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Thread: How do you find an Angel Investor witk 350k to invest ?

  1. #1

    Default How do you find an Angel Investor witk 350k to invest ?

    I am between Start-Up & Expansion / ie I have invested 40k of my own money / have good traction / am ready to start producing income, but still need 50k immediately, and more later to make a good profit.
    It is a Marine Related Business. My Bank has offered a 100k loan for 7 yrs.with monthly payments of $1510.
    My cash flow will not cover that for the first few months, so I am thinking Equity Financing instead of Debt.
    I dont mind giving up an interest in the Company, and would like to find an Angel who could bring something
    to the table besides money.
    So far, I have not been able to connect . HELP !!

  2. #2

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    Can you elaborate more on what the business is? Marine Related Business covers a lot of ground. Also, where have you looked for these angel investors? Google? SBA? Local Yacht Clubs? Most of the time, non-friend or family angel investors have an interest in what they are investing in. They also tend to invest in under-served markets. The reason you may have trouble connecting with an angel investor is that there may not be any out there for your business. It's hard to say without more details as to why you are not having success.

    How many months is "the first few months"? If it's only going to be a couple of months before your company can carry its debt burden, it seems like the loan is a solid means of financing your venture. Also, any angel investor is going to want to know this information along with why you are opting for equity financing instead of the debt financing. Just because they are angels, does not mean they want to invest in a business that is unlikely to operate long term. They may not be investing purely from a monetary profit motive, but they still want to see their money doing something.

    There is a disconnect between your post title and the amount being sought from the angel investor today ($50K vs $350K). Are there are reason for the disconnect? I'm guessing you'll be giving up a whole lot of your company at this point to get that type of investor in the door.

    What is the money going to be used for? Is this for capital? On-going expenses? Your salary? What exactly?

    Since I don't know what the initial $40K was spent on, was that money spent on a hobby that you are trying to turn into a business, or was the purchase always a business purchase? Did you know you would need this level of investment when you put your $40K in? If so, why didn't you know where it was coming from before putting your money down. This is going to be a red flag for any investor. They don't like to hear that you vastly under-estimated the cost of starting your business, much less operating it. It makes them wonder what other things you may have missed. You need to be very clear why you have spent this much without having the financing to move forward already set up.

  3. #3

    Default Sorry for the delay-thank you for your quick response lucas.bowser

    My Business is Quick Response Towing & Salvage of Recreational Boats. I have 12 years experience in this field.
    I joined the GoBig Network, where you are allowed to send an e-mail to 3 Qualified Investors a day. After about 70 attemps,I have not gotten back so much as a No Thanks.
    The money will be used for a Fleet of 25ft.Boats stationed about 50mi. apart along a section of the East Coast,ready to respond on a moments notice. There are two Major Networks doing this now Nationwide,but my
    Product will be better,and cheaper. Our Main Product is a yearly Membership, similar to AAA for cars.
    Most of the Funds will be used for Equipment,Boats,Utility Trailers,and Pollution Control Gear. Maybe 80%.
    The 50k I mentioned was a mistake, I have not underestimated anything. I know what it takes, I have been there/done that.The Bank loan will not do it because it is 250k short.
    My initial 40k was spent on a Ex Coast Guard Rescue Boat & Salvage & Pollution Gear for 1 Location / I need to duplicate this equipment 5 times for 5 more locations. Due to my affiliation with a National Network (franchise) I had numerous calls for Salvage Jobs in various locations after Hurricane Irene, but was not yet equipped to do the jobs.
    I have a 57 page Business Plan....not the 1st one I have ever writtten.................Thanks in advance to all who may offer help.........A Cart

  4. #4

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    The GoBig Network does not have a sterling reputation, which may be part of your problem. Though they claim affiliation with the investors on their site, there is no real relationship with many of them. You only need look at how they are set up in order to determine that. What they have really done is research about all the various angels, vc, pe investors across the US, compiled them into a searchable database and offer you access to that database for a convenient monthly fee. A smart business on their part, but they over-sell what they really are IMO.

    You said you have emailed 70 "qualified investors" with your plan. I see two problems with this. First, I have a hard time believing that GoBig truly has 70 investors in their database that really match what you do. Second, imagine you are them. An angel investor/firm is usually 1-3 people in size and they usually have a specific Industry they are targeting. Once they start with you, you are rarely the only iron in their fire. They receive "slush" (aka pitches) via email and snail mail daily. They may receive pitches for 10-50 business ideas at a time, so as you can imagine your idea has gone into the "slush pile" for many of them. This is the pile they look at when they are not busy with the investments they are actively courting/involved with. Depending on when you started sending your request, it is quite possible your request has not even been read yet. It is also possible the investors you are contacting did not opt in to the GoBig network (They were added without their consent by GoBig because at one time there was an open call for submissions, which makes them fair game for the directory.) Further, the people you are contacting may not currently even be soliciting plans. If that's the case, you may have went straight to the circular file instead of the slush pile.

    There is a logical progression that Angel Investors go through when screening and funding their projects. Pitch --> Exec Summary --> Talking to You --> Reading Full Business Plan --> Engage in Funding Discussions --> More Work by You --> More Funding Discussions --> More Work By You --> Final Funding Discussions --> Begin Receiving Funding --> Execute on Milestone Plans Set Up as Part of Funding --> Finish Out Receiving Funding. Each step is an opportunity to get kicked out. Because reading and digesting takes time, your pitch and executive summary are the most critical pieces of info you can provide and craft. They are the ones that let the investor know if you are right for them. Often times, if you aren't even close to what they are looking for, they won't respond.

    So that said, why don't you give us a look at the pitch letter and executive summary of the plan you have been sending out? Maybe some of us can read it and offer some constructive criticism to help hook the investor into reading the executive summary of your plan and subsequently the business plan. If you don't want to share with the whole board, you can PM me and I'll be glad to take a look at your package.

  5. #5

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    Thank you , I will, ,but cannot send a PM until I have 5 posts.

  6. #6

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    I hope the Admin is OK with this, ,I really need this Help.This is post 4..

  7. #7

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    I apologize to Admin, hope this is not considered cheating.Post 5...now I will PM you Thanks to all.I love this Board.

  8. #8

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    Don't know if you have had a chance to check out my review of the ES you sent me. Wasn't sure if you got alerts when you received a PM back.

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