Suggestions needed on finding investors !!

**Tom Shaffer** · 12-09-2008 12:19 PM

We have the only diabetic supply company in our area and we're growing faster than we can support. Banks are too tight right now and my credit isn't the best. I am looking for investors to help fund the local division with inventory and the national division with the creation of a small web marketing division along with inventory. We know how to do it....we have relationships in the industry (Medicare, Medicaid, manufacturers, etc, etc.) to do it....we just need the capital. We have 2-3 investor meetings per day and alot of people interested but no one has pulled the trigger just yet. With the way the economy is, everyone is a little gun shy. We provide each interested investor with an Executive Summary and an extensive Business Plan. The investor would receive 1 point of interest in the parent company for every 10k the investor puts in.

Any one have suggestions on finding investors over and above what we are doing right now.

We had an investment firm interested in working with us but they just wanted too much. We decided to work with what we had and try to get funding ourselves.

Thanks for your input,

Tom

**marcstep411** · 12-16-2008 11:18 PM

Try to find someone locally that cashed out (well) of a comparable distribution/supply business. He/she could add value and understand your business. Often time individual investors only invest if there is an affinity, i.e., same locale, same type of business, same school, etc.

**Brainy** · 12-18-2008 12:37 AM

Doubt if "serious" investors are online in this forum.

**sobofitness** · 12-18-2008 06:05 PM

I found a very potential investor who may fully fund my business of $1M on the GoBigNetwork.com. It took a little while for someone to finally step up, but it happened. Also speaking to Angel Investor Organizations is another way, but you normally have to pay a fee of around $250 to speak to them, but it could be worth it. Those are just a couple of ideas.

**marcstep411** · 12-19-2008 01:59 PM

You don't have to pay to get in front of many angel groups. Go to Angel Investors | Angelsoft and look for an angel group close by and apply to them if you feel you have an attractive business/returns for them. In Angelsoft you can pay $250, as sobofitness says, but that is for their "Opendeals" where your opportunity is made available to their entire network of angels worldwide. Bear in mind though that most Angel investing is locally or regionally based so begin with groups near you. Again, your best may be someone who cashed out of a similar business.

**Cole Taylor** · 12-19-2008 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by sobofitness

I found a very potential investor who may fully fund my business of $1M on the GoBigNetwork.com. It took a little while for someone to finally step up, but it happened. Also speaking to Angel Investor Organizations is another way, but you normally have to pay a fee of around $250 to speak to them, but it could be worth it. Those are just a couple of ideas.

Be very careful, that site is filled with imposters and pseudo "facilitators." They normally require upfront fees and 99.9 percent of the time they dont deliver.

Never pay anything upfront, never! I'm not going to go into detail, but I have direct experience dealing with some of the morons over there. Now, this is not a jab at the owners. I think they really intended to set something up to connect entrepreneurs, or those seeking capital, with funding sources. The problem however is that there is no way of verifying that the person signing up is a legitimate investor.

Also, it's a fact that accredited investors, angels, and the vulture capitalists do not sign up to such sites to find potential investments. They have people beating down thier door putting every hair brained idea in front of them. Why do they need more deals especially when there is zero screening criteria?

Now you may have a great business model, but if you look at the majority of the funding requests on there they are not worth the paper they're written on.

To the OP: you stated you had a funding source that wanted too much so you decided to raise the capital yourself. Based on the fact that you are seeking advice on this forum I presume you dont have the right connections. Perhaps you should revisit this outside firms proposal.

I do know this much: raising capital is an expensive venture. Whether you go to facilitators, brokers, finders, VC, Angels, or the bank there's a price to pay. That price is dillution. Remember, a smaller percentage of something is a lot better than 100 percent of nothing.

**marcstep411** · 12-19-2008 03:39 PM

@cole great post, couldn't have said it better.
@Tom -- one other thing, not only do most serious investors not find deals, or even subscribe to, those sites cole alludes to, if they even get a hint that a money finder is involved they will just go away onto the next deal. Part of being an entrepreneur is being able to sell your own deal, and showing the fortitude to find investors.