How To Find All The Angel Investors And Venture Capital Financing You’ll Ever Need! The once definitive line that would separate hard money and private/angel financing has merged into a hybrid of sorts in the past few years. As the economy has taken a dive and structured private lending firms have felt the crunch we are finding many of these lending solutions closing its doors and re-opening as privately owned and managed funding options with an interest in both lending and seed investment.

Approval decisions that were once made by a group are not being made by an individual or duo with an eye toward optimal capitalization with both short term and long term agendas. As investors are, now more than ever, trying to get as much bang out of their buck, entrepreneurs are in the precarious position of accepting funding from virtually any and every enterprise that is making an offering. That said, it is more important now than… Read the rest

Regulation D, Under Sections 4(2) and 3(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, the SEC adopted Regulation D to coordinate the various limited offering exemptions and to streamline the existing requirements applicable to private offers and sales of securities. The Regulation establishes three exemptions from registration in Rules 504, 505, and 506.

Rule 504, which provides an exemption for non-reporting companies unless they are “blank check” issuers or certain “shells”, stipulates that: The sale of up to $1,000,000 of securities in a 12-month period is permitted provided that there is no general solicitation, the securities sold are restricted securities and cannot be resold except pursuant to a registration statement or exemption, and a notice must be filed with the SEC within 15 days after the first sale. Rule 504 does not provide an exemption under any state laws. In certain limited circumstances where an offering is conducted under state accredited investor exemptions, securities offered under Rule 504 may be freely… Read the rest

Don’t let your house fall into disrepair. It is not cheap to maintain a house but the loss in capital value can be huge if you let it get run down. Not only is the value reduced the salability drops as well. Hundreds spent today become thousands of dollars increased capital value tomorrow with a house. Some aspects have to be considered before you go in for renovation so that the final outcome is rewarding and worth the investment.

Where exactly does your house need the renovation and what all elements need to be replaced should be first decided upon. For instance, if the available space is no longer sufficient for your growing family you may think of making extensions to the house or you may try to carve out a portion of your open space for building a car garage. Similarly, placing new cabinets or ventilated.

Some household electrical appliances installed in the kitchen or the bathroom can also… Read the rest

Most companies who are on the venture capital trail are not set up properly to attract investors. When an investor looks at your business plan and private placement memorandum they are looking for certain things. Of course funding sources look for the obvious, a solid business model, positive cash flow, industry genre with solid future growth, recession proof business (if there even is such a thing) and minimal debt.

Countless companies are turned down for funding because they lack the basics such as: an advisory board, board of directors, solid executive staff with a well groomed pedigree, reasonable share price, business plan and PPM that spell out the risks for the investor and an original marketing strategy that covers all the angles. These are just a few of the most common mistakes that companies make out of naivety and by not taking the time to hire an expert to properly structure them to make the entity appeal to investors.

Seasoned… Read the rest

The hype around Corporate Governance is on an all-time high in this decade of Enron, Worldcom and Satyam. The severe repercussions faced by every common person of our global business ecosystem has suddenly made Corporate Governance a common phrase for every stakeholder in economy.

Typically, Corporate Governance gives vibes of a crisis, due to the numerous and big business failures we have faced in last few years. However the goal of Corporate Governance is much more positive. Put simply, Corporate Governance is about promoting Corporate Fairness, Transparency and Accountability towards all stakeholders – shareholders, employees, customer, suppliers and immediate community. It thus works as a corrective mechanism which ensures sustained benefits for all stakeholders. The role of Corporate Governance becomes even more critical in case of mergers. Here, we would discuss certain aspects Corporate Governance and see how it takes care of shareholders, employees and community.

Lets talk about shareholders first

The most important issue concerning the shareholder is likely… Read the rest

Discovering the ‘thumbscrews’ of investors is crucial to getting them to take action. In over a decade of dealing with global investors there are several elements that I’ve discovered to be universal truths about the mind of the private investor (angel investor, accredited investor).

When talking to an investor for the first time, it’s more important to listen than to speak. It’s more important to ask questions than answer them. It’s more important to discover their needs and wants than to exclaim your own. Your first conversation with an investor should be all about piercing the armor and finding the trigger points that prompt a reaction that gets to the center of their ‘childlike’ state.

What I mean by this is, investors, just like anyone else, has insecurities that are rooted in their childhood and what they are outwardly today, is typically a polar opposite of what they are on the inside. For example, an arrogant, chest beater seems proud… Read the rest