Jim Treviling is a tough guy with a soft spot for a good deal and a
delicious meal.Slayer's Den
Dragons' Den is a new show on CBC where entrepreneurs pitch ideas to Canadian business moguls, the dragons, hoping to get an investment. Slayer's Den serves as entry point for information about the show, and information about how to start your own business.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Here's an article from a few months back in business week that gives some suggestions about what VC's look for when they invest. Number 1, a market ready product. VC's aren't the source of the first money so this makes sense. Angels would have typically provided the earlier funding. Look back into an earlier post describing angels vs vc's.
Your young, you've started a company, and you're on the net. Where do you find like minded individuals? Look no further. Mind Petals is for you.
The site is a place for young entrepreneurs to get inspired and do something, and there are tonnes of articles on all sorts of topics.
The site is a place for young entrepreneurs to get inspired and do something, and there are tonnes of articles on all sorts of topics.
This article discusses the advice and suggestions from venture capitalists after they got together in a series of panel discussions. Some particular advice includes:
- Everything in manufacturing from the loading dock to the front door of Wal-Mart, will be data-enabled.
- The biggest obstacle to financing new ventures is price.
- VCs look for a leader who is able to articulate the company's vision.
- Companies should take on more than one source of funding.
- Angel investors should be used as mentors.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Men make up the majority of venture capital and angel investors, but more recently women are beginning to break down the walls and changing the face of equity investing. This article from The Scientist explains the effects of this trend, especially on helping women pursue their ideas. For example, angel groups whose investors are predominately or exclusively women are investing in companies that are run by women.
According to this article, the VC environment for semiconductor-based companies has been relatively flat this year. Some interesting statistics
2005 148 deals 1.9 billion raised = 12 mil/deal average
2006 135 deals 1.8 billion raised = 13 mil/deal average
No surprise that semiconductors need some serious money. It's good to see at least the money doesn't seem to be dropping off too much.
2005 148 deals 1.9 billion raised = 12 mil/deal average
2006 135 deals 1.8 billion raised = 13 mil/deal average
No surprise that semiconductors need some serious money. It's good to see at least the money doesn't seem to be dropping off too much.
One of the big stoppers for people who want to execute some great idea they have is that they are concerned that someone else has the idea. Take a look at Myth #4 in an article at Entrepreneur.com. The biggest factor is how your idea and later your company is differentiated from other ideas.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Based on this press release from the CVCA, venture capital has fallen by 32% over the past year. While, venture capital firms are giving out less money in total, they are giving somewhat larger amounts to those companies that they do fund. I guess there is a silver lining.
"No means maybe and yes means maybe", is one of the proverbs with respect to entrepreneurs getting money from investors. O'Reilly Radar's post includes many good entrepreneurial proverbs; each proverb includes an analysis into the meaning of the proverb with respect to your business. The article is similar to having many chapters of a book summarized into small sentences that get the message accross on all sorts of topics including money, ideas, and people.
Monday, November 27, 2006
VC's want big returns and when they do open the purse strings their desire for the big score can make for a challenging relationship between the entrepreneurs and the venture capitalists. This article from the New York Times discusses one company/entrepreneur that bought out the venture capitalists. The article also suggests that angel investing is on the rise since angel's don't tend to need the big returns VC funds require.
While on this topic of who to ask, one very significant factor is where you are, physically. We may live in a world where fast networks make location seem irrelevant but that isn't fully the case. Many VC's are guided by the 20 minute rule when deciding what to fund. If you aren't within a 20 minute drive of their office, forget about it. This is definitely something you should consider early on when thinking about/starting a company. For electrical/computer engineering based companies, this means if you aren't in the valley, money will be tough to come by. Maybe one day this won't be an issue if people develop more effective virtual collaborative environments but whoever tries to do that will probably need some VC money so hopefully they'll be a short <20 minute drive away.
Entrepreneur.com has an article in their December issue that describes where you can find the next great idea. The main concept is that the large amount of U.S. government money pumped into research provides a range of ideas and research that can be obtained by companies through a "technology transfer".
Sunday, November 26, 2006
On businessweek.com there is an interesting periodic Q&A focused on venture capital. This week's question is "how do I figure out the best venture capitalist to approach"? The answer isn't straightforward but the main message is that you need to do your research on what you need. Do you need guidance, help finding a management team, or what else? What stage of development is the company at? And of course what industry are you in? Based on the answers to these questions look at what venture capital firms are out there (the link gives a few resources to find that out) and make an appropriate decision.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Did you ever wonder what should be in your business plan? This article from the Government of Canada goes through the steps in creating a business plan, and what you should have in it. Sections include information about your business concept, your financial plan and sales forecast.
In this blog, Adam McFarland has just completed one year of blogging about running his own business.
These types of blogs are a huge resource for those considering following the same path. It's like an access to someone's business diary.
These types of blogs are a huge resource for those considering following the same path. It's like an access to someone's business diary.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Here's an only somewhat intersting article from last month's issue of Profit. It profiles Laurence Lewin, one of the dragon's. The most signficant point I think is when Lewin explains what he wants to see when an entrepreneur pitches an idea. He feels they should be friendly and entusiastic while being clear about what they want. This is something many of the pitches lacked on Dragon's Den this season.
People should have a better understanding of why they need the money. I get the feeling that a lot of the guests simply saw the ads on CBC or wherever and decided, "Hey I could use some money for my idea". The better approach (in my opinion) would be to realize they need new financing and consider this as just one potential avenue for getting it.
People should have a better understanding of why they need the money. I get the feeling that a lot of the guests simply saw the ads on CBC or wherever and decided, "Hey I could use some money for my idea". The better approach (in my opinion) would be to realize they need new financing and consider this as just one potential avenue for getting it.
A review of Dragon's Den - Episode 7.
An article with a conversation with Seth Godin provides some insightful tips on starting out with an idea. Godin suggests when you should look for investor money, and is asked about his book "The Bootstrapper's Bible" currently freely available for download.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Did you ever wonder what the differences between angel investors and venture capitalists were, well this article from American Venture magazine explains the differences.
According to the article, angel investors, while being motivated by large returns, have a deeper connection to the entrepreneur and tend to stay within areas of their own expertise. In this way, the angel investor plays a larger part in trying to make the business work. Read the whole article for a nice description of how to interact appropriately with angel investors.
According to the article, angel investors, while being motivated by large returns, have a deeper connection to the entrepreneur and tend to stay within areas of their own expertise. In this way, the angel investor plays a larger part in trying to make the business work. Read the whole article for a nice description of how to interact appropriately with angel investors.
Well the last episode of CBC's Dragon's Den airs tonight. It will be a recap show apparently showing how things have worked out for the people on the show. We'll recap the show tomorrow but in the meantime you can read the following article on the thestreet.com about angel investing trends to be expected in 2007.
The main points are: expect more angel investing activity but the investment environment won't be getting any more favorable. For people looking for angels getting the magical 50k is still going to be challenging but personal credit scores aren't going to be a big limitation.
The main points are: expect more angel investing activity but the investment environment won't be getting any more favorable. For people looking for angels getting the magical 50k is still going to be challenging but personal credit scores aren't going to be a big limitation.
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