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I am trying to startup a mortgage company. My venture would be a full service mortgage lender not a brokerage. I have a marketing plan that I feel will drive business to the company in a sustainable, consistant fashion. I am in the very very early stage of this venture. I am looking to raise some seed money in order to get the company intrastructure in place and establish the proper licenses and approvals so that i can "pitch" this to future investors as an existing company needing capital to expand and develop rather than just an idea and a business plan as it is now.

My question is where should I be attempting to find the "seed" funds. I need somewhere between $250-500K seed money and i am willing to give up a reasonable amount of equity in order to get this thing started.

I have 24 years experience in the industry and have owned my own mortgage company in the past.

Thanks for the feedback.

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4  
Thats a great point and the reason that I do is another matter all together. In any event, I am hopeful that others on this site will be more helpful and less judgemental. – steve11140 Mar 21 '11 at 21:18
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Steve, ignore the guy above, its a legit question for the site. – Robin Vessey Mar 22 '11 at 0:30
I have to agree with NetTecture - with 24 years in the business and as a previous "owner" you should already have some pretty good ideas and contacts. – TimJ♦ Mar 22 '11 at 0:38
Haha I originally read the title as 24 years old, not 24 years experience. That's what happens when you skim. – Nick Mar 22 '11 at 1:12
It's a legit question for this site. Experience in an industry is not necessarily tantamount to experience with investment or networking with VCs. Plus we all start at different stages under different circumstances. In any case, be helpful if you absolutely have to be judgmental. If you read the title of this thread you'd know he's "New to the VC world". Flagging the comments above since they can't be downvoted. – Henry the Hengineer Mar 22 '11 at 1:25
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3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

Steve a VC is looking for a return of between 6 and 10 times their investment within 7-10 years ... they have to repay their superannuation funds and large investment houses within this timeframe.

You should be looking for Angels who have a plan to grow and have safer returns over a longer timeframe OR partners in the same game as you who together can build the business.

Bank loans are also an option and other funding sources exist for your sort of stable growth business.

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up vote 1 down vote

VC funding is going to be hard to come by for something like a mortgage company, unless you are really turning the industry on its head. VC's make their money by expecting some of their investments to have massive, enormous returns - and that only happens with game-changing kind of industries. A mortgage company in the general sense does not fit that mold. That is why so many VC's are into the tech / biotech industries. That's where groundbreaking changes happen.

If I were you I would try a business loan from a bank, or an SBA startup loan, and see if you can collatoralize it against some assets. Or find a partner who wants to fund and give up some equity. VC / Angel funds don't really apply to your field, IMO.

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Agree. Startup != new business. This is a new business, not a startup. No "growing complete US within 2 years" plan here. Not every new business is a startup. – NetTecture Mar 22 '11 at 6:01
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I am not sure any VC would be interested in a mortgage company. Why would they give you money when they can get at or near your expected return in existing mortgage companies? They are looking for larger returns.

If you are just looking for "investors" then you should change the title of the question.

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