Opinions please

[fightmogul]

I am looking to raise funds to produce mixed martial arts lifestyle events.But i want to use small investors as i know i can turn a profit on first show.Need about $50000 to produce shows.Is it easier to come up with 50 $1000 investors or one big one?

[bananaman]

I don't think one way is easier than the other.

But why does it have to be one way or the other? Why not vary the amount, but keep it at a mininum of $1000. That way you might not need 50 people.

Good luck!

[myfayt]

What aspect are you figuring in to know it costs $50,000? Unless you are talking about a years rent, it shouldn't cost that much.

You don't want to go with multiple lenders, it's a bad idea. You pay a little to one, fully pay off another, etc. It becomes very confusing, and if things go sour and you can't pay it back, you don't have just one person pissed off, you have dozens after you.

I recommend starting small with pocket change and moving up. Many of the top 100 companies were created with just $500. It's not impossible.

[singaboy]

I agree with myfayt. Involving too many lenders is in itself a problem. 2-3 is ideal, upto 5 is just fine.

And, what you are talking about is just the '1st round of financing' and though I don't know much about your business, I think you can start small and scale it up.

[jbeaton04]

investor=stakeholder
stakeholder=responsability
Simply put, the more investors you have, the bigger pain in the ass it will be

[Chris Brooks]

I agree with keeping it small you can also try virgin moneytoo.

[fightmogul]

Well the biggest expense is the surety bond i have to give the state to produce mma events in Texas.I know for a fact i can produce a way better show than what is going on now.Have ran the idea across fans of mma and they 100% liked the idea and all i care about is putting butts in the seats and bottom line.Oh yeah and i kinda like watching guys get knocked out lol.I fight also so i have a inside into the business.

[myfayt]

Why would you have to pay the state that kind of money? Insurance yes, but to the state for an event? Doesn't add up. Unless I just misunderstand you.

You must have a doctor/EMT at every event. It will be required, so you might want to check on that.

There is many MMA places out there, at least a dozen. I see them all the time on TV, different ones on different channels, so you have many competition.

The idea may sound good to you, thinking wow I get to hire fighters and kick peoples butt for money. However you are not looking at the business side of it. You need to do a complete business plan, when it's finished it will tell you exactly if it will work, how it will work, how to get funding, etc.

In short, it's OK to be excited about it, but don't jump into it and think that it will happen. Just think business, without that you have nothing.

One more thing, if you are receiving money from people coming to see the event, you will be taxed on it. You will be sitting in an office for many hours doing paperwork rather then ignoring it and sitting at ringside. When you pay the MMA fighters, you probably want to issue them a 1099 form, rather then a W-4. You can't pay "under the table" you can be shut down quickly for that.