VC?

January 20, 2006 5:04 PM

How would one search out willing venture capitalists? A client of mine has a business plan, a good market, and a group of capable people, but just found her source of funding has dried up. If she can find one or more investors who can commit to funding, she believes that she can make it happen. But how would we find such people? (For the curious, this is a non-tech venture.)
posted by megatherium to work & money (6 comments total)

Venture Capital Resource Directory.
posted by ericb at 5:22 PM on January 20, 2006

How much money are we talking? If you're talking under a million dollars, try the local office of the Small Business Administration. They can provide financing advise and put your client in touch with the proper resources.

Also, check out the SBA's Small Business Investment Company program. This program provides funds to VC firms that invest in small business - the type of investments these VCs makes varies from hot tech companies to more mature, traditional companies. Here a list of SBICs by state.

Other than that - just Google for "[state] venture capital" and you'll probably find something like this (the Arizona Angel Investment Conference organized by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce). And call your local chamber of commerce too.
posted by mullacc at 5:26 PM on January 20, 2006

Argh, sorry for all the typos and poor grammar.

I'd also recommend reading some of Paul Graham's essay on VCs and startup companies. It won't help directly but I think his ancedotes and experience provide a lot of insight.
posted by mullacc at 5:31 PM on January 20, 2006

Yeah. We really need to know how much scratch your friend needs.
posted by Kwantsar at 9:29 PM on January 20, 2006

Knowing the sort of business is helpful too. VC's tend to specialize to a degree, for various reasons, and there are a lot of things that they won't generally touch, like any sort of labor intensive services business. VCs also tend to want to do invest in companies located close to their offices.

Depending on the business, a loan of some sort could be a better bet.
posted by Good Brain at 11:12 PM on January 20, 2006

Depending on where you're located, there are usually a few organizations that are designed to assist entrepreneurs. Start with your local Chamber of Commerce, and then check with a local University's Business School and their Technology Transfer Department.

I'm very active with the Houston Angel Network the Rice University Technology and Entreprenuers Alliance, and the Houston Technology Center, all of whom seek out and match entreprenuers with investors here in Texas, and I know that there are many groups all over the country that do similar things.

Once again, the amount of the raise matters, but there are some general guidelines:
$100,000 to $250,000 - Friends, Family and Credit Cards
$300,000 to $1,000,000 - Angel Investors, SBA, SBIC
$2,000,000+ - Bank Financiang backed by an Angel, Smaller VC's
$5,000,000+ Brand Name VC
posted by marc1919 at 7:39 AM on January 21, 2006