Anna Sokolova

Step-by-step instructions and pitfalls

We have already made detailed selections about where to go for a startup with a bare idea and where to get money for business in various niches, but this did not stop the flow of questions from newcomers. This time we have combined Rusbase training materials into a single logical chain to guide even beginners.

Where to start looking for investments? People who ask us this question are usually at the idea stage. To attract investment, they will have to go through a long and labor-intensive journey: thoroughly develop an idea, study competitors, assemble a team, create a working prototype of a product, make a competent presentation, register in online services to find an investor, upgrade to an accelerator, participate in competitions, make acquaintances at events, find potential investors and write them a lot of letters, read the specialized press and try to get on its pages.

Some points here are optional, some people do without them, but the general algorithm is as follows. Passing it in itself does not guarantee attracting investments - it all depends on you and your product. But without a presentation and understanding of the investment market, you definitely won’t see it.

What to do with the idea?

Work it out! Your brilliant idea is worthless until it starts attracting an audience and making money. Without a working prototype and a team, investors won’t even listen to you - unless, of course, you are already known in the market as a successful serial entrepreneur. By investing in an idea, an investor risks not only money, but also his reputation. To prove your ability to run a business, you need to independently find at least the minimum resources to create a product.

Often, startupers are afraid to tell experts about their brilliant idea, thinking that it will be stolen. In fact, an idea is worthless until it is implemented. This simple truth is reflected in the fifth paragraph of Article 1259 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation: copyright does not apply to ideas, concepts, principles, methods, processes, systems, methods, solutions to technical, organizational or other problems, discoveries, facts, programming languages. You can secure intellectual rights only for technology, unique design and software. Learn more about your copyright protection options.

Moreover, the idea almost always turns out to be not new if you thoroughly study the market. Even if the product is unique, you can usually find substitute products, albeit with different properties. An investor will never believe that you have no competitors at all. He will think that you haven’t probed the waters well and that you shouldn’t be given money.

Before you approach venture capitalists, you need to understand the difference between a startup and a small business. In the public consciousness, the word “startup” often means the initial stage of business development. In fact, this is a special type of enterprise that implies product innovation, global ambitions and rapid growth. If you want to open a traditional business (for example, an atelier or a flower stall), then you will have different investors and a different strategy. Venture investors still prefer projects related to IT and innovation.

Where to look for a team?

To get even a fraction of an investor's attention, you need a working prototype and a team. It’s difficult to create a product alone, so you need to try to infect someone else with your idea.

Experienced entrepreneurs advise attracting like-minded people at startup events. Especially at hackathons, where you can see a person in action. You can search for competent co-founders using special services - for example, on the website CoFoundIt.ru, which recently launched IIDF (the base is formed from accelerator graduates). You can also always make inquiries from friends or call out on social networks, but in this case there is less chance of snagging an experienced specialist.

More information about team formation can be found here:

If you already have an MVP

A working prototype is not a landing page with empty forms. At the investment search stage, it should already be tested by potential clients. You also need to come up with and be able to clearly explain a business model - how you will earn money per unit of product.

If theoretical knowledge did not help you understand the idea, MVP and monetization strategy, you can turn to product development specialists. For example, this is done by the company Create, whose services will cost you from 150 thousand to 1 million rubles, depending on the amount of work.

Well, if you have a working prototype, you can start looking for an investor. To do this, you will need a thoughtful, compelling presentation that will become the basis for your pitch.

But before you dive into the intricacies of creating perfect slides, you should think hard: do you really need an investor? It is important to understand that investment is not a panacea. Business is not built on them, but on customers and sales. If this is not the case, then no investor will help you. It is best to attract investments to increase sales, because the essence of a startup is rapid growth. If you develop well, investors will come to you themselves, you’ll see.

So sometimes you just don't need an investor. Some startupers generally manage to develop a company only with their own money - this is called bootstrapping, which translates from English as belt-tightening. And this approach has a lot of advantages - for example, complete freedom of decision-making and serious development of entrepreneurial skills.

In addition, there are hundreds of free or cheap services on the Internet that will save you money, effort and time when solving various business problems.

How to make a presentation for a startup?

Investors are doomed to watch hundreds of presentations a year - respect their time. The presentation should be concise and well-structured, that is, contain visual information about the team, product, market, audience, business model and capitalization.

Read about the rules for creating a successful presentation here:

If you still can't combine these tips and our free templates into a high-quality presentation, you can.

But beautiful and clear slides alone are not enough for investors - they want to hear about money and their profits. To prepare for tricky questions in advance, first read these materials:

Search for investments through startup databases

When you already have a product and clear outlines of the project (which are outlined in the presentation), you can register with online investment search services. Investors are looking for projects there in the niches they need. Posting in startup databases is usually free, but projects undergo moderation, the severity of which depends on the resource’s policy.

• Rusbase Pipeline adds startups only if there is a working prototype and signs of demand (we currently have about 350 projects in our database), investors - only if they are ready to invest at least $50 thousand in one project (their list exceeds 200 names).
• StartTrack is a crowdinvesting platform from IIDF that helps investors enter into joint deals. A startup needs to pay a commission to attract investments. There are currently 725 investors and 37 projects in the StartTrack database. This ratio hints that the site’s requirements for startups are quite high.
• Spark is a service for finding an investor who has retrained as a technology project crowd (similar to Habr), where you can share experiences and post vacancies. There are 4249 projects in the database, 1329 of which are seeking investment.
• Napartner is one of the first startup exchanges on the Russian market. As indicated on the website, there are 1,139 registered investors, 9,892 “innovators” and 456 projects seeking investment. There is also a section for selling ready-made businesses and a vacancies section.
• Askcap is perhaps the largest Russian startup database. According to the project’s own information, the site contains profiles of 5,410 projects, most of which are available only to authorized users. 163 partners work with Askcap - venture funds, incubators, accelerators and technology parks.
• AngelList is the world's leading service for finding startups and investments, which has spawned many clones (ours are listed above). Its database includes 1,589 startups and 378 investors from Russia. AngelList provides opportunities for co-investment in projects, posting vacancies and resumes.

Participation in competitions and other events

Competitions help to gain valuable competitive experience, and if you win, a grant and the attention of investors (including through reporting publications in the media). In Russia and abroad, competitions, hackathons and free educational programs for startupers are regularly organized - it is convenient to follow this flow of opportunities with our tag.

It can also be helpful to go to industry events, especially if you're new to the venture scene. There you can listen to successful technology entrepreneurs, meet potential investors, catch the main trends, talk about your project and get feedback. Of course, moderation is needed in everything - connections and parties alone cannot promote a project. We collect the main events of the startup industry in the “Entrepreneur Calendar” section.

Active search for an investor

If you haven’t found an investor at events, you can try writing to venture funds. Try it - because cold and warm contacts do not work well in such matters, the most effective means has always been and will be personal acquaintance.

Before writing a letter to an investor, it is critical to make sure that your project matches their preferences. Funds usually indicate on their websites what niches and stages of startups they are interested in. If not, then you can still guess about it from the list of portfolio companies (which should be studied in any case). To compile a list of funds to which you can send your project for consideration, you can use our database of investors - there are convenient filters by niche and stage.

What to write to an investor? Before you sit down to write, you need to carefully study the foundation’s website. Fan mailings to investors never worked. Also, under no circumstances should you write from someone else’s mailbox. In order not to be left without an answer, you need to accurately formulate the subject of the letter, adequately introduce yourself and the project (and yes, ask a literate friend to proofread the text for errors) and explain why your startup is relevant to the fund (for example, it is similar to or complements one of the portfolio projects). If the letter consists only of a link to the attached presentation, it simply will not be opened.

How to find an investor for a small business from scratch? This question is often asked by young and aspiring entrepreneurs who have their own project and idea, but do not have money. Asking for help in getting money is a difficult step, however, you can find your investor by setting yourself the goal of implementing your project. How to attract investors to small business?

Searching for investors to implement an idea in a small business

How to get investment for a small business? When searching for sources of financing for a project, consider the following rules:

• do not delay deadlines;
• collect as much information as possible about the potential investor to avoid misunderstandings in the future;
• carefully calculate the amount of investment required;
• focus on specific goals;
• in the process of negotiations with an investor, be honest and open, do not hide important facts.

Useful video on the topic:

How to get investments for small businesses from the state?

Today, the Russian government offers a wide range of ways to promote the development of small businesses:

• allocation of state subsidies for the purchase of premises and fixed assets in the amount of up to 60 thousand rubles;
• grants for beginning businessmen in the amount of up to 60,000 rubles;
• compensation for previously received bank loans for business development;
• subsidy from the Employment Center up to 25 thousand rubles;
• assistance from Small Business Support Funds;
• subsidy for entrepreneurs aimed at developing innovative technologies (maximum 60 thousand rubles).

You can learn more about state support programs on the Russian Government portal (http://government.ru/).

How to find a private investor to borrow money?

How to find a private investor to borrow money to create and develop a business? To obtain financing, there are online platforms specializing in business lending:

• Fundico - shared lending service;
• Nimfamoney is a closed platform for investors and startups (loan amount from 100,000 to 1 million rubles);
• business.potok.digital - lending to entrepreneurs by private individuals.;
• vdolg.ru - deposits up to 500 thousand rubles to a bank card;
• loanberry.ru - online loan service for up to half a million rubles;
• townmoney.ru is a P2P lending service that unites the interests of borrowers and investors.

How to find an investor for a business from scratch in Russia: 7 ways

How to find an investor to finance a business created from scratch in Russia?

I offer 7 options:

1. Contact your family and friends– this is the option for financing your own business that is most often used by start-ups. And here the essence of the matter is not to borrow money against a receipt or interest - the essence of the matter is to turn a friend or relative into your partner and boss, and start earning money together. This investment option is optimal if the diet involves a small amount - many friends and relatives will not have a lot of money for your project, free amounts on hand. The main thing is to convince them of the profitability of your idea and the opportunity to receive their share of passive income.
2. We are looking for a business agent. Today in the service market there are many agents - intermediaries between a startup and an investor who are ready to help you find a potential sponsor for a certain percentage or amount of money. Agents often unite in various associations and clubs - their coordinates can be easily found on the Internet and already on the spot have a more substantive business conversation. This option of finding an investor for your own project will be of interest to those who are planning to bring something grandiose and large-scale to life. Most often, agents have access and contacts with very wealthy investors, and if they like your project and it is approved, the matter will not be about finances. But they are unlikely to sponsor projects that will not bring in a lot of money - this is not their level, and here it is worth going and choosing a different option for finding investment.
3. Crowdfunding. If we talk about this type of search for an investor, then this phenomenon means the help of the crowd or public funding, built on the principle of mutual aid funds. This phenomenon has been gaining a lot of momentum in recent years - this option of searching for an investor has gained attention and is therefore worth taking into account. The essence of this method of finding an investor and financing one’s own project is that a person publishes his own idea on one or another specialized website, his own project, and on social networks dedicated to this area, having written down the conditions for participation in the project - those under which he intends to attract financial activists. Anyone can take part in the project, and by contributing their part of the money as a percentage or a fixed amount, you can collect the amount necessary for the implementation of the startup. Most often, this method of searching and attracting investors is used in such areas and areas as charity in the field of medicine, financing non-profit projects - recording amateur music and holding festivals, creating films and holding exhibitions.
4. Bank loan. An option for finding an investor is to contact the bank with your own developed business project, all the necessary calculations of investments and profits, and the payback period. But this option is possible if you have stable and official earnings and can make a certain deposit in the form of real estate or a car. This option is relevant if there is a need for a large amount of money, if the initial investment in your project does not require large financial investments - you can resort to financial sponsorship from microfinance organizations, where the conditions for issuing borrowed funds are somewhat softer, although the interest rate for using the loan will be higher than in jar.
5. Platforms for attracting business investment. If you don’t want to resort to the help of a bank or microfinance organization, you can visit specialized platforms for startups. It is on such specialized platforms that the necessary information for a beginner is posted - research and statistics, practical advice and assistance in launching new projects, plus data on investors, the ability to find their coordinates and contacts, investment conditions. In search of your own investor, you can visit online lending platforms. This is a kind of MFO or bank lending format. More specifically, such a platform could be Startups.co, which can act as a proven and reliable channel for finding a potential investor. As statistics show, more than 13.9 million potential users and investors have already been registered on the presented platform, who can act as both a consultant and a sponsor. Another proven platform that is popular among startups and investors is Gust.com - with its support, about 1.8 million dollars have been invested in many projects in recent years.
6. Social networks of professionals– these are groups of potential investors that can be easily found on the Internet. Professional investor networks are a currently developed area where you can meet a potential sponsor working in one direction or another. Most of the sites presented on the network work with foreign investors who are ready to directly join the international, global business space.
7. Business angels, private equity funds. If you need to find a reliable investor for your own project, you can contact a private investment company that specializes in this type of financial investment. What’s most important is that you can get approval for a variety of amounts, ranging from several thousand to several million dollars. What is the interest of the investors themselves - after a few years, to sell their own part a few years after the start of the startup. An example is the private equity fund Zunder Invest. But even if you were refused a loan of money, you were refused by a bank or an MFO, an investor - do not despair. Perhaps your investor has not yet met your path, or your project does not meet all the requirements of a potential sponsor.

Where to find an investor for a business from scratch: 5 options

To find investments, you can use the following tools and resources:

• Social networks for professionals (LinkedIn, EFactor, Xing, Plaxo, Startup Nation, Cofoundr and Meetup)
• Business incubators and accelerators (The best include Synergy Innovations, Ingria, the business incubator of the Academy of National Economy, the API Moscow business accelerator, the First City Business Incubator of St. Petersburg and others)
• Platforms for startups (the full list is below)
• Small business support funds and employment centers
• Investment club “Business Youth” (molodost.bz/investfund_OLD)
• Investor forums (investory.biz, investorov.net/forum, investtalk.ru/forum/)

Websites for finding investors in Russia and abroad: top 20

The most popular platforms for finding investors today are:

How to attract investment in business: ideas and platforms for startups

How to attract an investor to a startup is the first most difficult task that a novice investor who wants to implement his business idea will have to solve.

Where to find investment for a startup? To finance your project, you can use specialized online platforms for searching for private investors, the help of business angels, business accelerators and incubators, government support programs, and crowdinvesting platforms.

How to get investment for a startup? To obtain funding, the startuper must convince the investor of the viability and profitability of the project. To do this, you will need to cover the following topics in your business plan in as much detail and reasoning as possible:

• uniqueness and prospects of the project;
• demand for a product or service on the market;
• investment size;
• payback period of investments;
• projected level of profitability;
• guarantees for return of invested funds.

How to attract investors to a project quickly and without unnecessary problems? The search for investments and investors can be carried out using specialized online platforms:

• Boomstarter is a Russian crowdfunding platform.
• Planeta.ru is a platform that allows you to raise from 20,000 to 15 million rubles for the implementation of any creative idea.
• nachinanie.ru - service for collective financing of new projects
• Startups.co is an international platform for startups that allows you to solve the problem of how to find an investor for a project.

How to write a business plan for an investor: key points of the project

How to draw up a project for an investor? The business project summary should contain the following points:

• description of the essence of the business idea;
• market analysis;
• portrait of the target audience;
• how and with the help of what tools the idea will be monetized;
• analysis of competitors (their strengths and weaknesses);
• the team involved in the project implementation;
• project benefits;
• investment project performance indicators (payback period (DPP), MIRR, IRR (internal rate of return), ARR (return on investment ratio));
• how much money has already been invested in the project at the start;
• investment use plan;
• what the investor will receive as a result and in what time frame.

How to calculate return on investment (ROI)? To calculate, you must use the following formula: ROI = PE / I * 100%, where PE is the net profit for a certain period of time (this indicator is calculated as the difference between the total profit and the cost); And - investments.

Successfully finding an investor for a business is a life-determining task for most start-up companies. Implementing it in modern conditions is much easier than a few years ago, thanks to the Internet and remote investment platforms. But in any case, an entrepreneur looking for funds for his own project should know several important rules and recommendations that will help solve this problem more successfully - we talk about them below.

Who are “investors” and why do businesses need them?

Before you start looking for investors to implement your idea, you need to understand what this concept means and how it differs, for example, from a sponsor or philanthropist. These terms are often confused with each other, although in reality they refer to very different ways of directing funds.

The goal of any investor is to increase their own investments. Investors invest money only in projects that, after a certain period, will increase their capital or begin to generate regular profits in the form of dividends.

Investments are not charity. Unlike sponsors or philanthropists, investors give money to companies not with the goal of helping, but with the prospect of making money on it. Investments are needed for business development and ultimately benefit both parties: the entrepreneur gets the opportunity to realize his business idea, and the investor increases capital.

Unlike sponsors or philanthropists, investors give money to companies not with the goal of helping, but with the prospect of making money on it.

Who most often acts as investors?

In a situation where you need an investor to start a business from scratch, it is important to know who can play this role. Most often this is:

1. Banks. Financial institutions prefer to deal with existing, stable and promising companies, so for beginners, going to a bank is clearly not the best option.
2. Investment funds - carry out collective investments of their participants. The decision to allocate money is usually made on the basis of a business plan. They support both existing and start-up projects.
3. Independent private investors. These can be wealthy businessmen, owners of large capital, and even professional investors who make money from successful investments in many projects simultaneously.

What to do before attracting investments

If the query “I’m looking for an investor to start a business from scratch” is relevant to you, Before you start searching and negotiating, you need to prepare the following:

1. Detailed business plan for the project with calculations and payback period. The investor must see over what period his capital will increase. It is desirable that the plan describes the project for at least 1 year (but better for several years), is realistic, and does not contain inflated expectations.
2. The exact amount of financial resources required, possibly in several versions. For example, according to the minimum plan and according to the maximum plan.
3. A brief and vivid presentation of the project, which will describe all its prospects, strengths, innovation and expected profit. That is, this is a brief summary of why it is profitable for investors to invest in this business.

Attracting investment is quite a difficult task even for existing companies. For those entrepreneurs who raise funds to implement an idea from scratch, it becomes much more complicated. Particular attention should be paid to the business plan: it is on its basis that potential investors will judge the company’s prospects

What types of investment are there?

Investments for business come in two varieties:

1. Direct - in exchange for financial resources for the implementation of the project, the investor receives a share in the management of the organization. The money is used to purchase means of production, raw materials, sales organization, and so on. This type includes only those investments after which the investor’s share in the company will be at least 10%.
2. Portfolio - the acquisition of an organization's securities (shares or bonds) for the purpose of owning them or reselling them at higher prices when their value increases. The investor who purchases the securities usually does not participate in the operational management of the company and decision making. His goal is not the development of the company as such, but the increase in capital.

What investors like

To understand how to find money for your business idea, you need to know what attracts investors to start-up companies. You already know that experienced businessmen and owners of large capital who only intend to increase their profits most often act in this capacity.

Despite the generally risky nature of investing as a phenomenon, investors like guarantees. The more a business plan demonstrates the reality of payback and increased profitability, the more potential investors will like it.

Don't count on the "wow" effect- it does not play any role when investing. Transparency and realism of all calculations are also highly valued. In other words, the promise of profit should not be fabulous, but based on real numbers and calculations. Among the personal qualities attractive to investors are organization, enterprise, multitasking, the ability to control the situation, predict options and events.

What repels investors

The main thing that will not allow you to find investors to implement your own idea- this is the unrealism of the business plan, errors and overestimations in it, the futility of the project. Investors are looking for an opportunity to multiply their capital and for this reason will not participate in activities that are obviously unsuccessful.

How to find finance - features of finding funds for a project in different sources

Now it’s time to move on to the practical part of the issue and understand how to attract an investor to the project. To do this, we will consider the most popular options and the procedure in each case. An entrepreneur raising funds for his company should use several options at the same time, which will increase the likelihood of search success.

Applying to a bank for a loan

Many banks offer business lending services. True, a novice businessman has much less chance of receiving a large sum of money than an already existing organization. Issuing financial resources to an unrealized project is too risky for a financial institution, so it is very likely that the amount will be reduced or the loan will be refused altogether.

However, if an entrepreneur is looking for where to find an investor for a small business and the amount he needs is really small, it is worth applying for a bank loan. In this case, it is also necessary to have a business plan, including calculations of the required amount. It is quite possible that the bank will require a guarantor or collateral, for example, in the form of the entrepreneur’s personal property.

An entrepreneur raising funds for his company must use several options simultaneously.

Raising capital through investment funds

It is convenient to search for investments and investors through investment funds. These institutions bring together a variety of investors and make mixed and collective investments in a wide variety of start-up projects. Due to the specific nature of their activities, funds treat risks much more simply than banks.

Foundations can be state or non-state. Entrepreneurs whose company has any social or strategic significance for the region in which they plan to operate should contact government agencies. This could be, for example, an asphalt production business: it provides many new jobs (social value) and creates resources to improve the quality of streets and roads (strategic, local value).

If the project does not involve solving such problems, it is better to turn to non-state funds. The most famous in Russia are:"Finance-invest", "SotsAgroFinance", "Adfincom", "VTB Capital", "Sberbank Electric Power", "Gazprombank Asset Management".

Raising funds for a business idea via the Internet

Above we looked at two traditional ways to obtain funds for the implementation of your own project: through a bank or through investment funds. However, now there are other options on how to attract investors using modern technologies.

The most popular and convenient option for raising money to implement a business idea is to use a variety of specialized online services and platforms. Now among them there are already quite a lot of popular and proven ones:

• angel.co;
• startup.network;
• napartner.ru;
• pitchbook.com;
• preqveca.ru;
• business-platform.ru;
• rb.ru/pipeline;
• towave.ru;
• startupnetwork.ru;
• azium.ru;
• shareinstock.com.

Each site for searching for investors invites entrepreneurs to register their project and indicate all the most important information about it - the amount of required investments, plans and prospects, payback period, significance, innovativeness.

The service will show this information to potential investors looking for projects in a similar area of ​​business or who have the necessary funds. Some platforms, providing investment assistance, send out new offers to their registered user base, notifying them of the emergence of promising companies.

To increase the likelihood of raising funds, use several services at the same time. Not all of them are Russian-speaking, but it is quite possible that a business plan, especially a technological one, will also be of interest to foreign investors. This option for raising capital is very convenient and promising, as it allows the entrepreneur and investor to interact directly with each other.

If an entrepreneur is looking for an investor in his business that is already operating and demonstrating success, you can try to find investors yourself.

Independently attracting an investor

If an entrepreneur is looking for an investor in his business that is already operating and demonstrating success, you can try to find investors yourself. For example, post information about the need to invest on your own website, write about it on your social media accounts.

Another option is to issue additional securities. Their implementation will help you find new shareholders (and with them new finances), as well as, possibly, new ideas and steps for the development of the enterprise. However, do not forget that even in this case you will need a business plan from which each investor will understand what benefits the investment will bring him.

How crowdfunding can help

Crowdfunding - that is, raising funds through voluntary donations - is not investing in the truest sense of the word. However, this type of search for money to start your own business is also very promising. When donating through crowdfunding, contributors do not acquire a stake in the company or its securities, but help to release the first batches of goods and get started.

To start collecting funds, the author of the project creates its description on the crowdfunding site and indicates the required amount. With such financing, the business plan is less important. Innovative, technological developments or socially significant, socially beneficial projects will have an advantage.

In Russia, crowdfunding is just beginning to develop. The most famous Russian-language platforms are “StartTrack” and “Boomstarter”. On each platform, you can study the experiences of successful companies that have raised funds in this way and see what ideas are currently collecting donations.

Summary

Finding an investor even for a new project is possible. The basis for searching for finance to implement your own idea should be a high-quality business plan with accurate calculations. Investors are attracted to technologically advanced and promising projects that will help multiply their capital. The most effective way to find investment is to use specialized online services.

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Finding investors for a business: 4 basic steps for searching + 9 sources of start-up capital.

Finding investors for business with the presence of brilliant ideas, a lot of energy and a great desire to develop, it will not require much work.

It is carried out at the initial stage of implementation of a new business project, when the problem of a lack of funds arises.

In this article we will tell you in more detail which investors will help make your dream come true.

How to find an investor for a business and how to interest him?

Every person strives to replenish his “wallet” by any means possible, especially when it comes to an investor.

Who has almost all his finances in work, thereby regularly replenishing his owner’s bank account, provided that he does not have to do anything for this.

Typically, people use this type of saving and increasing funds after they are faced with the interest that banks give for keeping it on deposit.

After all, such income barely compensates for the level of inflation.

An investor should be treated as a full partner.

On the one hand, an idea is invested in cooperation, and on the other, money.

Therefore, such a process is mutually beneficial for everyone.

Experts say that a successful search for investors for a business depends on a professionally prepared and presented presentation that can convince the investor of the profitability of the investment.

There are several points to keep in mind for investors:

• creativity and uniqueness of the future business;
• deposit amount;
• payback period for a new idea;
• detailed calculation of income.

If weighty arguments are found according to the above criteria, then we can assume that the person will unconditionally agree to cooperate.

Finding an investor to invest in a business: 4 basic steps

Action #1: Develop a Plan

Develop a plan that will subsequently be presented to the investor.

The presented presentation must convince the potential investor of the profitability and quick payback of the project.

An example of information that a business plan for an investor should contain:

A business plan for this purpose is somewhat different from the standard one.

First of all, volume.

It is believed that a document longer than 15-20 pages will “work” much less effectively than its “brother.”

Also, the difference is that this is a guide, like a step-by-step instruction for the entrepreneur himself.

But the plan prepared for investors is a marketing tool.

It should not just describe the business, but present it attractively.

For this purpose, applications, graphs, plates, and diagrams are actively used.

It is better to entrust the creation of such a document to specialized intermediary companies.

Action #2: What type of investor is needed?

For example, you can find a depositor who will provide funds for the purchase of necessary equipment for a business or expansion of an enterprise at a specified interest rate.

Or find an investor who will sponsor the business and become a co-owner in the future.

You should determine the direction in finding a investor and the specifics of your cooperation.

Action No. 3: Help from experienced businessmen

“The main thing is not the effect, but the effectiveness of actions.”
Farhad Akhmedov

Seek advice and guidance from experienced businessmen who have been working in this direction for many years.

They will help point out possible risks or simply suggest how to find an investor for a business. .

Action #4: Specialized services

Post the project and a brief description on specialized startup databases and forums for searching for business investors.

After this, after some time, maybe you will receive a call from an investor about interest in investing money in a start-up business.

We present the most popular specialized services for posting an idea and finding an investor:

1. https://www.investclub.ru/view.php?id=10639 – the site will help you find an investor for any type of business activity.

https://starttrack.ru/ – StartTrack 725 helps to conclude deals between the founder and a person who is ready to invest money in the project being presented.

To date, there are 800 investors on the site and 40 projects are on display.

The portal contains 4,325 projects, of which 1,423 need investment.

https://www.napartner.ru/ is the very first startup exchange on the Russian market.

The innovative ideas website features 1,239 investors, 9,983 “innovators” and 500 business ideas.

There is also a section where you can purchase an already completed business.

https://www.askcap.ru/ is one of the largest investor search databases in the country.

The website contains profiles of 6,512 ideas, the lion's share of which are available for consideration only after authorization on the portal.

Technology parks, incubators, accelerators, and venture funds cooperate with Askcap.

https://angel.co/ – this service is the progenitor of the above investor search sites.

The portal contains 1,600 startups and 421 investors from the Russian Federation.

Where to look for investors for a business?

Friends and loved ones

Finding an investor for a business is not an easy task.

It would be wise to involve all relatives and friends in such a process.

This is the most advantageous method that will reduce the expected risks to a minimum.

In addition, if the implementation of an idea requires small investments, you can interest your comrades in the profitability of the project and offer to invest their hard-earned money in promoting the business.

Naturally, at a certain monthly percentage.

Businessmen with experience

It is either big, there are businessmen who are firmly on the trading “platform” and want the already earned finances not just to sit in the bank, but to generate additional income every month.

You should warm up the person to the new idea and offer to make a contribution on terms beneficial to both parties.

Or, if the investor wishes, make him a partner.

But the latter option can fetter and limit the actions of the business founder himself.

This step should only be taken in extreme cases.

Funds

But to do this, you need to provide compelling arguments that your project is vital to society.

You should know that often when contacting this organization, a businessman must already have some initial capital and be willing to invest in his business.

That is, this method is more suitable for existing enterprises that want to expand their trading area and product range.

To receive assistance, you must also provide a plan and analysis of the existing company.

Do not forget to monitor the work of investment funds, which may hold competitions and select promising works.

Who knows, maybe you'll be lucky.

Let's look at the most popular funds that have helped many budding entrepreneurs:

https://www.runacap.com/

The founder of the fund is Russian businessman Sergei Belousov.

He introduced brands such as Rolsen to the world and is the creator of Parallels (a platform for hosting cloud services).

If you manage to cooperate with this company, then there is no doubt about its profitability.

After moving from Murmansk to Moscow, Igor Matsanyuk founded a foundation specialized in games, services and applications for phones.

If an entrepreneur has a creative idea related to computer technology, then this fund is just for him.

1. https://www.kiteventures.com/ is another fund for business development.

Business incubators

There are already more than a hundred business incubators in the Russian Federation.

These are structures that are created to help start-up companies get started.

Business incubators offer their residents:

• renting premises at a reduced price (and in some cases – free of charge);
• meeting rooms;
• support in establishing contact with investors and buyers;
• consultations in consulting and information matters.

The key difference between a business incubator and other forms of investor assistance is the participation of people who mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.

They function not just as “finance providers”, but also as development partners and business mentors.

If you need support from experienced businessmen, contact the following business incubators:

• https://www.osp.ru/news/2010/0913/13003512/
• https://inc.hse.ru/
• https://www.inmsu.ru/ru/
• https://www.rea.ru/ru/org/managements/orgnirupr/Pages/bi.aspx
• https://www.ranepa.ru/kto-ya-2/student-bakalavriata/studencheskaya-zhizn-v-akademii/biznes-inkubator
• https://rb.ru/incubator/incube/
• https://theoryandpractice.ru/organizations/3940-biznes-inkubator-incube-ankh

Bank as an investor

When there is not even the slightest idea or all of the above options have been considered, then a bank loan is one of the options for obtaining the desired amount.

But getting it is not so easy.

Banks often make excessive demands on the borrower, which the latter cannot always cope with.

To apply for a loan, the bank provides:

• guarantor
• deposit amount,
• package of relevant documents.

If bank requirements are not met, then you can be left without a business, and even with a huge debt.

A bank loan is ideal for starting a small business that does not require major capital investments.

Finding investors for a business is quite a labor-intensive task that requires enormous patience and perseverance.

It is necessary to carefully consider each of the available options and calculate possible financial losses.

If all this is done, then there is a huge chance of finding a profitable investor.

Investors among foreign businessmen

If all possible methods have been tried, but you still can’t find an investor, then you should turn to foreign entrepreneurs for help.

In the case of foreign investors, you can forget about your previous triumphs.

Such people look exclusively at real achievements in business.

Also, only those projects that can bring multi-million dollar profits (preferably in US currency) are usually considered.

A business idea does not necessarily have to be in a technological direction.

Any ideas that multiply the investor’s capital many times over are considered.

Foreign investors will never invest their capital in a project based only on the ambitions of the creator of the idea.

Exclusively the numbers and facts from the prepared business plan will be strong arguments for concluding cooperation.

You can look for foreign investors for your business idea on the following sites:

• https://investgo24.com/ is an international portal that will help you find investments for your idea.
• https://start2up.ru/ - will help you find a person who is ready to invest money in a business, not only in the regions of Russia, but also abroad.
• https://www.magnat.su/ – using this site you can find not only foreign partners, but also put your own business up for sale.

By franchise

Finding investors for a business using this method guarantees rapid development and a start to enter the market platform under the auspices of a well-known brand.

Banks are happy to provide finance for the development of a franchise business.

This is one of the few cases when the latter without any problems provides the necessary funds to open a company.

And that's not all: a deferred payment period of six months is provided.

With the help of this, a novice businessman will be able to direct his strength and energy to promoting his brainchild.

Thereby speeding up the process of repaying the debt to the bank.

To obtain this type of loan, you must appoint one guarantor, and the bank is guaranteed to approve the application.

How does this method work?

Let's say a novice businessman has a promising and creative idea related to the engineering industry.

The founder contacts the authorized company (eg Porsche).

He demonstrates a presentation of his idea to its representative.

And if the company is interested in this innovation, it can give its patronage to the project in the form of financial assistance or allow the use of the official logo of the company.

When a new firm has such a patron behind it, banks consider it reliable enough to provide the necessary loan.

You will also learn from the video who an investor is and how to look for one:

Finding an investor for a business- this is not an easy matter.

Of course, you can do without outside help if you save the necessary amount and open a small grocery store.

But if the founder has a different task, then the search should be carried out in all possible places with the involvement of a large number of people.

You can also shift this task onto someone else’s shoulders and contact a specialized company that can find an investor to implement the project.

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