You've got a great idea for a business, or maybe you're even close to having a finished product. But you need money--for a prototype, marketing, salaries, web development, hardware, legal help, office space, or all these things and more. Whom do you ask? How do you ask? How much do you ask for? How do you improve the chances you'll get the funds you need? That's what Funding Your Startup: Raising Money from Venture Capitalists, Angels, Family, Friends, Banks, and Other Sourcesis all about. In a how-to format, it delivers the basics of raising capital: identifying sources of funds, understanding what investors are looking for in early-stage companies, asking for funding effectively, using the pitch to maximize your chances of success, and ensuring you retain control of the business. Among other things, this book: * Walks you through the essentials of attracting potential investors * Shows you how to define the fundamentals and prospects of your business idea in a way that excites investors * Teaches you how to articulate your business "out loud" and deliver a pitch with the power to sway even the most tightfisted angels and VCs Author McAdory Lipscomb, Jr., known in the startup world as "the Pitch Doctor," has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs fund their businesses.
In Funding Your Startup, you'll not only learn to navigate the fundraising maze, but how to present your business as a rare opportunity for investors: how it will work, how it will make money, how you will attract customers and topnotch employees, and how you will take the business to the billion dollar mark and beyond. The template Lipscomb provides will help you pass the all-important "CEO audition" and get the money you need to start and grow the business of your dreams.