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The main reason for attracting an investor to your business. How to attract investment in business

When implementing any project, there comes a moment when own resources are no longer enough for further growth. Kirill Kravchenko, co-founder, head and ideologist of the likarni.com and meds.ru projects, tells where and how to look for an investor and why it is necessary to raise money not for the project, but for the project.

Company call center operators

Define what makes your selling proposition unique.

For example, we had:

Expertise in creating medical marketplaces and lead generators

Three years of experience in the market in the niche of medical advertising

7 years web studio management experience

Formed team of developers, managers and marketers

Working business model

Availability of the finished product

Knowledge of the market and its correct assessment, assessment of all direct and indirect competitors

And don't despair if you don't get an answer, it means you're not interested. Use different methods: simple email works, . Keep searching until you get the first feedback, after which you are guaranteed to reconsider your vision for your project.

4. Do you need an investor?

Finding an investor can take certain time. At such moments, the thought may appear, but is he needed at all? Isn't it easier to take money from the bank? Investments are often perceived as simply raising borrowed funds. But, in fact, this concept is much broader.

In addition, the investor can take on legal, accounting, auditing services, provide premises for the work of the team, advise a marketing agency or specialists if the startup does not have its own expertise. A special place is occupied by the mentoring support of the project manager, with whom it was much easier for me personally. An investor is not only money, it is a whole infrastructure and expert support, the ability to fully focus on the core value of a startup.

5. How to run a business when an investor is found?

You have achieved your goal - received funds for the development of the project and enlisted the support of a partner. And then there are workdays. Now you can fully immerse yourself in the project in order to make it profitable, multiply the turnover, and go beyond the local market.

Think about how best to spend borrowed funds. AT recent times I often notice that young entrepreneurs perceive this money as pure profit, as if they had earned it, and not borrowed it, albeit at zero interest and without the risk of default. This is a big mistake.

Start today to be a responsible person, an entrepreneur, a partner. Think again if you are responsible - do not confuse this with diligence and diligence. Good man- not a profession, an irresponsible businessman will not succeed: both the project will destroy and burn the nerves.

Own business is a pleasant, albeit responsible business. You are your own master, an independent person, a person who has set foot on the right path.

But, be that as it may, the matter must be promoted. And if you are a wise entrepreneur, then over time you will definitely begin to attract investors to your business.

It is difficult to do without the help of investors, both for a novice businessman and an established entrepreneur. This is because young businessmen do not have enough start-up capital to bring their idea to life, and large entrepreneurs come to a point where they need a large amount of money to further promote their business.

And just at such moments, the way out of this situation will be to attract investors.

How and what to interest an investor?

To begin with, you must be completely confident in the success of your business project. To do this, you need to competently and carefully study the business idea. Correctly calculate the amount that is needed for its implementation, and calculate the approximate time of its payback. All this is necessary so that the investor understands what he is investing in and when the profit is expected.

Creativity is an important component of the success of your business project. You need to come up with something unusual, not necessarily a new business idea, you can only find a non-standard approach to its implementation. And then, investors will certainly be interested in your business project.

Proper business management

Let's say you've found a prospective investor. Your task is to prove to him that it is possible to do business with you. Show your strengths: do not be late for a meeting, correctly present information about the project, boldly and openly conduct a dialogue.

Advertising

To interest anyone, this case investors, you need to know about the project as soon as possible more people. It is not necessary to advertise on radio or television, of course, if this is not a million-dollar business project. For a novice entrepreneur, it’s enough just to tell your acquaintances and friends about your idea, and they will already advertise you in their circle.

Confidence

If you yourself are not sure about the profitability and success of your business, you should not even try to attract investors. You will not succeed, rich people will not invest their day in the project of a businessman who is uncertain of success.

Remember these rules, they will help you in attracting an investor. I wish you success and profitable business projects.

Grow your business and investors will find you

Ideas are in the air - don't worry mom. Go to any startup get-together held in any major city great amount, and you will be amazed at the number of crazy ill-conceived ideas per million that young inexperienced brains generate. And they want that same million right now, otherwise you will suddenly steal this brilliant idea of a second Facebook. A million dollars, of course, not rubles.

Just sit down and do it. Find like-minded people, make with them the first, terribly crooked version of your miracle. Finally, get feedback from your potential customer. Most ideas die before they are born - one man is not a warrior, if you are not able to motivate your team (or even assemble it) - your idea will not even reach the first prototype.

I have friends who have created several dozen different projects. None of them turned out to be a breakthrough. Except the last one. After 3 months, they were bought by one of the most famous companies in the United States and all the world's media wrote about them. Or vice versa, first they wrote and showed on TV, and then a dream proposal followed.

Don't be pushy

Most investors are not investors at all. Many in this way want to prove their importance to themselves, many from educational motives, someone is PR, someone is looking for the right connections. And someone is looking for certain projects, and yours just does not fit his aspirations. Maybe a person likes to spend time in restaurants, ordering various delicacies, and considers himself a guru of the restaurant business. He's more likely to invest in another tablet app that lets him call the waiter with a single button than your brand new breakthrough social network for budgie owners.

So don't get too hard on those who told you no. Yes, keep them informed, periodically send them personal letters with information about how cool your project is developing, how the number of users has increased 3 times in a month. Let them know. As soon as (if suddenly) you succeed, they will talk about you, the greedy man will come running and tell you that he always believed in you and you should sell the project to him. Well, it won’t work out - who remembers the losers.

Don't focus on attracting investments

Many entrepreneurs have long been serial idea generators. They sit in co-working spaces, drink smoothies, poke their fingers at tablets, follow trends. Taxes, what we have in fashion there: social networks, airbnb for cats, BigData, a website for discounts, an application for installment cards, overhead masks on a face in a mobile phone starring Leonardo DiCaprio ... We are doing everything today, tomorrow we are looking for an investor. And, no, it still needs to be done, to strain, to spud the developer. Better vice versa, tomorrow we are looking for an investor, a presentation in a popular application for your favorite iMac is already ready. We'll hire a developer later. Fashionable, so that he does everything on a turnkey basis. While we are looking for a new iPhone for each of the 20 managers, yes, an office in the Federation Tower. And a secretary like that, oh, oh.

Be prepared to risk your own funds/time in the initial stages.

Decide on the type of investor

New entrepreneurs always make the same mistake. They are hammering investors who do not understand belmes in the niche in which you are doing your project. If it is known that this investor has invested in a brick factory, in a restaurant and in a hostel, it is likely that he will not understand anything when you tell him about your breakthrough iPhone application, in which you can immediately see where you can order near you fried steak and cracklings for white wine.

In addition to the fact that different investors have different specializations, they are also divided into investors of different stages. There are those who might consider investing $5,000 in your project for 90% of the business at the first prototype stage, and there are those who are only considering projects with a team, a proven business model and a gross revenue of at least $500,000 per month. .

Someone understands that a viral application that has no direct monetization potential can cost millions and be of interest to a major player, while someone still walks around with a golden Vertu dialer of the 2007 model year.

The grass is greener and the water is wetter

Do not think that the West is waiting for you with open arms, and you just need to write a couple of letters to funds from Silicon Valley (or Silicon Valley, as you like), and you will immediately be invited to his office by Mark Zuckerberg, aka Jacob Greenberg.

Yes, they have more money and more opportunities in the valleys. But it’s so damn expensive to be there and to break through among a million startups per square millimeter that you should first think about whether you need to immediately pack your bags and sell the apartment. So that for some year renting an apartment / room in Mountain View or Palo Alto is enough.

Small business projects, high-risk projects, projects with an untested business model, other local non-scalable projects, by definition, have no chance. And even potentially breakthrough, but at the stage of idea or initial launch. Everything has its time. If you get millions of users, Zuckerberg will call. Will definitely call.

Death Valley is not the time to invest

The valley of death is a period in a startup project when you have already spent all the money, you are already in debt to the very top (and no one else gives you money), the project is either launched or not launched, but at this stage it still does not bring money. And will bring or will not bring - is unknown. In short, you are in a complete ass, an investor is urgently needed.

And the investor is also not a fool. He needs it to already work and be guaranteed to bring him profit. And your personal problems are of little interest to the investor. Moreover, an investor is not a philanthropist who, like a good fairy, flies over a coworking space (this is a place where startups hang out and rent a table and chair for the price of half a separate office) and save everyone from bankruptcy.

project team

The investor does not invest in the project, he invests in his team. Most projects make Pivot after Pivot (change of business model). Each time, receiving feedback from users, the project is modified. And most of the projects at the stage of the first prototype and in a year or two are absolutely different projects. The founders sometimes only smile sadly, remembering how it all began and what ideas and hopes gushed out of them then. And only a team of like-minded people is capable of constantly changing without losing faith in the project. No one invests alone.

Do you have a legal entity?

Under honestly no one will give you money. You need a financial model, a clear business plan, a well-developed sales funnel / or viral growth of + 200% of users per month. You also need a legal entity. In Delaware, the good old habit. In order to immediately distribute the shares between the founders, other key employees were registered for vesting (this is when their share is not immediately, but only a year later in equal shares for 4 years). And so that the investor could immediately dilute the share in the startup in exchange for their investments. Investor early stage because he wants to recoup the remaining 9 failed projects by selling his share, and not to play your friend. And everything must be immediately correctly legally executed.

Think Like an Investor

First of all, understand for yourself what goodies and cookies an investor will get from communicating with you. What is the investment attractiveness of your project for him.

On the road

The process of obtaining / attracting investments is a hell of a complex, lengthy and dreary process. Only a few have the strength to break through this jungle.

- one of the ways to increase capital, the essence of which is to invest your assets in your own or someone else's business activities. the main objective investment in business - making a profit in the short or long term.

Despite its apparent simplicity, business investment have many nuances and can be classified according to a number of criteria:

1. By ownership :

- investment in own business. If you have the necessary knowledge, experience, desire and initial capital, you can invest in your own business. For many active investors, this way of making a profit is one of the most attractive.

The main advantages of such a business include the maximum level of profitability and the possibility of self-realization. Minuses - high risks due to the unpredictability of investments, material and moral, the maximum requirements for knowledge, as well as the need for large initial injections;

- investment in someone else's business- one of the most simple options investment. Here you do not need to do business personally - it is enough to give money to an experienced specialist who himself will be engaged in the implementation and promotion of the project.

2. By the volume of investments :

Pros and cons of investing in a business

Business investment is always a risk. Investments in business activities are no exception. It also has its positive and negative features.

Benefits of investing in a business :

- the opportunity to participate in the life of the company and make decisions. In some cases, the investor gets full access to the management of the company. At the right direction the profit of the business increases, and, consequently, the return on invested capital also grows;

- diversity various forms and directions. In entrepreneurial activity, the choice is huge - you can invest in services, the production of various goods, intermediary structures, and so on;

- the possibility of small infusions. To invest in a business, it is not necessary to have a large capital on hand - it is enough to buy a small share of the company. With a successful combination of circumstances, you can buy out the shares of other participants;

- accessibility and simplicity. This type of investment is the most understandable and does not require special knowledge (but only if it is a passive investment of capital);

- the reality of the assets. The results of the investment can be seen in the form of the company's tangible capital;

- possibility of choice. Each investor can choose the direction of business that suits him the most and where he has the greatest amount of knowledge;

- unlimited profit. The income received in the future is unlimited. If you build a business correctly and bring it to the top, you can get 100-150% profit every month. At the same time, the stronger the company becomes, the higher the investor's profitability.

Disadvantages of investing in a business:

- high risk. Despite all the advantages, investing in a business is one of the riskiest ways to build your capital. There is always a danger of losing part of your funds or even the entire amount invested;

- "Vise" of the law. Some are strongly limited at the legislative level, by the action of regulatory structures and government agencies. In a state where the level of corruption is high level, such problems should not be overlooked;

- an unexpected twist. Business does not always develop according to plan. There is always a risk of unforeseen events that will nullify the effectiveness of the entire project as a whole;

- high risk of conflicts in equity investment. When owning only part of the company, there is always the risk of disagreements with other buyers of the business. In this case, one of the investors may leave the project, which will affect the overall profitability of the business;

- the importance of knowledge and experience. High investment efficiency can be achieved if you have a good understanding of the chosen direction and the specifics of management activities (typical for active management);

- profit instability. The income received can vary greatly and depend on a number of factors. At the same time, the same type of business in certain conditions can bring different profits. The investor is forced to constantly find ways to build under and get the maximum income;

- the need for additional investments. Often, investing in a business requires additional capital. If timely injections are not made, this can lead to the loss of business or a decrease in its profitability;

- delayed profit. Investments in business are long-term, that is, you can count on receiving income not immediately, but after some time has happened.

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For the opening own business getting a loan from a bank is almost impossible, and if there is a chance, then its cost is quite high for a novice entrepreneur. But this is not a reason to abandon a business project, because everyone has real opportunity attract business investment. Many businessmen do not have enough money to implement their business plan, and it is for them that main question about how to attract investors.

Who is an investor

Before you start looking for someone who will invest in a business, you need to clearly understand who an investor is and on what conditions there will be mutually beneficial cooperation. So, an investor is an individual or legal entity that finances a business project that will increase its investments in the future. Thus, the investor either becomes a shareholder of the enterprise, or receives a profit from it until the moment when his capital returns to him with interest.

But it must be borne in mind that attracting investments in private business not as easy as it seems, because it will be necessary to finally convince the investor that the project is really profitable. In short, the goal of the investor is to increase his capital.

Why is it needed

Today, few people want to invest in new business, so on initial stage it is quite difficult to attract a third-party partner to your project. For an entrepreneur, this is a big responsibility, it is more expedient to start a new business, relying solely on their capabilities, including material ones. Although it is possible to start an activity with the help of investors, it is very difficult to do, especially for a beginner.

AT finished project, which works and makes a profit, you can attract an investor in order to develop the enterprise and increase profits. But here it is very important to prove that this cooperation is primarily beneficial not to the entrepreneur himself, but to those who must invest their money in the growth and development of the company.

If, nevertheless, the question arises of how to attract investment in a business at an early stage, then it is worth looking for them among private investors. These are commonly called "business angels", they are not so demanding and are ready to consider promising business plans and, accordingly, invest their money in them.

So, from here we can conclude that the search for an investor is a rather serious and responsible step. It is necessary to clearly understand with whom and under what conditions it is beneficial for an entrepreneur to cooperate. To do this, first of all, you need to carefully study the requirements of investors and, of course, calculate your own capabilities.

What is the ideal investor

Here, of course, the exact answer to this question impossible, but one can imagine what a person who is ready to invest in private business should look like. Below are some criteria:

The investor must first of all be an experienced businessman who has already achieved success and is ready to invest his money in other projects.
Ready to cooperate with a newcomer and participate in the implementation of the project from the very beginning.
Able to allocate real money for a long time, because any business does not make a profit from the first days of its existence.
Claims for the amount of profit no more than 40% monthly.

Another important point- where to look for it. First you need to attend specialized events, meetings and conferences. You can search for an investor through organizations and companies that cooperate with him and received from him start-up capital for organizing an enterprise.

How to get the attention of an investor

It is very important not only to find an ideal investor who will invest in a business, but also to win his attention and trust so that he has an interest in investing his money in a new or existing project.

So here are some tips for entrepreneurs:

First of all, the entrepreneur himself must be sure of the success of his enterprise and only then convince someone else of this.
The second task is to identify the target audience, that is, those for whom the product or service will be designed.
Identify several channels for the sale of products, and, in addition to the main options, there must be alternative ones. This will give additional guarantees and minimize risks.
Calculate who will bring the main profit to the enterprise, what will be the profit from the work of the company, how long it will pay off and what prospects await it in the future.
Assess competitiveness, that is, find out the strengths and weaknesses of similar companies and how new organization can outperform competitors.
Make a financial plan, correctly distribute the budget of the enterprise.
Discuss the terms of cooperation with the investor in advance.

Even if a small investment in a small business is required, it will still take a lot of effort, and the plan of action remains the same. But it is worth considering, if the cost of the project is not in the millions, is it worth attracting someone, it may be better to manage on your own.

Profitable industries for investment today

Those who will invest in business are primarily interested in the industry, how much it is in demand and promising. Two types of enterprises can be considered profitable, the first are those that pay off for short term, the second - long time will bring high and stable income. BUT best project is the one that combines both options.

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