Looking for Seed Money

[cander38]

I have a conceptual product that fills a major market need. I am in search of seed money to get the company off the ground and build a prototype. The product would revolutionize the industry. After proper prototype is built, licensing options can be explored or the product can be taken to market.

Industry is technology/advertising. The product does not require any new technology, but adaptation/modification of technology.

I am in Atlanta and would be looking to deal with someone locally. Seed money would be needed to hire proper people to build prototype and secure a patent through a patent attorney.

[MySuccessIzUnlimited]

You need to be more specific about the amount needed. Also if you seek a loan or private equity. I always recommend creating a business plan so you have your own map and plan of execution.

Once you have a polished plan, have a meeting with friends and family to pitch the idea (a nice meal doesn't hurt) and be specific about what you need as well as the amount needed and how it will be used. Timeframes are helpful but we know they are subject to change.
You can also meet with your local Small Business Association (SBA) and SCORE for free advice.

Here are some additional funding resources that may be able to assist you:

Lending Club and FundingUniverse

Good luck!
Lee
http://Answer-Key.com
http://SoGettingRich.com

[cander38]

Thanks for the tips.

I already have a business plan. This is something I've been working on and off with for about a year. I recently was laid off, so I've decided to give it a go full time. To do that, I need approx $50,000.

My family does not exactly have money to invest, so I'm looking outside. I've been working on it part time for the past year while trying to save the money myself to fund things myself (I do not want to give up any control/equity). However, with my current situation, I may need to give up equity in exchange for funding.

I've already built a digital prototype of the product and did some very limited market research and the product seems very solid and has garnered very favorable reviews. I just need the funding to create a tangible prototype and hire a patent attorney to make sure the product is 100% protected.

[akula]

I have a conceptual product that fills a major market need. I am in search of seed money to get the company off the ground and build a prototype. The product would revolutionize the industry. After proper prototype is built, licensing options can be explored or the product can be taken to market.

Industry is technology/advertising. The product does not require any new technology, but adaptation/modification of technology.

I am in Atlanta and would be looking to deal with someone locally. Seed money would be needed to hire proper people to build prototype and secure a patent through a patent attorney.

Hi...
ok, this is how it goes..

1. your post is completely identical to the thousand of other posts like yours that get posted on msg boards every weeks all over the net.
2. nothing's gonna happen with your post. no one's gonna come around and magically give you money so you can commercialise your conceptual product.
3. this is a good thing. chances are your product is garbage, as most of these "I have an idea that will revolutionise everything" things are
4. if you think that you are an exception, then you should do what founders do and go ahead to bootstrap your thing.
5. bootstrapping is a simple process:

a) stop thinking that some one's gonna come help you. they're not. you don't need anybody.
b) fire up MS Word
c) make some surveys
d) distribute surveys to target market
e) collect results from step d
f) use results from step e to sign letters of intent with distributors
g) use letters of intent to secure trade credit from lawyers and manufacturers
h) use the trade credit, savings, consumer debt and loans from family/friends to secure the patent, manufacture your 1st batch and sell the first batch through distributors
i) collect revenues from step h
j) reinvest revenues from step i to make second batch

BAM, you have a venture,

have fun

[akula]

I just need the funding to create a tangible prototype and hire a patent attorney to make sure the product is 100% protected.

this is bullshit, stop wasting your time
do what I'm telling you, it works
alternatively, go see peter ireland, he'll tell you the same thing
http://www.antiventurecapital.com/

[cander38]

Hi...
ok, this is how it goes..

1. your post is complete identical to the thousand of other posts like yours that get posted on msg boards every weeks all over the net.
2. nothing's gonna happen with your post. no one's gonna come around and magically give you money so you can commercialise your conceptual product.
3. this is a good thing. chances are your product is garbage, as most of these "I have an idea that will revolutionise everything" things are
4. if you think that you are an exception, then you should do what founders do and go ahead to bootstrap your thing.
5. bootstrapping is a simple process:

a) stop thinking that some one's gonna come help you. they're not. you don't need anybody.
b) fire up MS Word
c) make some surveys
d) distribute surveys to target market
e) collect results from step d
f) use results from step e to sign letters of intent with distributors
g) use letters of intent to secure trade credit from lawyers and manufacturers
h) use the trade credit, savings, consumer debt and loans from family/friends to secure the patent, manufacture your 1st batch and sell the first batch through distributors
i) collect revenues from step h
j) reinvest revenues from step i to make second batch

BAM, you have a venture,

have fun

Thanks for the reply. I am not expecting anyone to magically come around and hand me a bunch of money. I also understand that everyone thinks they have a great product that is going to revolutionize the world/market.

I appreciate the steps you have put down for me. This is what I am looking for... Yeah, it'd be great to magically find an investor, but I am really looking towards these boards for words of advise.

Part of the reason I am so confident in my product is that I have completed some market research/surveys and the results have been through the roof. Sure, it may never come to fruition (in my mind, however, this is not an option), but the product fills a major need in a multi-billion $ industry and the market research towards businesses and consumers alike has been very positive.

As to the second part of your post... I was of the same opinion that I do not need anyone and want to take my product to market independently. However, I have lost my job in the past year and financially I will no longer be able to fund things myself. I have looked into Angel Investor groups, but many of these seem to be businesses in themselves... i.e. pay a $2,000 fee to give a 20-30 minute presentation and a 5 minute Q&A, then they'll think about it. Doesn't seem like a good place to put my money.

[akula]

yes life is tough
i've told you how to finance your venture
let go of all these fantasies in your mind
you're not gonna revolutionse anything or sell your equity to anyone
what you're gonna do is get a job, save some money, max out the credit card, sell a little bit of your product to one or two people and slowly bootstrap your opportunity
it's gonna be a hard slog, it's gonna take ages...but in the end, this is what you know you should be doing

get real. get with the program.

[cander38]

yes life is tough
i've told you how to finance your venture
let go of all these fantasies in your mind
you're not gonna revolutionse anything or sell your equity to anyone
what you're gonna do is get a job, save some money, max out the credit card, sell a little bit of your product to one or two people and slowly bootstrap your opportunity
it's gonna be a hard slog, it's gonna take ages...but in the end, this is what you know you should be doing

get real. get with the program.

Thanks for all the advise/kick in the pants. I am working the "long road map" right now. I am just exploring other options of funding to expedite things. From what I have found, angel investing seems to be about as common as winning the lottery. I do have one friend who is willing to put about $20,000 into the company... but he wants equity and I am reluctant to do that for someone who can not bring a significant amount of money to the table.

I do have a question about your original post: How does trade credit with lawyers work? What and how would this be used?

Thanks

[akula]

Thanks for all the advise/kick in the pants. I am working the "long road map" right now. I am just exploring other options of funding to expedite things. From what I have found, angel investing seems to be about as common as winning the lottery. I do have one friend who is willing to put about $20,000 into the company... but he wants equity and I am reluctant to do that for someone who can not bring a significant amount of money to the table.

I do have a question about your original post: How does trade credit with lawyers work? What and how would this be used?

Thanks

v. good. i wasn't kidding. talk to peter ireland. read his book.
get serious about realistically financing your venture.
what you need to do is start thinking in terms of informational leverage and a portfolio of financing alternatives rather that one magical solution that will make your problems go away.

yes you are right, external equity finance (i.e. an angel) is probably not appropriate for your opportunity.
generally speaking, external equity is too expensive and comes with too many strings attached.
angel capital is not a concept that you seem to understand, although i can explain to you if you'd like. in fact, it would probably benefit you if i explain some things to you, things which include http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/, http://angel.co/ and the whole super angel movement

trade credit works with lawyers the same way as it works with anyone else.
if you need a lawyer to do a service for you, but you don't have any money, what you need to do is convince the lawyer to do the service for you now and get paid later, once you start earning revenue. that said, most probably, you don't need a lawyer because you don't need to patent anything, because patents, within your context, are worthless

how you do that is up to you. successful foundership is defined as effective non use of cash. no one likes founders who go around writing cheques. anyone can start a venture with money. you need to be able to do it using nothing more than informational leverage as i've described it in points a-j.

[cander38]

Perhaps I don't understand Angel Investing well. I am not aware of a misunderstanding, but perhaps you can set me straight?

My understanding is that angel investors look for opportunities in businesses where they can improve/advance the business with the end product being a good return on their investment. Angels inject businesses with seed money, growth/operational money, ect... Terms will very from angel to angel and business to business. Maybe this is a very basic understanding, but am I far off base????

Also, why would external equity investment not be appropriate for my opportunity? What makes an opportunity appropriate for angel investing?

Regardless, it seems I would be better served securing some distributor and manufacturing intent letters before seeking funding.

[akula]

Perhaps I don't understand Angel Investing well. I am not aware of a misunderstanding, but perhaps you can set me straight?

My understanding is that angel investors look for opportunities in businesses where they can improve/advance the business with the end product being a good return on their investment. Angels inject businesses with seed money, growth/operational money, ect... Terms will very from angel to angel and business to business. Maybe this is a very basic understanding, but am I far off base????

Also, why would external equity investment not be appropriate for my opportunity? What makes an opportunity appropriate for angel investing?

Regardless, it seems I would be better served securing some distributor and manufacturing intent letters before seeking funding.

yeah sure ok. i like you. your question " What makes an opportunity appropriate for angel investing?" is insightful. you seem committed and i want to help you.

you have a good preliminary understanding of angel capital as a general financing category, so what i want to do is explain some specific things to you like peer filtering issues and so on, so that you can avoid some common mistakes that founders make when shopping for money (i.e pitching the wrong solution to the wrong people). i want to give you some specific advice and i need a bit more info from you.

where are you located and what problem are you solving?
your location is important because geography is critical as far as private equity goes, and i don't need to know your solution but the definition of your problem is important because of sector preference issues. your problem definition should identify the people who are experiencing the problem, the cost of the problem and reasons why this problem is unsolved at the moment.

e.g. hypothetical problem formulation "U.S. financial services advertisers in California spent $10 billion in 2010 on outdoor advertising campaigns. It's hard for advertisers to track which outdoor campaigns were more effective than other outdoor campaigns. This leads advertisers to overspend money on ads which don't work and underspend on ads which are effective. The result is that over $5billion in ad spending was wasted in 2010 by financial services providers in California. Overspending on ineffective ads continues to be a problem because all current solutions are either too expensive or impractical to implement. Our widget helps outdoor advertisers track the ROI of their individual outdoor ads. The widget helps outdoor advertisers dramatically improve ROI from outdoor ad campaigns. Our solution is less expensive than competing options because of a technological breakthrough".

[cander38]

I've sent you a reply to your question in a private message. Thanks.

[cander38]

yeah sure ok. i like you. your question " What makes an opportunity appropriate for angel investing?" is insightful. you seem committed and i want to help you.

you have a good preliminary understanding of angel capital as a general financing category, so what i want to do is explain some specific things to you like peer filtering issues and so on, so that you can avoid some common mistakes that founders make when shopping for money (i.e pitching the wrong solution to the wrong people). i want to give you some specific advice and i need a bit more info from you.

where are you located and what problem are you solving? your location is important because geography is critical as far as private equity goes, and i don't need to know your solution but the definition of your problem is important because of sector preference issues. your problem definition should identify the people who are experiencing the problem, the cost of the problem and reasons why this problem is unsolved at the moment.

e.g. hypothetical problem formulation "U.S. financial services advertisers in California spent $10 billion in 2010 on outdoor advertising campaigns. It's hard for advertisers to track which outdoor campaigns were more effective than other outdoor campaigns. This leads advertisers to overspend money on ads which don't work and underspend on ads which are effective. The result is that over $5billion in ad spending was wasted in 2010 by financial services providers in California. Overspending on ineffective ads continues to be a problem because all current solutions are either too expensive or impractical to implement. Our widget helps outdoor advertisers track the ROI of their individual outdoor ads. The widget helps outdoor advertisers dramatically improve ROI from outdoor ad campaigns. Our solution is less expensive than competing options because of a technological breakthrough".

Hi. Just wondering if you got my private message and what sort of advice you can offer about what makes a company appropriate for angel investing. Any and all other advice is also welcome. Hope I'm not throwing too many questions at you, I'm just trying to become as informed as possible!

[akula]

yep...on it's way..
basically, if you're serious about equity finance, i'll give you feedback about how/where to shop for your angel/series a round
anything else you would like me to cover?
...you seem pretty switched on, so probably, the only other tips you need are on good execution, which i've already covered briefly in this post..unless i've missed something that i can't think off
other than that, i'll write you soon..i haven't had a second to put together all the names relevant for your location/space

[cander38]

yep...on it's way..
basically, if you're serious about equity finance, i'll give you feedback about how/where to shop for your angel/series a round
anything else you would like me to cover?
...you seem pretty switched on, so probably, the only other tips you need are on good execution, which i've already covered briefly in this post..unless i've missed something that i can't think off
other than that, i'll write you soon..i haven't had a second to put together all the names relevant for your location/space

I'm serious about getting things off the ground, whether it be through equity finance or bootstrapping. Any and all advice you can offer is very helpful. I have been reading a lot on techcrunch.com and crunchgear.com. I am now taking the steps to begin contacting distributors to hopefully garner interest. My product requires some programming that goes well beyond my knowledge so I have begun networking at a local (very prestigious tech college) in hopes of finding the right fit to bring in a programmer in exchange for a small share of equity.

Advice you can offer on going about securing financing, how to approach distributors and what manufacturers look for when you approach them (i.e. is there a standard of how your specs should be drawn up, common trade credit terms, ect...)?

Also, my product would be beneficial (for both parties) if paired with a cable or satellite company -- any advice on when to and how to approach such large businesses is very welcome.