it is the key to a successful business startup.

01/21/201306/28/2017

Seven Tips on Raising Venture Capital for Business Startups

Raising Venture Capital for a business startup may be one of the most difficult challenges that an entrepreneur might encounter. After all, with the number of business startups out there, the competition for that precious venture capital may be really tough.

Here are some tips for business startup owners seeking to raise venture capital:

Decide on what you want to do – Having a business idea is different from having a business plan. While it is important to know what you want, you also need to know how you would execute your plans to achieve your objectives. Knowing this will increase your chances of securing venture capital.
Be ready for what happens – If you’re really serious with securing a venture capital, then you have to do whatever it takes to get it. This includes being ready to move to another location or sit in on trainings and other experience-building activities.
Invest on your team – The truth is, businesses are not just about its owners. Usually, the success depends on the entire team that is working behind it. Venture capitalists know this, so do your best to establish a team that would bring your startup to the top.
Find a mentor – Business startup owners usually don’t have much experience on what they are doing. With this, it is necessary to have a mentor who could help you in your operations, as well as in getting recommendations that would help you in seeking investors.
Have fun – Venture capitalists like business startup owners who enjoy what they are doing. The success of the business greatly depends on the passion of the people who runs it, so try to enjoy and have fun with your day to day activities. Keep in mind, though, that too much fun may lead to failure, rather than success.
Be ready to fail – Failing to secure a business investment is a common occurrence in the world of entrepreneurship. In case you get turned down, don’t worry, there are other opportunities out there.
Know what you are doing – Finally, know that venture capitalists prefer business owners who know everything about their craft. Therefore, before seeking financial support from venture capitalists, try to know everything about what you are doing in order to convince them that their money will be in safe hands.

01/18/201306/28/2017

Easy Steps To Develop Your Business Startup

Business startups are not supposed to stay as business startups forever. In fact, it is the dream of every business owner to expand their companies as soon as possible. And while everyone agrees on this assessment, no one has really developed a sure-win process that would help a business develop. With this, the question remains: How can one develop their businesses?

The answer, of course, varies depending on the nature and the current status of the startup. Here are some things that you can do to help your business expand:

Initiate projects that would get the attention and entice your potential customers to avail your services or buy your products. Think of something creative – offer discounts, encourage partnerships, and gather your friends and family to an event that would create a bandwagon.

Try to be the talk of the town by providing your customers with something different. Deviate from the usual tactics employed by business establishments and work on something that hasn’t been done before. Use the power of social media, as well as other available tools.

Get the trust of your potential customers by getting the support of experts and people who can entice others to try your product or avail your services. Keep in mind that having “endorsements” is a sure way to develop your business startup.

Usually, new businesses get the chance of having customers who are interested in trying new products or services. As the owner, you have to take this opportunity to make them come back. Don’t let them forget you. Step up and work on new business strategies that will make your business memorable.

Small changes in your services may entice your customers to come back regularly. Be creative and take this opportunity that really could help you develop your business. Keep in mind, however, that changes may also drive your customers away.

Listen to your customers’ feedback and try to adopt this, especially if you think that it could help your business as regards its performance.

Finally, look at the customers of your competitors and see if they are getting bored of their regular routine. If so, try to develop something that would encourage them to check out what you offer.

11/02/201204/24/2021

Honest Things All Business Startups Owners Should Do

When talking to potential sources of business funding, startup owners tend to present exaggerated information as regards the status of their companies. No one can blame them. After all, investors prefer companies that show potential in getting big in the industry that they are working on.

Don’t get it wrong. Exaggeration is not a bad thing, especially if it can be classified under the “optimism” category. There’s nothing wrong with saying that you see your company as the next big thing if you have the numbers to back it up. The problem, however, is that people tend to exaggerate to a point that they present fabricated data and unachievable goals.

In these cases, instead of securing investments, entrepreneurs will find themselves with a series of negative responses from their potential business partners. For those who do not want to experience this, here are some honest things that all startup owners should do:

Create a realistic financial projection

Investors want to see financial projections that promise a huge increase in the company’s market value in just a few years. As the owner, you have the right to believe that the worth of your business Continue reading “Honest Things All Business Startups Owners Should Do”