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Encouraging Startup and Growth Funding NewsWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Tuesday, December 15, 2009Categories: Because of all the negative news in the financial markets, this may come as a surprise to many, but last week, over Half a Billion dollars was given to startups and growing companies. That's right. In venture capital alone, over $200 million was given out. Startups like Ansca Mobile (mobile application firm) and Branders.com (online seller of promotional items) raised $1 million and $5 million respectively. And early-stage companies like Lanyon (management solutions to the hospitality industry) and Seeking Alpha (financial commentary website) raised $7 million and $10 million respectively. And the angel market was also booming from coast to coast. Next Big Sound in Boulder, CO (music services) raised $1 million, PBworks in San Mateo, CA (wiki hosting) raised $650,000 and FitnessKeeper in Boston, MA (fitness platform) raised $400,000 among many, many other deals. And hundreds of other startup and early stage companies raised debt financing and funding from numerous creative and alternative sources. So, money IS out there. And lots of it. The key is, as it has always been, to know what sources of financing are right for you and how to get them. My brand-new capital raising course - "The Secrets to Raising Capital" - shows you exactly how to do that. This 14-week course covers 40 sources of capital. It teaches you what they are; helps you determine which sources (note that "sources" is plural on purpose) of capital are right for your business, and most importantly, gives you step-by-step action plans to raise each one. Click here to learn more about my new course. You're Invited to Pitch Silicon Valley This FebruaryWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Wednesday, December 2, 2009Categories: Many of you might recall that I interviewed Bambi Francisco, founder of Vator.tv, months ago.
If you’re not familiar, Vator.tv is an online community that allows entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures and communicate with customers, partners, and investors. I fully recommend that you check out Vator.tv. But that’s actually NOT why I’m writing today…  Today I wanted to tell you about Vator’s upcoming “Splash” competition, which will showcase 10 promising startups, and the hottest companies in social gaming and iPhone app development. Plus, you can meet and network with elite venture capitalists. Best of all, I’m excited to announce that I’ve secured you a 25% discount to this event. Here are some more details: On the evening of February 4th, 2010, ten seed- to early-stage companies (selected by their peers) will have the opportunity to pitch the Silicon Valley elite. These 10 companies will also have a high quality video of their presentation produced. In addition, Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, will talk about how he built the leading social gaming company in a few years, and Jeff Smith, CEO of Smule, will talk about how he built some of the hottest iPhone apps. Additionally, venture capitalists from Google Ventures, August Capital, Greycroft Partners and Norwest Venture Partners will also be present. To submit an early stage company to pitch, click here: http://vator.tv/competition/show/vator-splash-competition If you’d like to attend the event, you can reserve your 25% discounted ticket or pitch table below by using discount code: Vatorgrowthink, here: http://vatorsplash.eventbrite.com/ Note: This special 25% discount ends December 11th. Creative Business Financing: CNN Money Identifies Creative Financing LoopholeWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Thursday, September 10, 2009Categories: As a reader of my blog, I'm sure you're aware of my "Definitive Guide to Creative & Alternative Financing Sources." The Guide presents 28 unique ways to raise money to start or grow your business.
I knew the Guide was really good (since it took me so long to create and since buyers have continually praised it), but I didn't know just how impactful it would be. Well, a month ago, CNN found out about the Guide, and a CNN Money Reporter contacted me. What resulted was a full story on ONE of my creative and alternative financing sources: customer financing. You can read the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/08/smallbusiness/barnraising_a_business.fsb/ What I liked most about the article is that Helaine (the reporter) gave numerous examples of customer financings. This will hopefully give you more ideas on how customer financing might be right for your business. If customer financing is not right for you, or if you want to tap 27 more unique and proven alternative and creative financing sources, download Growthink's "Definitive Guide to Creative & Alternative Financing Sources." New Capital Raising Articles on Growthink.comWritten by Growthink on Tuesday, August 4, 2009Categories: We just published a new series of capital-raising articles on the Growthink website, within our new "Capital Raising Resource Center."
Angel Funding Articles
Bank & SBA Loan Articles
Creative & Alternative Financing Articles
Grant Articles
Venture Capital Articles
Stay tuned! In the coming weeks and months, we'll be adding new articles and videos.
Are there any specific capital-raising topics you'd like us to cover? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Are you an entrepreneur looking to find angel investors for your deal? Learn proven networking, presentation, and negotiation tactics from Growthink's Angel Investor Guide. Capital Raising Bootcamp - Registration Now OPENWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Wednesday, July 29, 2009Categories: I’m excited to announce that today is the first day of registration for the Capital Raising Bootcamp!
To register your spot, go here. And here are a couple of important updates about the Bootcamp. Update #1: I realize it’s the middle of summer, and many of you have probably planned vacations – or may even be on vacation right now (lucky you!). To account for this, I’ve decided to provide recordings and transcripts as an added bonus when you register, in case you have to miss all or part of one of the sessions. Update #2: I’ve decided to add an extra day to the Capital Raising Bootcamp curriculum, to allow for questions-and-answer time. I’m going to dedicate this 4th day (Friday August 7th) entirely to Live Q&A. So, now, the finalized Capital Raising Bootcamp curriculum/schedule is as follows: Day 1: Tuesday, August 4th: Essential Overview of Raising Capital Day 2: Wednesday, August 5th: Venture Capital and Angel Funding Day 3: Thursday, August 6th: Debt, Grants, and Creative/Alternative Financing Day 4: Friday, August 7th: Questions and Answers (Each session runs from 2:00pm EST to 3:30pm EST). Remember: There are only 50 spots available. We are putting a strict limit on registration in order to make the experience as valuable as possible for each participant – and, most importantly, to allow enough time for each person to have his or her questions answered during the Q&A time. To register go here. Capital Raising Bootcamp PreviewWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Monday, July 27, 2009Categories: Here is a video that explains precisely why raising capital is so important to your business. And, importantly, it includes details regarding why it’s critical that you understand how to raise capital from multiple sources, even if you currently are only seeking one particular type of capital... Near the end, I reveal a fantastic (and perhaps my favorite) tip, which is the single most controllable factor that you have to improve your success in both fundraising and successfully growing you business.
Creative Business Financing Techniques - DonationsWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Monday, July 13, 2009Categories: One neat thing about helping entrepreneurs fund their businesses is that whenever someone comes up with a cool way to finance their business, I end up hearing about it.
Whether they email me directly, or someone else finds out and lets me know, it always ends up in my inbox. Which is a good thing. For years, I’ve been keeping track of these emails and stories and have decided to put together a report. The report, which will be called Growthink’s “Definitive Guide to Creative & Alternative Financing Sources” will detail tons of ways to finance your business that you probably don’t know about or haven’t considered. One such creative financing technique is using donations. Months ago I received an email about a horoscope website, Birdielawson.com, which solicited donations from its visitors. The site has generated thousands of dollars in funding from these donations. And it’s using these donations to grow further. Another great example of donation financing is FeedDigest. FeedDigest was founded by entrepreneur Peter Cooper in 2004. At that time, Cooper added a PayPal button to his website and asked users of his website to donate money. His visitors subsequently donated enough money to allow him to start really growing the company. Soon after, an angel investor wrote him a check for even more money. FeedDigest grew and grew based on those investments, and in August 2007 was acquired by Informer Technologies, Inc. And finally, perhaps the most famous recent example of donation financing is Wikipedia which has raised several million dollars in donations to date. So, if you have a website (if not, you should create one), one source of capital that you should consider is donations. Soliciting and accepting donations is as simple as creating a PayPal account and adding a PayPal button to your website. Alternative Business Financing: 40 Tactics to EmployWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Monday, July 13, 2009Categories: Did you know that when I started Growthink ten years ago, I knew very little about raising capital?
Sure, I knew a lot about raising venture capital, but I didn’t know much about financing sources like angel capital or SBA loans. And I knew virtually nothing about creative and alternative financing sources. In fact, since starting Growthink, I have uncovered 40 tried-and-true ways that entrepreneurs can fund their businesses. Most of these ways I had never heard of before. But they work. Now I’d like to share them with you. In a few short weeks, I’ll be teaching a select group of entrepreneurs all about these 40 financing sources in a unique multi-part teleclass. Why is it important to know all of these options for raising capital? You might be thinking “But I just need a loan right now,” or “I’m just looking for angel capital,” or “I know that venture capital is right for me.” Knowing these 40 options provides you with the flexibility you need to raise capital from multiple sources NOW. it also gives you the ability to raise various rounds of capital in the future. The truth is, most successful businesses utilize at least 3 types of capital, and usually a combination of debt and equity, as well as “creative” or alternative financing. If you’re only using 1 type of capital, but your competitors have access to several types of capital, you’re at an automatic disadvantage. More importantly, not knowing about these 40 financing sources, and going after the WRONG sources of capital, is the #1 reason why most entrepreneurs enter the “death spiral.” What is the “death spiral”? Well, the death spiral is the unfortunate process that typically occurs when an entrepreneur has a great idea and needs money to execute on it. The death spiral has four parts: 1. The entrepreneur learns a little bit about how to raise money. 2. The entrepreneur gives a whole or half-baked effort to raise money. 3. The entrepreneur fails to raise capital (in fact, they fall flat on their face) because they don’t fully know what they’re doing and/or go after the wrong funding sources. 4. The entrepreneur’s dreams die and they return to their 9 to 5 job. If you want to avoid the death spiral, and raise funding for your business, I will teach you how to do it. As mentioned, later this month, I will be offering a unique multi-part teleclass that teaches entrepreneurs like you how to really raise capital. ARC Stabilization Loans - 35,000 More Reasons the US Government RocksWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Monday, July 6, 2009Categories: The next time you get frustrated that the taxes you pay to the U.S. government are so high, realize that the government gives a lot of this money back to entrepreneurs. And one of these entrepreneurs can be you! In fact, last year, the U.S. government provided funding to 69,434 companies through its Small Business Administration (SBA) lending program. And last month, the SBA stepped up its efforts even further to help entrepreneurs and small business owners. Specifically, last month, the SBA created a new type of loan called the "America's Recovery Capital" loan, or "ARC." This loan is specifically designed to help existing businesses who are currently experiencing distress due to the economy. What's great about ARC loans is that they are deferred loans. The funds are dispersed to you over a period of up to 6 months, but you are not required to make any payments until 12 months have elapsed since you were funded. Payback terms are up to five years. The maximum loan principal is $35,000. And there are no fees to the borrower. And the government guarantees 100% of the loan to the SBA partner bank. Finally, the interest rates are extremely reasonably; only prime plus 2%. To learn more about and how to get an ARC, SBA or other bank loan to fund your existing or startup business, instantly download our new report entitled "Growthink's Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Capital from Banks & SBA Lenders" here: http://www.growthink.com/products/loanguide One Really Big Organization that Wants You to SucceedWritten by Dave Lavinsky on Tuesday, June 30, 2009Categories: If you own an existing business, or are planning to start one, there is one organization who really wants you to succeed. In fact, this organization is even willing to loan you money to start or expand your business. And they will give you this money with favorable interest rates and payback terms. That organization is the United States government. The U.S. government has learned over time that giving capital to entrepreneurs creates more jobs, improves the economy, and expands the tax base. All the things they really want to achieve. Many years ago the U.S. government set up the Small Business Administration (SBA) specifically to make loans to entrepreneurs and small business owners. In fact, the SBA currently has $45 billion in loans outstanding to entrepreneurs. And, in addition to SBA loans, there are several kinds of debt capital that may be available to start or grow your business such as business lines of credit and traditional bank loans. Each of these types of capital are covered in detail, including a step by step plan for getting these loans for your business, in our new report entitled "Growthink's Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Capital from Banks & SBA Lenders." Among other things, the report covers: * The differences between raising debt capital and equity capital that you need to understand (Page 2) * The important elements of loans and what you need to know BEFORE you look for one (Page 7) * Exactly what lenders are looking for when they consider whether or not to fund your business (Page 9) * The biggest misconception about loans that keeps many entrepreneurs from getting funded (Page 11) * One easy, but seldom used trick to maximize your chances of getting a loan on the best possible terms (Page 12) * The key types of loans and what you need to know to make sure you get one that's right for your business (Page 13) * The best way for startups to overcome a key SBA requirement and quickly get the perfect SBA loan (Page 19) * Assessment of every type of SBA loan to allow you to quickly determine the optimum one for your business (Pages 19 to 24) * The hands-down fastest way to get an SBA loan (Page 29) * Growthink's proven 6-step formula for getting an SBA or bank loan (Pages 32 to 36) * The 30 U.S. banks that are most likely to loan money to your business (Page 37)
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