Questions related to receiving capital from external sources.
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2answers
228 views
The Dream Team - What investors look for?
I know that the first thing investors look for is a good strong team. Until recently, I thought that just meant the founder and co-founders. However, I was just checking out angelist, and most of ...
0
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1answer
109 views
Getting funding with an unorthodox team
We have three co-founders...all of us business men and business owners. None of us are programmers. We have decided that finding one more co-founder(a coder), would probably be the best move for us. ...
1
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2answers
123 views
Just went live and need funding- what do I need to prove?
I just launched an online platform that allows inidividuals to video chat based on their interests. Unfortunately, Sean Parker launched a similar concept last week but it just means we are both on the ...
4
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1answer
142 views
I ran an ad and now an investor wants to invest in my project and he wants to do several things first. Is this an odd request?
He wants to open a Chase Bank account for the investment. So my question is how do I protect myself if for some reason this person is trying to lauder money through my project? What protection can I ...
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2answers
121 views
Reasonable compensation for building a product prototype
I'm negotiating a job to build a prototype for some people. They will show that prototype to investors and can potentially get funded.
Do people usually get compensated for this? If so, what should I ...
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3answers
72 views
How to request a business plan for possible funding?
I made some money over a new startup and I would like to invest a part of it into someone else's startup.
I found it through an online university competition and I would like to know more information ...
0
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1answer
47 views
Funding : for growth, releasing equity for cash
Just browsing through crunch base, i was looking at flipboards profile http://www.crunchbase.com/company/flipboard , what i was wandering is initaly they got $10.5m series A funding and then $50m in a ...
0
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3answers
262 views
New LLC - Initial Investment
I have a newly formed LLC in California which I did through Legal Zoom. I understand I need to be careful with cash flow (with respect to where it comes from and goes). I am also in the process of ...
2
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2answers
146 views
When VC's buy into a business who gets the money?
This might be a really dumb question but I've heard of a few cases where VC's have purchased into a business and it made me wonder. Facebook's purchase of Instagram recently made me think to ask on ...
1
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1answer
121 views
Once you find a VC/Business Angel or other, how long does it usually take to close the deal and get the money?
Imagine you found a VC or Business Angel or other to invest in your project something around 200,000 USD. How long does it usually take to close the deal and get the money? (A min-max and average ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
How to choose debt or equity funding
Does anyone have a methodology or logic for deciding on debt vs equity financing?
Specifically, for a software startup, where a lot of development has been completed and product is ready to launch. ...
1
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1answer
101 views
Is it legal to pay someone a commission for helping us raise funding?
Our startup is at a very early stage, and we do not want any institutional funding at this moment, for reasons out of the scope of this question.
We are instead looking for funding from friends and ...
0
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1answer
182 views
What is the procedure to finance a project?
A wealth individual would like to invest into a project where he would provide the funds and I would provide the management of the project. However, I am not too sure of the correct procedure to start ...
4
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1answer
159 views
What is the JOBS Act?
The Senate passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) by a vote of 73-26. The Senate added new crowdfunding protections, the House will likely accept them as-is, and the President is ...
3
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5answers
285 views
Whats my next step?
My name is Stephen. This is my first time at your site so I'll explain where I'm at with my product and hopefully I can get a little feedback on what you might think is the best "next step".
1.) Had ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views
What do kickstarters want in return?
I was looking at kickstarter to get some funding for a possible business venture. Kickstarter funding would cover entity filing fees and other costs or licenses and materials.
I have seen some ...
4
votes
4answers
607 views
Can startup funding cover founder's personal expenses?
I and a friend of mine are working on our own web startup. Right now we are coding the whole thing and would be looking for investors 3-4 months down the line. My question is, can we include our own ...
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3answers
2k views
Statistics about startup success vs. failure rates?
Are there any statistics that measure the success vs. failure rates of startups?
The definition of success would be to attract first or second round of funding and failure would be to not get anymore ...
2
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1answer
298 views
Looking for Angel/ VC funding for our project
We have a smartphone job engine. The project is already released in beta domain and getting good response. We have not yet prepared Business Project/Proposal document as we were concentrating on ...
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2answers
149 views
How Many Seed Investors Should we Approach
We are building a startup, we are a few weeks away from our MVP launch. We have had some initial positive investor conversations with an angel and a couple VCs. One large VC that generally doesn't do ...
0
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3answers
156 views
quit your day job while building your awesome concept before funding?
I was thinking it all right to work on my great concept during my free hours and weekend left from my day job.
however, lately, I feel I cannot use this free time effectively due to job stress and I ...
0
votes
2answers
97 views
Pitch for funding while the company is in the process of being registered
I have applied for the registration of my company, but it might take around 3 months to get all the formalities clear. In the meantime, is it possible to approach any VC and ask for funding? I ask ...
4
votes
1answer
221 views
Start up valuation - how much equity
Approached by 2 founders that are very early days of executing an idea.
They have some good .com properties that will be central to brand/idea and had recent offers around $100K, with one outlier ...
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2answers
108 views
C Corp Investment Documents [closed]
What the appropriate documents needed for one to buy into a (Delaware) C Corp (private)?
What are the documents that the Company needs to issue in order to confirm the investment?
2
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4answers
108 views
Where to find Funding to keep selling or go bust
Our business model is based on IAAS. We have to keep investing in equipment that we rent out and always lack funding to purchase new equipment. We have come this far with private loans and fundings ...
1
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2answers
184 views
Monetization of a big open-source software frameworks
Let's consider jQuery is an example project for my question.
jQuery is the most renown java script open source software framework nowadays. It was created when working with JavaScript was a real ...
6
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2answers
381 views
Why does a web startup need millions on VC capital?
One of the great benefits of the web application business is that startup costs are generally fairly low compared to brick and mortar businesses. Web hosting is getting cheaper and programming costs ...
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3answers
125 views
Is it common to create several companies when starting a business?
I'm trying to raise a startup with three other people. The idea is to have a first prototype of the product and then seek funding. So far we have collaborated informally, but now we will go into the ...
2
votes
6answers
466 views
Standard Articles of Incorporation Documents - resources
What are the best incorporation (and related) document resources? Are the YCombinator incorporation docs available?
There are a number of 'model' or 'open source' documents for a startup's first ...
4
votes
4answers
237 views
Funding: Kickstarter or Family Loan?
Background
I've been working on a video game for android devices (i.e. an app) for some months now, and I'm getting close to completing a solid, well polished product
I'm lucky enough to have an ...
0
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1answer
79 views
Do most Business Incubator programs provide money for entrants to live on?
If you have a good enough idea and business model and get accepted into a business incubator program but happen to have zero dollars in your bank account, do most of those types of programs provide a ...
0
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3answers
171 views
Where can I find international seed investors?
We have just lauched a website for our upcoming SPARQL Database Server. We would like to attract the interest of international seed investors, but we are not sure where to start looking. We are based ...
0
votes
2answers
154 views
How investment works when the entrepreneur is a foreigner?
I'm a foreign entrepreneur, If a US investor shows interest in investing in my company.
At what stage do i have to meet them?
do you think it's worth it to spend $2000 in travel expenses and yet ...
1
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1answer
77 views
News source of companies who have received funding
As a CEO of a startup, I would like to stay informed about potential competitors. One source of such information would be to read news about startups that have received funding from investors. I am, ...
1
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3answers
748 views
What happens to the angel's / A round investor's stake on subsequent rounds, in the Valley?
As far as I understand, when the next round happens, the startup emits new shares that are sold to new investors under newly negotiated valuation.
Does this lead to the previous investor's shares ...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
Evaluating a startup
My question is, what is the best way to evaluate a software startup as a perspective employee from the point of view of viability i.e. economic viability.
I am more interested in hints related to ...
1
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2answers
236 views
How to decide on how much stake to sell in a SaaS startup?
I have a brand new tech startup. The system was developed over the period of 1 year, the website is ready and it also already has a couple of customers (non-recurring). The service was launched 2 ...
2
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2answers
212 views
How did Twitter/Quora persuade investors as they didnt/dont have a business model?
I wonder, how did Quora persuaded their investors as they don't make revenue and even they don't have any revenue model as far as I know.
The question is same again for twitter ( I know they sell ...
1
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1answer
125 views
Should you try not to give a concrete number to a potential investor?
When raising funds for a start-up with a working prototype/alpha product, should you refrain from asking for a specific amount? Or should you provide a preferred amount, and a backup plan for a ...
0
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1answer
62 views
Best single resource for understanding Business Analysis
I would like to get up to speed on Business Analysis, and just downloaded, "A Guide to Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide)" and I'm wondering if this is the best single source for the ...
2
votes
3answers
155 views
How do you put a price tag on fame and mentorship from an early investor?
We're sitting with a situation where we have been given two different offers for seed investment. The first is more than double the amount of the other, but from someone not in the tech industry, and ...
0
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1answer
92 views
Who are the most reputed Angels/VCs and what type of Businesses each of them Concentrate on
I am looking for funding, thus looking for angels in technology and trading. Is is possible to post sources of funding by area and stage. Also relative merits of each source. Perhaps links and ...
1
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2answers
176 views
How to convert a pet project into a startup company / product?
I have been in software industry since Aug-2005. In beginning of 2009 I got a nasty memory leak related defect to solve from my employer. To help myself with such kind of errors in future, I started ...
3
votes
5answers
268 views
What is the best way to adjust options?
Me and my partner are about to start a new startup. I'm much more financially prepared than he is so we've agreed on the following structure.
I would fund the company with half a million for the ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
How to take a draw in a multi-member LLC?
My business partner and I are forming an LLC. As I understand, members of an LLC are not employees and therefore are not on payroll. Instead they pay themselves by taking a draw from the LLC funds.
...
0
votes
1answer
176 views
Two ways to finance the $20,000 of the remaining liabilities
A business has $80,000 worth of liabilities that must be paid within the next 3 months. The liquid (can be turned into cash quickly) assets total only $60,000, the sales and collections from customers ...
2
votes
3answers
134 views
Why people seek investments if that means surrendering the control?
I've been reading people talking about giving away 51% of the company in exchange for money and considering it normal.
I perhaps miss something but what is the point of creating a startup company if ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
Will my company be worth more if…?
I have got an idea which is new in concept and is based on the cellular market. I am a programmer, an animator and I can do graphics and presentations. I am definitely NOT a business man, and for some ...
2
votes
2answers
109 views
Co-Founder's Credit
So I have a start up I am working on and given that I am a technical person I have been out looking for a business co-founder. I approached a former co-worker of mine with business experience and ...
2
votes
3answers
166 views
Where to start?
So this is my situation:
I've got an idea and I don't have much programming skills - I'm 16 and about to start uni for the first time in a couple of months and I'm in for Software Engineering.
...
