Venture capitalist funding is a popular method currently being used to fund businesses that are either starting up or are on an expansion route. These are groups of people actually whose main job is to gather the appropriate kind of resources to help entrepreneurs with their ventures. The people who deal with such kind of money resourcing are called as venture capitalists. These people work in groups. Most of the venture capitalists might not have their own money to fund businesses entirely, but they will have the resources to gather money from suitable places in order to fund businesses. Every venture capitalist is an investor, but in all likelihood, a single endeavor will be funded by a group of venture capitalist and not just one. Hence, venture capitalist funding is about gathering the right amount of monetary funds that businesses needs for their operation.
If you are planning to use venture capitalist funding for your business, you need to first see if they will have the kinds of funds that your business will require. Things are easygoing if your business won’t require a large investment—almost all venture capitalists can organize medium-sized funds at short notice—but things can become rough if your venture will need a large amount of investment. In that case, you will probably find it more suitable if you can connect with a venture capitalist company that is affiliated with a bank or some other such healthy financial institution. It is also good if they have a good monetary pool. Monetary pools with venture capitalists have a lifespan. Most of them will be retained for up to 10 years, which means you have up to 10 years to pay back the amount they have invested in your business effort.
Despite all that, that fact is that for venture capitalists, life is full of risks. The money that they invest doesn’t carry any guarantees of being returned. Since they are usually investing in new entrepreneurs who might not even have the experience of running a business, things are quite risky for them. Hence, they try to do various things in order to secure their investment. This is directly connected with the growth of the business. If their business prospers, then it is definite that they will get a return on their investment as well.
To ensure that, most companies who provide venture capitalist funding will insist on a seat on the board of directors that they are investing in. This helps them to keep closely connected with what is happening and they can even suggest some tips and advice out of their own vast experience with running businesses. They can see where a company is making bad decisions and can prevent that from happening. Some of them might even ask for managerial positions, especially if the present management is not doing things too well.
So, you might be considering venture capitalist funding for your own entrepreneurial effort. However, you must know that things aren’t as easy as they seem. There might also be a few surprises in store. That is the reason you must look carefully at the agreement that you will be signing with the venture capitalist investor. There will be an agreement, and you have to read all the clauses therein, and probably even get your attorney to explain things to you. This is a very delicate situation—a lot of the future of your business is going to depend on it—and hence you have to make sure you are taking care with whatever you do.
Now, the application for venture capitalist funding itself is a very difficult job. Venture capitalists aren’t roaming around in the streets and even if you find a good company, you need to prove your worth to them. You have to show them that you will be able to provide them with a good return on their investment. You have to make a proposal for them, and this proposal needs to be written in a very detailed manner. It has to clearly elucidate what manner your business will be functioning in, and what kind of returns it will provide and when. Venture capitalists are willing to wait, but they need to know how long they should wait in order to get their investments back.
When making an application for venture capitalist funding, there are certain things that you have to keep in mind.
- You have to be careful with all the figures you state in the proposal. Remember that the more figures you state, the better is your chance of getting approved. Numbers put a realistic spin on things. You must mention in a realistic manner about what kind of cash flow your business would need, what kind of profits you expect to make (both gross and net) and what kind of liabilities will exist. The franker you are about these things, the better will your proposal be.
- You have to construct an entire business plan. This plan has to tell about unique aspects of your business. Why do you think your business will be lapped up by the market? Is there a unique point about your business that makes it rise above the competition? What is the competition? How many players are there, what their products are, what kind of market penetration they have and how do you expect to rise above them? Venture capitalists want to know real facts about such issues. If you have conducted any market surveys, make sure to include the results of your findings in the proposals you make
- For the company that is providing you the venture capitalist funding, the risks are quite high. So, it is a great idea if you mention in advance what kind of share they will have in the business effort. This improves your chances of approval.
- Make a professional business plan. Be succinct and to the point. There are professional proposal writers whose help you can seek.
These are some points about venture capitalist funding that you should know in advance. You must realize that venture capitalists also work under certain constraints—if you can note these constraints and work with them, you stand a better chance of approval.