Archive for the ‘Venture Capital Articles’ Category

Editors Note:  It being a slow news day, and myself pondering several venture strategies for The Blog Mill, I thought I would publish this article by Wil Schroter, of GoBigNetwork, and maybe a few more select “how to” articles for those of you seeking capital.   — Chris

If you’ve ever pitched your new business idea to a venture capital angel investor, only to be tortured with an endless list of reasons your idea will never work, my sympathies go out to you.  The rejection of being told your business idea sucks can be incredibly painful.

That said, I think you need to keep one thing in mind while you’re being told what a buffoon you are for presenting your idea – maybe this venture capital angel investor has no idea what they hell he’s talking about! Read the rest of this entry »

By Thomas Lee
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune 
Published: 11.12.2006

Call him Doug Berg 2.0. The founder of Techies.com, a once-high-flying job portal that crashed and burned during the stock market shakeout of 2001, is back, armed with a promising Internet startup, millions of dollars in venture capital and truckloads of perspective that eluded him during the crazy days of dot-com mania. Read the rest of this entry »

Straight Up
How To Get All Decked Out
Tom Taulli 07.07.06, 6:00 AM ET

Todd Dagres, a founder and general partner of Spark Capital, routinely listens to three or four investor pitches a day. He’s pretty good at sniffing out big winners, including Akami Technologies; Qtera, sold to Nortel Networks; and River Delta Networks, now part of Motorola.

Critical to every pitch is the “investor deck”–basically, a slide show presentation that captures the essence of the business and, hopefully, convinces the money men to reach for their wallets. Read the rest of this entry »

Chad Graham
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 2, 2006 12:00 AM

Patrick Gilbert continues to search for a $2.5 million cash infusion into the Phoenix technology company he launched in 2004, but he has discovered that many Arizona investors are focused on another sector.

“People here want to invest in real estate. It’s a market that a lot of people know or think they know,” said Gilbert, president and chief executive officer of 4SmartPhone, which provides mobile workplace service via smart phones.

To help get their attention, Gilbert has applied for a new program the state began offering one month ago that gives investors in small technology companies a tax break. Read the rest of this entry »

Ask An Expert
Have Enough Startup Capital?
Scott Reeves, 08.01.06, 3:00 PM ET
Have burning questions about how to run your small business better? E-mail askanexpert@forbes.net with your query, and we will track down the advice.

I want to open my own business. How much startup money do I need? Read the rest of this entry »

Fact: In 2005 over 500,000 new business incorporations were organized in the United States.

Fact: Of these 500,000 new businesses less than 1,000 received venture capital funding.

There are vastly more entrepreneurs seeking start-up funding than there are available funding sources and investment pools. This is a fact. And yet, 499,000 incorporations occurred in 2005 without the cover of an investment funding commitment. Many of these new businesses will fail. Nevertheless, the urge to seek the fulfillment, financial security, freedom and the satisfaction of overcoming the odds still drives us to try. Read the rest of this entry »

Angel Investors are considered by many to be the best type of investor in your business.  Angels are usually successful business owners and entrepreneurs who can also bring you valuable industry experience, executive knowledge, creative ideas and contacts.  They can usually afford to indulge their love or risk and are often seeking new business challenges. To be an angel in the USA, one must be an “accredited investor,” which the Securities and Exchange Commission defines as someone with a net worth of at least $1 million or an annual salary of at least $200,000. Similar rules exist in other countries. Read the rest of this entry »

The rise of venture leasing and lending has created an opportunity for sophisticated entrepreneurs to gain a competitive advantage. Savvy entrepreneurs are using venture leases and loans to generate millions of dollars for shareholders by leveraging existing venture capital. They have discovered ways to use this flexible financing as a tool to build enterprise value between equity rounds and to leapfrog less sophisticated competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Venture capital and ‘angel’ investment seems like an attractive alternative to personal loans – you’re asking opportunity seekers to invest their money in your business in exchange for a share of the profits. While it can cost you more in the long run, it means that you won’t be borrowing money as a loan that needs to be paid back whether your business makes a profit or not. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »