As an entrepreneur, there are many possible-funding options
when starting a new business. With emerging technology and the Internet,
entrepreneurs are able to find funding through traditional methods such as bank
loans or alternative methods such as angel funding. Angel investors are individuals that provide
capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or
ownership equity. According to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), an angel must have a net worth of at least $1
million and make $200,000 a year or $300,000 jointly as a couple.
Some of the most
notable angels are those featured on the ABC television show “Shark Tank”. Sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara
Corcoran, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec have invested in hundreds of
businesses throughout the duration of the show.
There are also groups in major cities that meet to serve as
angels for deserving business owners such as New Orleans Start Up Weekend.
Entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to other business owners and angels
and following the presentations; the angels decided who should receive a
specified amount of money to start their business. Startup weekends, sponsored
by Google, are available to entrepreneurs in over 726 countries.
Outside of the Google Startup Weekends and angel funding
initiatives, there are directories of Angel Funding opportunities. The
directories include the Angel Capital Association, http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/directory/,
and angel.co for both angels and entrepreneurs to find funding and investing
opportunities.
There are also crowd funding opportunities for entrepreneurs
to seek funding. The crowd funding sites include Kickstarter.com, Indiegogo.com
and CrowdFunder.com, these sights allow for everyday people to give to
entrepreneurs to fund their businesses. Instead of exchanging shares within the
company, entrepreneurs give contributors returns as simple as a thank you card,
acknowledgement on the company website or one of the products offered by the
company.
As a business owner, I see where it would be beneficial to
seek funding from a mix of opportunities such as traditional funding, angel
funding and crowd funding. The more capital that can be raised via crowd
funding, the more cash reserves can be banked by the company.
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