Web Sites Bring Together Entrepreneurs And Investors
Nate Alder believed clothing insulation could be warmer and more efficient, so he and a few partners set out earlier this year to reinvent winter-jacket lining. Unfortunately, prospective angel and venture-capital investors didn’t warm up to the idea on first look in the spring.
The second time around in the fall Alder and his team walked away with $375,000 in angel investor backing. The difference, according to Alder: his start-up, Argon Technologies Inc., went through FundingUniverse, a Web site designed to connect entrepreneurs with investors. The site can help companies tweak business plans and hosts in-person “speed pitching” — a take on speed dating where investors are paired with entrepreneurs.
“Angels said at the speed-pitching that our pitch was so much better than before,” Alder said, adding he walked away from the October event with 10 to 12 offers. “Face-to-face made the difference; it raises your chances significantly.”
As the venture world has recovered from the tech bubble bust at the turn of the century, a number of sites have popped up offering advice and the ability to connect entrepreneurs with investors. These businesses take things beyond sites that simply offer message boards or rating services like the much publicized TheFunded, which lets anonymous people rate VCs.
FundingUniverse and others like it boast services that range from e-mailed distribution of pitches to networking conferences that mirror speed dating events. The programs, while not targeted at experienced venture capitalists, are specifically useful for business owners and angel investors lacking a robust rolodex.
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Photo by FundingUniverse.
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