photo credit: h.koppdelaney
OpenForum.com:
Research shows that over 90 percent of new ventures start with whatever money entrepreneurs can scrounge from personal resources. The other 10 percent relied on external sources with family members (parents and spouse) as the most common (5.0 percent). Private investors fund less than 3 percent of start ups. Venture capitalists are involved in less than 1 percent.
One of the best resources that any start-up should start with for investing in their company is their local investors such as Angel investors. It has been said that 7 out of 10 investments have been made by investors within 50 miles of the business in need of the money. However, with these Angel investors you do need to show sufficient evidence of a few things such as growth potential, a great management team and sufficient equity.
Another possible location to look into for investing opportunities is MDFF which roughly translates into mom; dad; friends and other family members. Many people do receive help from these locations for their start-up if they truly have a business plan that their friends and family can be sold on and get behind. However, we do have to warn you that if the business does not do as well as you expect it to, it can be a bad situation between you and your family and friends, so you may want to think long and hard about this one.