Angel Investors and Business Startups

Starting a Business With Angel Investors

Angel Investors

If you are thinking of starting your own business, did you ever think of finding an Angel Investor to help you? Such investors are successful business people in their own right, often entrepreneurs. They want to help other entrepreneurs get their own business started. They often give from $150,000 to $1.5 million of their own money. They are often looking for ways to invest their cash for tax reasons and for profitable business reasons. Your business startup idea could be just what they are looking for.

The term “Angel Investor” was started when businessmen began to invest their wealth in Broadway productions in the early 1900’s. Today, such investors often give money, contacts, experience, and expertise to help businesses get started. They often invest in business ideas that other investors might consider too risky. One of the most famous such investment was the $100,000 given by Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim to help start Google. Amazon and Starbucks get started with similar help.

When looking for Angel Investors you can start with your friends and relatives, especially if they have money to invest in your business startup. The drawback to getting an investment that way, is you might lose friends, and you can cause a strain on your relationship with your relatives, if your business loses money. If you get help in that manner, make sure a lawyer drafts an agreement detailing what will be expected from you and every detail an attorney considers important.

There are a lot of websites with lists of Angel Investors that can be found with an Internet search, but once you have found them, you may wonder how you can impress them and get the money you want. You will impress angel investors if you can help them understand your business, perhaps because they have been associated with a similar venture, if you can show a working prototype of your business, or if you have a good business plan. You will impress them if you can make them passionate about your business idea. Show them why your business will succeed. Do your market research so you can show them the potential of your business idea.

You will impress an angel investor if you can show your company will be operated by a professional, competent, management team. You will impress them if you show them they will not need to give money a second time to your project. You can assure them with testimonials from people who have seen and liked your idea, or used your product.

Angel Investors expect to get their money back and earn more than they could on the stock market, seven dollars for every dollar given, to participate in your business, and how they can exit your business, perhaps when you begin to sell stock.

Copyright © Rebecca Hubbard