I have to say, personal relationships seemingly are the best option for the start-up, small businessperson.
No one who can get a SBA loan is in this tribe - so how are we going out getting funding?
Has anyone here received funding in the last 12 months?
I'll start off:
I have started a business in the last year, and I have raised a good amount of money from mostly personal relationships that I already had, or because of my search through people that I knew.
One option that I did not know that I had was (I opened a bar) companies that fund bars and restaurants only. The problem with these groups is that the return to them is insane. Crazy. BUT! It allowed me to get open, and that was worth it.
Anyone else get funding in the last year?
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Re: Personal Relationships Rule.
Thu, May 18, 2006 - 6:15 PMI'll 2nd your opinion Andrew. I'm currently a consultant and on the board of advisors to several early stage companies, and what has enabled me to work with them on their financing strategies and helping them execute against these, has been my extensive network of friends and acquaintances. One of them has been meeting w/4-5 VCs where I facilitated introductions and one is meeting w/several angels that I've been arranging for them to present to. Really wasn't that hard, because the hard work (building and maintaining relationships) was already done. Hence, my suggestion is remember that you never know the value of your personal networks 'til you have to use them. It also doesn't matter who is part of your personal network, because by implication a network includes friends of friends and so on, and you never know whose sister married what financier, or what programmer just hit it big with an IPO and is looking to leverage some of his well earned gains into new business investments. I met one of my clients while kitesurfing...go figr :-)
