Raising Capital For Dummies

While raising capital has never been easy, it has become a lot more difficult over the past few years. The dot-com debacle has made investors skittish, especially when it comes to financing early-stage start-ups. As a result, more and more entrepreneurs are being forced to compete harder and harder for a spot around the money well. At the end of the day, all most have to show for their efforts are tattered Rolodexes and battered egos. What they need is the competitive edge that comes with having a friend in the business–an advisor who’ll cut through the mumbo-jumbo and tell them in plain English how to get the money they need. What they need is Raising Capital For Dummies. Whether you’re just starting your business and need a little seed capital to launch your first product, or you’re looking for a little help expanding an established business into a new market, this friendly guide helps you get the financing you need to realize your dreams. You’ll discover how to: Tap personal sources of financing, as well as family and friends Approach customers and vendors for financing Hook up with commercial lenders Find angel investors Get an SBA loan Raise cash through private equity offerings Woo and win investment bankers and venture capitalists Venture capital guru, Joseph Bartlett explains in plain English the capital-raising strategies and techniques used by some of today’s most successful businesses, including tried-and-true methods for: Assessing your financial needs and creating a solid financial plan Researching sources of financing and making first contact Finding, contacting, and convincing angels Getting your customers to finance your company Understanding and exploiting matching services Exploring commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, finance companies, and the SBA Qualifying for a loan Working with placement agents Raising cash through IPOs and mergers From raising seed capital and funds for expansion to IPOs and acquisitions, Raising Capital For Dummies shows you how to get the money you need to survive and thrive in today’s winner-take-all marketplace.

Secure venture capital? Easy. Getting a business up and running or pushing a brilliant product to the marketplace requires capital. For many entrepreneurs, a lack of start-up capital can be the single biggest roadblock to their dreams of success and fortune. Venture Capital For Dummies takes entrepreneurs step by step through the process of finding and securing venture capital for their own projects. Find and secure venture capital for your business Get your business up and running Push a product to the marketplace If you're an entrepreneur looking for hands-on guidance on how to secure capital for your business, the information in Venture Capital For Dummies gives you the edge you need to succeed.

A helpful resource that helps business professionals navigate the murky waters of capital formation--offering actionable strategies to overcome challenges at every phase of the growth cycle. Leveraging his years of experience as a strategic and legal entrepreneurial advisor, author Andrew Sherman provides useful advice for entrepreneurial leaders looking to grow their funds and expand their business. Raising Capital does this by providing the tools for building business plans, preparing loan proposals, drafting offering materials, and more. Entrepreneurial leaders in any industry will learn how to: identify their best sources of financing, treat their investors with respect and integrity, decipher legal documents, and gain the skills and patience to see their way successfully through the long haul of raising capital. Including updated checklists, charts, and sample forms, this book gives insights on the latest trends in the domestic and global capital markets, an overview of recent developments in federal and state securities laws, and strategies for borrowing money from commercial banks in today’s credit-tightened markets. Whether your business is a fledgling start-up, a rapid growth company, or a more established organization, Raising Capital will help you stay the course and take it to the next level.

Darren Weeks is Canada’s most prominent financial educator. He is the Founder of the Fast Track Group of Companies, an acclaimed solutions-based financial literacy firm and one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies. For nearly a decade and a half, Darren has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people across North America, Europe and Latin America about how to become financially independent. He is an advocate of learning how to create wealth through business and investment, and believes that this vital knowledge is lacking from traditional education. In fact, in every country that he has spoken Darren has seen that schools do not teach their students to manage money. Darren has made it his mission to fill that void by providing financial education to people across the world. He went from an average middle-class upbringing to raising hundreds of millions of dollars in investor capital, owning nearly 5,000 real estate properties, millions of dollars in energy assets and acquiring two cruise ship terminals in the Caribbean. All of this was accomplished by educating himself on how to do it and then taking action. There is no greater expert on the art of raising capital from investors and no person more committed to sharing this information than Darren Weeks.

Learn a detailed strategy to acquire, secure, and protect private money in your next real estate deal. Grow your real estate business and raise your game using other people's money!

Most small businesses cite lack of capital is a major constraint on growth. "Raising Capital" focuses on non-bank sources of capital since banks only lend to companies that fit a very narrow profile. The topics covered include: (i) capital sources entrepreneurs can tap when they are too small or unusual for banks, (ii) angel investors and venture capital, (iii) where to look for angels, venture capitalists and other capital sources, (iv) how to pitch your company and close the deal, (v) deal terms and issues that arise when negotiating a deal, (vi) going public through an IPO or little known small public offerings, (viii) asset based lenders, and (ix) other financing vehicles including: bond, commercial paper, PIPEs and securitization. The scope of the book ranges from capital for entrepreneurs who have little more than an idea, to capital for top rated companies.

The easy way to get started in crowdfund investing Crowdfund investing (CFI) is going to be the next big thing on Wall Street. U.S. investment banks, brokerage houses, and law firms are gearing up for the creation and regulation of new financial products that will be available to the general public starting in early 2013. The introduction of these products will revolutionize the financing of small businesses and startups for these key reasons: Entrepreneurs and small business owners, who have had difficulty obtaining capital through traditional means (such as bank loans and angel investors) in recent years, will have access to investors around the world through social media. For the first time, investors (so-called unqualified investors) will be able to purchase an equity stake in a business or new investment vehicle. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is overseeing the creation of online portals that will allow entrepreneurs and small investors to connect. When these portals go live in 2013, Crowdfund Investing For Dummies will be on the front line to educate business owners, other entrepreneurs, and investors alike. Crowdfund Investing For Dummies will walk entrepreneurs and investors, like yourself, through this new investing experience, beginning with explaining how and why CFI developed and what the 2012 JOBS says about CFI. Entrepreneurs will find out how much funding they can realistically raise through CFI; how to plan and launch a CFI campaign; how to manage the crowd after a campaign is successful; and how to work within the SEC’s regulations at every stage. Investors will discover: the benefits and risks of CFI ;how much they can invest; how a CFI investment may fit into a broader investment portfolio; how to provide value to the business or project being funded; and how to bow out of an investment when the time is right. Crowdfund Investing For Dummies is an indispensable resource for long time investors and novice investors alike.

Raising Entrepreneurial Capital begins where entrepreneurship books leave off. This book provides a broad, high-level discussion of the financing decisions that companies must make to achieve success. With a focus on classic capital raising, the text covers the debt vs. equity decision, as well as the options available to smaller businesses. It also describes the factors that lead to rapid growth, including venture capital, IPOs, angels, incubators, and much more. Combining solid theory with practitioner's experience and insights, this book should increase student understanding of how to raise entrepreneurial capital. It explains how your company should position itself to attract private equity investment, and what steps you can take to improve your company's marketability. It includes several chapters on worldwide regional variations on forms and availability of pre-seed capital, incubators, and the business plans they create, with case-studies from Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim. It also effectively differentiates between venture capital and entrepreneurial capital. This book will appeal to entrepreneurs and to students in Entrepreneurship programs, particularly entrepreneurial finance courses. * Combines solid theory with practitioner's experience and insights * Case studies illustrate theory throughout the book * Describes worldwide and regional variations in capital raising strategies