When Will Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists Actually Invest?
Posted on July 16, 2010
Throughout the past year, I have noticed several trends while trying to raise capital. Angel investors, and venture capitalists for that matter, take forever to actually invest in your business. There were several times in my entrepreneurial career when I thought that I was guaranteed investment. I kept thinking to myself, I have a great concept, strong team and even a half way decent alpha build developed. Sadly, I still do not know exactly what it takes to grab an investor’s attention enough for them to actually pull the trigger.
I have come to realize that raising even a small amount of angel funding is a challenge. When I first started, I knew it was not going to be an easy task, but I never really understood how difficult it was.
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Your Personal Brand Fosters Venture Capital Relationships
Posted on July 14, 2010
Building your personal brand can significantly increase your network of Venture Capitalists. You need to make yourself accessible and create intrinsic value. Plan to capture investors’ attention by reaching out to them through unconventional methods. Spamming an investor with emails only poisons the relationship you are trying to construct. Investors get hundreds of messages every day and, as a result, young entrepreneurs need to be creative with their approach and deliver with precision. Before approaching a venture capitalist, make yourself valuable.
Reach out to investors by thinking about ways to expand your brand. Start by making a professional website that details your past experiences and future aspirations. Make sure to purchase (www.yourname.com) and orchestrate a clear message to your audience. By creating your own website, you can start to control search engine results for your brand. Unfortunately, showing the world who you are through your website is simply not enough. You need to blog. Investors enjoy reading blog posts that highlight trends in their industry. Blogging is a way of creating value while getting connected to the entrepreneurial community. Make sure to leave intellectually stimulating comments on other blogs, particularly ones written by venture capitalists. Building rapport and generating conversation is invaluable.
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Get Noticed by Venture Capitalists
Posted on July 3, 2010
If you are interested in working with startups and you want to be employed by a venture capital firm, you need to get involved!
What does getting involved really mean?
A few days ago, Matt Shapiro, an Associate at LaunchCapital, gave me a quick call. Matt just completed his graduate degree at the Yale School of Management and is the creator of the Entrepreneur’s Census, a survey that collected data from entrepreneurs and investors across the United States. I asked him for advice about how to land a position with a venture capital firm. He suggested several ways to work with startups, but he told me that it was almost impossible to become an Investment Associate working with venture capital and private equity. The industry has been shrinking and there are a limited number of firms. On a side note, he told me that the Entrepreneur’s Census gave him an avenue to expand his network and give back to the community that drives his passion.
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