"Sort-of" Venture Capital: Angelsand Others

Chapter 22: Getting Financed - Page 22.3

"Sort-of" Venture Capital: Angels and Others

Venture capital is not the only source of investment for start-up businesses or small businesses. Many companies are financed by smaller investors in what is called "private placement." For example, in some areas there are groups of potential investors who meet occasionally to hear proposals. There are also wealthy individuals who occasionally invest in new companies. In the lore of business start-ups, groups of investors are often referred to as "doctors and dentists," and individual investors are often called "angels." Many entrepreneurs turn to friends and family for investment.

Your next question of course is how to find the "doctors, dentists, and angels" that might want to invest in your business. The discussion in Gathering Information: The Business You’re In includes some government agencies, business development centers, business incubators, and similar organizations that will be tied into the investment communities in your area. Turn first to the local Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which is most likely associated with your local community college, or the Small Business Administration (SBA) offices in your area. Names and website addresses are available at www.sba.gov for the SBA, www.score.org for SCORE, and www.bplans.com/sb/ for a list of SBDC addresses.

You may want to try some secondary listing services and online sourcing businesses, although I haven't had specific dealings with any of them and can’t actually recommend any from experience. I don’t know the owners and operators of the American Venture Capital Exchange, but I do know that they’ve been operating that site for many years. However, I haven't actually used the service. Use these services carefully, and understand that there may be some risk. Another well-known offering is the Business Funding Directory.

And of course it's always good to look first at the main search engine sites. You could try the search for "angel investors" at Yahoo! and Google.

Important: Be careful in dealing with anybody who offers to help you find financing as a service for money. These are shark-infested waters. I am aware of some legitimate providers of business plan consulting and related assistance, but the legitimate providers are harder to find than the sharks.

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