Has anyone here ever gone after funding and gotten it?
 

VC money or private lendor?

have any experiences to share...any tips?

please let me know

thanks

one issue im running into now..is that people say to send over our business plan

im guessing it is wise to have them sign an NDA before doing so?
anything else??

Beuller?

maybe, depends how 'revolutionary you think you biz is going to be and how much you need... what these want to see is: monetary liability, risk, profit (time line)

VC's will rarely sign an NDA..

VC's are sharks and will take is much of your company that they can and unless you have legitimate valuation of a company, you are going to get raped..

I would go private investor route if you can find one and offer a repayment option in exchange for stocks..

meaning, i want $500,000 for a business. That may be worth 40% of ownership to an investor. We write an agreement that states if i pay the investor back $750,000 in 12 months the investor will return his shares.





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i have, 2x. an nda isn't a prob so go for it. i would suggest scheduling a presentation with slide show and handouts, you can have everyone sign an nda there. include refreshments, but the important thing about the presentation is you can get a lot more buy in, answer questions directly and get more people/resources on-board as opposed to sending out your biz plan and letting people glance it over at their leisure.

& ask for the money.

Basically you are asking friends and people who are interested in what you are doing to become business partners where they GIVE you the cash to build the business and they are owners for some percentage.

A business plan is a good start, but your best pitch is always in person. NDA is meaningless because and only needed when you have Intellectual Property to protect, AND ideas cannot be copy righted.

THINGS TO AVOID:
People who offer you loans
selling shares or any money-in/money out agreement (that requires SEC filings).

i don't believe that is correct.. if you offer a loan and the loan is not paid back you can convert the loan to shares...





.

yes and yes.

make sure you have a solid business plan with revenue data. show how every dollar is goign to be spent and what it is going to gain?

thanks guys...have a few things to mull over now

i don't mind the idea of a loan, but rather find someone who wants to take say 25%
perhaps a loan then, and if the loan isn't repaid in time they can start claiming shares.

back to my planning board :)

i disagree.

an nda will help keep people with means from copycatting the idea and leaving the originator out of the deal.

agreed
it is essential, you cant trust people not to take your idea
especially when you could have easily had them sign something to protect yourself

i think most people in that business would see no issue taking an idea form someone if they didn't protect themselves.

Go watch 2 seasons of Dragon's Den and then you will have this all figured out :)

also, i'd suggest studying up on how companies about to go public handle their *roadshow*

you can glean a lot of good practices from seeing how the pros do it. i did 1 roadshow, played a backseat as i was director of one of the key points, so i just had to give my presentation,but i learned a lot watching the main guys play it up and create interest and excitement.


http://www.inc.com/articles/2002/05/24190.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/09/gopublic.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/gm-ip...tation-2010-11

Yes I've gone after funding and gotten it. Have a solid business plan and be persistent.

I have two friends that regularly get money and it just blows me away... One of them gets millions and the other considerably less, but nothing to balk at.

Remember the Sean Parker character in The Social Network as portrayed by Justin Timberlake? That is the million dollar guy. Rich people throw the fucker money just because he is so charismatic. His success rate with the companies he starts is about 1 in 5. But if you are one of the 1's, you might give him 4 or 5 more cash infusions.

Do you actually have anything going so far? or are you in the pipe-dreaming stage?

VC is NOT used to turn an idea into a business, it's used to get the business to the next level...

so unless you have your idea 90% complete and just need a little push to make it big I would forget about VC..

nice links..thanks man

it is in pipe building stage
i want to increase the amount of pipe being lain
as well, what im really after is a large warchest to go to marketplace with

break a leg buddy! :thumbsup

You cannot copyright ideas, only implementation of ideas can be copyrighted. An NDA has only legal teeth when there is Intellectual Property and process secrets that are all copyrighted or patented.

So lets say your idea is to make porn parody films out of old 70's TV shows. You invite a few interested people to pool some cash to start development. You produce a Biz plan that shows how people would like to see an XXX dukes of hazards film, and the plan is detailed in how the film should be constructed.

The NDA can protect the business plan and how you implement the idea, but it cannot protect someone in that group going stealing your idea/concept and lets say they make an XXX A-Team film.

NOW I AM NOT A LAWYER and THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. If you are really worried about people stealing your ideas, then you should spend a fuck load of cash on some lawyer who can hold your hand and tell you what I am going to tell you:

ONLY SHARE YOUR IDEA WITH PEOPLE WHO YOU ABSOLUTELY TRUST

You cannot use the law to protect yourself from your own stupidity or foolishness.

:2 cents:

at one point we had a somehow similar decision to make and i am happy we went with a loan. we paid it back with an interest (nothing crazy - about the same a bank would have taken) and were done.
if we would have went with giving parts of the company away, it would have cost us A LOT more. best decision ever

i totally agree, but it's a formal step that applies psychological pressure. know what i mean? hopefully at this stage, any dipstick like that is not invited to the party anyhoo.

an nda also does lend to the formality & structure & professionalism of the request for ducats, imo. plus i've found people get a kick out of it. just like wearing a coat and tie to the presentation. my experience anyhoo....... fun topic and i love this sorta thing.

due diligence, due diligence, due diligence - no matter if its vc or personal, you need to check them out as best you possibly can. Look for business histories, credit histories, past directorships and so on. I found out the hard way and lost a bucket load even though i thought i had done enough to protect myself.

Always always make them sign and NDA and always present your pitch yourself.

As people have said, check their background but even better... find someone that has the network and is willing to help out for <insert something here>

How many NDA's have been enforced succesfully?

Getting VC funding for adult projects is a no go. I tried it with with many VC but they don't want to be associated with adult. The best is to find an informal investor but that's now a days also difficult. Still looking for one.

yeah i figure that to be true

however this is not an adult project at all.

as it stands memberchannels.com is more of a technology/software company then anything.

we are expanding on that, and have identified several nice places to make money in the so called "mainstream" marketplace

this is all about networking which is easier if you are female. I worked in a strip club as a bartender and got a 100,000 investment for my cam site. no i didn't fuck for it but now that i don't bartend it hard to find people. but yes be careful people will steal your shit.

I was going to suggest the same thing about Shark Tank. Now I'm gonna have to check out Dragon's Den.

I've had some mild success with funding and have to say that a business plan alone is rarely enough. You should have something of your own invested in the project other than time. Think of it like buying a house....The larger your down payment, the less risk for the bank handling your loan.

As woj said, VC's are more for taking it to the next level rather than building it from the ground up.

That being said.....I'm currently seeking 20 million for a mainstream project and willing to give up controlling interest in the company to get it. 10's of thousands has been invested into the business plan and R&D including building plans, cost analysis, market analysis, etc... I have the right media and business connections for a massive roll out as well.

If we build it, they will come. :winkwink:

Any parties interested in seeing what I have, who are actually in a position to invest, feel free to hit me up.

the guy i know charges 3 points a week

Networking is the KEY and it is really the only way you can fund your stuff. Funding an Adult Site can happen but you have to hang out where people who like that stuff hang out.

Good luck on your mission

Yes for sure.
I know a guy (my brother in law) who owns a major consulting company and they are starting to invest in some startups. I can hook you up with him.

I have, its not easy, but being persistent & networking, talking to people & make sure you have a solid business plan. Be prepared to talk to a bunch of flaky people, but thats part of the game...Im in round 2 of capital searching myself! lol but good luck dude! if you have any questions send me an email, I'll try to help !
Cheers,
Walt

How much money are you actually looking for?

Good luck!

With mainstream you will have more chance. The last 14 months we developed a huge touchscreen application to automate child day care organisations with touchscreens/tablet apps for a client.

They funded the seed investment stage themselves and recently have been funded by a VC for round 1 investment.

From what I know is that they could choose over a few VC's.

NDA are enforceable. They are based on state law, but can be transfered to federal.

Non-Compete agreements are a different story...

Very happy to see this topic. I actually noticed it when I came online and wanted to start the exact same one.

Not trying to hijack here, perhaps answers to my questions will add value.

I have 2 private investors who are interested in investing. Never had any experience with investment/loans and stuff so I really don't know where to take it. Wouldn't even know what to invest the money in.

What are the top things you guys would invest in for your adult site?

Good luck enforcing it on that new start up out of Belize..

Where you lack in content you need to make up with being a smooth talker/ bullshiter.

It really comes down to having the right connections. Not many people out there who throw money around on VC projects and its hard to find them. If you already know the right people you have a leg up. If you don't know the right people it's going to be damn near impossible to find someone.

Also, if you trying to pitch an idea or concept that isn't making money yet, or worst you haven't even built it yet then you have a .0001% chance of getting funding. Most VC guys want to see a successful product or service and someone who needs resources to grow it and expand.

traffic.... purchasing existing traffic sites that you could use to send sales to your adult site and/or make money from selling the traffic you don't use and/or making affiliate sales from that site.

I have received funding from private investors for various projects 3 times now. Couple hundred grand each time.

I never had to shop any around, I always somehow managed to make a deal with the first people I talked to.

Tips... Be honest with yourself in your business plan. Don't write it like "how can I convince this guy/bank/whatever to give me money" enter into it more like "Is this something I truly want to spend the next 3 years of my life doing?" and use the business plan to answer that question. You need to be your own devil's advocate.

Don't go empty handed, and follow up regularly. They will usually do a long due diligence process, so if your mania doesn't last that long, you'll deflate or get desperate and they'll see it. Usually people looking for investment are clearly very excited about their ideas, but you need to back that up with substance.

If you don't absolutely have to get money, don't. Why are you giving away half of a successful idea? Think long and hard about that question.

Don't get a "loan" for the love of god. Loans need to be repaid. Investments do not. If you fail, they lose their money. It's not like a bank where you got a loan, spent the money, and now you owe your life to them. Don't do that.

Lawyer up, create a corporation, yadda yadda.

Ask what an investor can do for you beyond money. Money only does so much.

And finally, investment is best used to grow a business, not start one. First, you'll be in a better position to bargain with a finished or successful project. Second, money spent on startup costs is usually lost, and most investors don't want to spend enough to both start a business and then re-up and grow it from there.

Money is best used to accelerate a business. If you have a successful business and say to yourself "if I only had a million dollars I could exploit this opportunity so much more" then that's a good case for investment dollars.

Oh and the biggest, best, #1 tip of all time....

Never borrow money from someone who can't afford to lose it. I've never asked for a dollar to start a business from a friend or family member, and I never will.

Have you had your biz plan reviewed? Get your lawyer or someone with experience to review it. You'll Only get one shot

How does one start to search for private investors?














:Oh crap

Also,has anyone here had any dealings with:
www.securityfirstms.com

this thread turned out alright :)

shap..havent had it professionally reviewed yet, however i am thinking about it.
i was planning to go through the process a couple times first.

I figure i will learn a lot even being rejected once or twice.
although this idea is so good, that i think anyone with net experience will be interested.
Especially as we have many components already finished, we just increased programing power by 5 people. Plan to be hitting market by february of 2012.

Yeah it can't hurt. You never know if the first person you meet is the right fit and wouldn't want to blow it with a bad presentation.

A great idea is important but well organized, smart people are what investors are putting their money in. If your plan has any signs of amateur hour it would possibly scare them away no matter how good the idea is. The investors I've met all weigh their decisions heavily on the people behind the project because at the end of the day that is who they are investing not the idea.

As a side note: We were just talking a few hours ago about developing a white label clone mobile cam site. Andriod and iPhone compatible ? good luck with the funding.

convertible debenture.

Contact me Brad. I can help.

Fitty funding tips :2 cents: