The investor will provide money for the business. Investment projects

In the modern world, more and more interesting business ideas are appearing that require implementation. But to promote any project you need money, which the author of the idea does not always have. Therefore, the question of finding investment to start a business is relevant. However, entrepreneurs and companies starting from scratch risk facing strong competitors in their chosen niche. And in order to implement the idea and find the necessary funds for this, you need to know all the tricks for attracting investors.

We will tell you how to make your project attractive to investors and what needs to be done to achieve this. The one who walks will master the road, but the business is the one who is ready for something new.

Where to look for investors

There are many more opportunities for finding investors than it might seem at first glance. And you can find money by resorting to both long-existing investment methods and modern ones that appeared with the advent of the Internet.

Classic ways to attract investment

You can get money for your business through investment funds, small business assistance funds. This is quite a difficult task. In addition to the fact that a beginning entrepreneur must find serious reasons for receiving investments, he must invest part of the funds himself, but not everyone has the opportunity to do this.

You can ask for help at venture funds, however, it must be taken into account that they provide funds for the development of projects that have prospects. First of all, in the field of innovation and IT technologies.

Another option is a special platform for investing in business projects, a business incubator. But to get money, you need to win the competition and pass an interview.

Successful people can also become potential investors businessmen who would like to have passive income. Finding investors and making them partners is the most acceptable and simple way. And for this you need to be able to present your project well, prove its worth and relevance.

Attracting investment through the mainstream

One of the most popular ways to attract investment is crowdfunding, which is the collection of funds for a business from ordinary people. There are crowdfunding platforms on the Internet designed to allow you to leave proposals to raise funds for a project, or to invest your own money in the project. But to resort to this method, you either need to be a famous person or be able to advertise your idea very well, which, unfortunately, is not done on crowdfunding sites.

You can also try attract investments through cryptocurrencies and electronic payment systems . It should be noted that some popular cryptocurrencies today, for example, Ethereum, were created with user money.

Platforms for finding investors

If you don’t know where to look for investors, then we offer you several large platforms for finding them.

business-platform.ru. Federal business platform. In addition to projects and proposals for the sale of ready-made businesses, you can find an investor base here. The main task of the platform is to connect investors and authors of business projects online.

beboss.ru. The resource provides an opportunity to search for investors for any industry, as well as a catalog of franchises, business plans and business ideas.

napartner.ru. The platform offers various services for startups and investors, such as transaction support. Beginning businessmen will need to describe the nuances of their project so that investors receive as much information as possible.

investclub.ru. The resource offers ample opportunities for finding investments and investors.

rusinvestproject.ru. A platform for searching for investors both in Russia and in the CIS countries.

How to act. Basic rules for attracting investors

There are many people who want to receive investments and the competition is quite strong, so before looking for an investor, you need to learn a few rules.

The more information you provide to investors, the more they will trust you.

If you know how much you can earn, how your project will develop, you can safely go to a conversation with an investor. Calculate exactly how much money you need and for what.

An example is the startup Talkdesk. Its authors proposed the development of cloud technologies that should be used in call centers. Before meeting with a representative of the Silicon Valley venture fund, from which the project team subsequently received $12,000,000, she already had investments from other investors in the amount of $4,000,000 and received $1,000,000 in profit. Investors were captivated by the team’s ability to save money and devote themselves entirely to work. They made all conclusions based on the information provided about the project.

The more you know about an investor, the more opportunities you have to interest him.

What is your preferred communication style? How is business going? How quickly does he make decisions? Any little thing can turn out to be important.

An example is receiving investment for the Glowforge project. Before applying for investments, the author of the project looked at the blogs of the fund’s partners. Studying them, he concluded that when making a presentation, you need to be based not on numbers, but on the product. In total, the project raised $9,000,000 for the production of laser 3-D printers from venture funds Foundry Group and True Ventures in 2015.

The project also set a crowdfunding record, as it was able to attract another $28,000,000 on sites. That is, the author of the project, Dan Shapiro, successfully used the second rule, but most importantly, the third rule.

The more confident you are in your success, the more others will believe in it.

Investors prefer competent and persistent people who know what they want and know how to justify their plans. Prove that you are capable of doing what you propose. Give up the words “I want” and “I wish”, say “I do” and “I act”. Focus on your goals. Correctly set goals will certainly lead to success.

How to make a project attractive: what an investor will pay attention to

According to statistics, out of ten projects only one receives investment. What needs to be done to make your project interesting to investors?

  1. You and your team

First of all, any investor will be interested in what kind of people he will have to work with. Both the personal qualities of the author of the project and his motivation and willingness to go to the end are interesting. You must prove that you can move forward despite the difficulties. It is important how you achieve your goal, since any investor values ​​his time and money.

  1. Correct calculations

Unfortunately, 95% of aspiring entrepreneurs looking for investors have little idea of ​​what kind of income they can expect. The numbers they present at the presentation sometimes do not correspond to reality. Constantly growing sales and million-dollar profits offered by project authors often have nothing to do with the real state of affairs. Look for how to optimize costs, indicate what exactly you want to receive investments for.

  1. Project potential

One of the most important points in communicating with an investor is determining the potential of the project. The investor needs to know when the project will generate income, how you will identify potential clients, and finally, when the project will fully pay off. Preferably within a year, maximum three years.

To identify potential clients, it’s a good idea to run a crowdfunding campaign. If users are interested in your project, you will have a chance to attract interest from investors.

How to prepare to communicate with an investor: from pitch to conclusion of an agreement

There comes a time when the investor believes that he should choose your project. On average, it takes businessmen 3-9 months from meeting an investor to concluding an agreement. It is possible that you will have to prepare more than one version of a business plan and answer many questions for which you are not quite ready. Therefore, carefully prepare not only for the presentation, but even for a short meeting and telephone conversation. Each stage of communication requires its own preparation.

Stage 1. Getting to know each other

It can be either full-time or remote. The main thing here is to interest the investor in your project. To do this, you can use the following methods.

Elevator pitch or an elevator pitch. The short pitch was so named because businessmen and startups would catch potential investors in elevators and present their business idea to them in 30 seconds. Your mini-presentation must include:

  • the problem you are solving;
  • Product Description;
  • monetization method.

The main thing is to attract attention, for which you can use interesting facts or figures. For example, SpaceX's presentation consisted of only three sentences: the cost of launch, which has not been reduced in decades, the possibility of reducing it by 90 percent, and the impressive amount that can be earned.

Elevator pitch can be used at large forums and business competitions.

Correspondence. It is quite possible to establish a connection by corresponding by e-mail. This method works best for individual requests. In addition to the appeal, the letter must include:

  • description of the product or services;
  • description of consumers;
  • business model;
  • basis for investment.

Stage 2. Business meeting

Presentation. If a potential investor is interested in an elevator pitch or your letter, he will invite you to a personal meeting, for which you also need to prepare. When going to a meeting, you need to decide what you specifically want from it. If you receive money, you need to say so. This call to action is quite applicable and works.

Now about the presentation itself. It should be short and bright. It's good to follow the 10/20/30 rule. Try not to dwell on the details and keep it to a 20-minute presentation, which consists of 10 slides and is typed in 30 font.

Appearance. The fate of your project will depend not only on a good presentation, but also on your behavior and appearance. That's why:

  • don't be late;
  • come in a business suit;
  • follow the rules of etiquette.

Your ability to carry yourself confidently, your energy and charisma are very important.

Stage 3. Obtaining financing

Finance, finance and once again finance. For an investor, the main thing is making money. This must be remembered above all. Therefore, even if your project is supposed to “save the world”, but does not have a good business plan and financial plan, a potential investor will not be interested in it. A financial model is needed that can be adjusted by the investor himself. It's good to have:

  • results of marketing research;
  • letters from suppliers.

It is better to prepare three options at once: optimistic, pessimistic and basic. But, in any case, the model must be carefully verified. Only in this situation can we hope to conclude a deal. It is important to show that you know the market well and to convince them of the feasibility of introducing your product. The investor must believe that by investing in your idea, he can not only quickly recoup his investment, but also make good money.

How to prepare a presentation correctly: 5 tips for investors

Presentation is very important, on which the receipt of investment will largely depend. Many entrepreneurs, when preparing for a presentation, do not fully understand the interests of investors and do not know how to properly present their project. What points should the presentation contain?

  1. Problem Definition. If it exists, then it needs to be confirmed. Demand confirmation must be determined by real numbers.
  2. Solution to the problem. Your decision cannot be the only correct one. But it's your decision, and you need to convince the investor that it works, that people are willing to buy the product. It is best to come to investors already with certain results. To do this, you can take the following steps:
  • do product testing;
  • notify about changes to the project;
  • present the available results.
  1. Search for opportunities to sell the product. Willingness to buy does not mean that the product will sell well. Even if a person buys a service or product once, there is no guarantee that he will contact you next time. Therefore, you need to take into account profit and loss per customer, the so-called unit economics, as well as ways to attract and retain customers.
  2. Searching for a market and determining a strategy for entering it. We need to look for those markets that are growing and not disappearing, such as the cell phone repair market.

If the presentation shows how your income will grow in 3-5 years, then your financial model will arouse the interest of investors.

  1. Determining the investment amount. At the last stage, you must tell the investor what you need the money for and how much you want, as well as how much you are willing to invest yourself.

The right choice of investor, serious preparation for a conversation with him, as well as a good presentation of the project will help you get a chance to invest in your project.

Begin

Good afternoon, dear readers of the financial magazine “site”! Continuing the topic of investing, we will consider the issues of finding investments for a business, namely where and how to find an investor to start a business from scratch, what to do to get him to agree to finance a business project, and so on.

In this article we will cover:

  • Why investors are needed and how to properly attract them to start a business;
  • What steps should you take to find an investor from scratch;
  • What rules should be followed when searching for an investor;
  • Who can you turn to for help in finding investors?

You will also find answers to frequently asked questions at the end of the post.

The article will be useful to absolutely everyone: as aspiring businessmen, and for those who already have some experience in developing your own business. The article will also appeal to those interested in the theory of finance and investment.

To find useful information about attracting investors, read our article to the end.

Where and how to find an investor to start a business, what to look for when looking for investors for a small business from scratch - you will learn about all this and more later in the article

Regardless of the type of activity, a business needs cash. If you don't raise capital, even the best project develops will not . This threatens that the business will die at the planning stage.

It should be understood that for the successful development of entrepreneurship it is important not to miss the moment. Therefore, businessmen, as a rule, do not have the opportunity to save money. There is a great risk that while it is possible to collect the required amount, the moment will be missed, and the proposed market will be attacked by faster and more enterprising competitors.

At the same time, novice businessmen should not be embarrassed by the fact that their capital is insufficient. Even successful large companies, when they just started their activities, used borrowed funds.

Young companies with prospects for successful development most often feel a lack of funds. At the same time, they have a huge number of ideas that require implementation." Here and now ».

To date Finding investors has become much easier: created for this purpose a huge number of funds and companies who agree to transfer their funds to start-up businessmen.

But it should be understood that not everyone can receive funds from the funds. First of all, a businessman will need to convince investors to invest in his project. To do this, you will need not only to draw up a business plan, but also to prove that a particular business project is more interesting than that of competitors and also has better prospects.

Most professional investors have extensive investment experience. Therefore, they easily determine those projects in which it is best to invest in order to obtain maximum profit.

Businessmen must remember that how funds, so private investors do not give money to charity. They expect from the projects they invest in maximum and fastest return.

Thus, any sources of investment funds, be it banks, funds or other companies do not issue funds without the necessary confirmation. You can, of course, try to get a grant. However, the companies that issue them approach the selection of applicants even more strictly.


What to look for when attracting investors

2. How to attract investors - necessary conditions 📋

The goal of any investor is to increase the funds he has. Most of them know that income on bank deposits barely covers the rate of inflation. Therefore, such investments investors completely not satisfied .

Investors are striving for a level of income that will not only offset price increases, but also ensure a comfortable life.

All this explains why those who have significant amounts of money are looking for such companies in order to invest in them funds that will be able to provide them with sufficient income.

Beginning businessmen, when starting to search for a potential investor, should perceive him not as a creditor, but as a partner. It turns out that the businessman invests an idea into the project, and the investor invests his own money. Therefore, such a deal should be beneficial for both parties.

Most professionals agree that search for investors– the task is not that difficult. The main thing here is to be smart present your idea. You will also need to convince the owner of the funds that investing in the project will be quite promising and will bring significant income.

When telling an investor about a project, you should cover the following topics as fully as possible:

  • uniqueness and demand for the product/service offered for production;
  • the size of the required investments;
  • in what timeframe it is planned to recoup the investment;
  • expected level of profit;
  • What is the return on investment guarantee?

If a businessman correctly characterizes each of these issues, the chances of convincing the investor that the project can really bring good profits are will increase significantly. As a result, the investor will decide to allocate funds for it.

3. How to find an investor from scratch - a step-by-step guide to finding an investor for a business 📝

When looking for an investor, it is important to act consistently in accordance with the recommendations developed by professionals. Thus You will be able to achieve success in finding investors faster.

In the process of searching for investment sources, it is important to take into account the interests of the owner of the funds. It is important to understand that investors are guided by their own commercial interests when making investments.

Potential investors not interested , how innovative the activity will be, and whether it will bring profit to the business owner. They are concerned about the increase, as well as the safety of their capital.

For some investors not important business ideas, as they are looking for passive income, tired of actively developing a business. They have already managed to earn initial capital by working hard. Now the only desire of such investors is for the available funds to make a profit, and at the same time they would not have to do anything.

At the same time, they are looking for investment options that will bring greater income than traditional investments - , mutual funds and similar financial instruments.


Step-by-step instructions on where and how to look for an investor to start a business

Therefore, when looking for an investor, it is important to convince him that they can get such an income. It is of great importance to follow the step-by-step instructions, which we will describe below. This will help increase the chances of quickly and efficiently finding the necessary funds.

Step #1. Drawing up a business plan

First of all, when choosing an investment property, investors pay attention to the business plan. It must be properly executed, otherwise the likelihood of receiving funds may disappear.

A properly drawn up business plan must contain the following information:

  • project description;
  • calculation of the required amount of money;
  • analysis of the commercial benefits that the investor will receive;
  • the payback period of the project, that is, after what period of time the first income will be received;
  • what are the prospects for further development of the organization.

Everything should inspire confidence– from the quality of the paper on which the document is printed and the folder in which it is placed, to the use of professional graphic editors when preparing the necessary diagrams.

We wrote in more detail in a separate publication.

Step #2. Choosing a suitable form of cooperation

Cooperation between a business owner and an investor can take various forms. It is important to analyze in advance which of them may be most effective for a company seeking funds.

Investors agree to provide funds, receiving income in the following ways:

  1. as a percentage of the invested amount;
  2. as a percentage of profit during the entire duration of the project;
  3. as a share in the business.

The business owner, having decided which option is more acceptable to him, must indicate it in the business plan. However, it is often difficult for a new businessman to find the necessary funds.

Therefore, if a potential investor categorically disagrees with the chosen model, wanting to use another option for cooperation, it should be assessed. Often It’s better to agree to the investor’s terms than being left without money.

Step #3. Enlist the help of experienced businessmen

Aspiring entrepreneurs can be sure: no one will understand them better than experienced businessmen who have been working successfully in the same field for a long time. Many of them willingly advise newcomers on how to proceed. This is especially true in cases where when mutually beneficial cooperation is possible between them in the future.

Often, experienced businessmen take newcomers under their wing: they can invest money in their ideas or recommend the project for investment to other investors. Even if this does not happen, it is quite possible that professionals will give advice and recommendations that will help in the future.

Step #4. Negotiation

Often a positive decision from investors to invest in a project determined by competent negotiations . Even those who easily get along with people should carefully prepare for the meeting.

It will be necessary not only to convince a potential investor of the prospects of the project, but also to answer all the questions he has. Therefore, it is advisable to think in advance about what a businessman might be asked and prepare reasonable answers.

From the first meeting, investors usually expect a competent presentation of the project, as well as a business plan.

It would be useful for a businessman to invite a specialist who participated in the development of the project to negotiations. It is quite possible that he will explain all the nuances of the project much more competently, as well as answer any questions that arise.

Step #5. Conclusion of an agreement

The final stage of negotiations, if an agreement is reached, is signing a cooperation or investment agreement. It is important to carefully study absolutely all the terms of the drawn up contract; it would be useful to involve a professional lawyer in this process.

It is important to ensure that the agreement stipulates:

  • duration of cooperation;
  • investment amount;
  • rights, as well as obligations that are assigned to the parties.

In accordance with the agreement, funds are transferred to the businessman under certain conditions. Their essence is that money must be invested specifically in the implementation of the project .

It is important for the investor that the signed agreement excludes the possibility of using funds beyond the intended purpose, even part of the invested money should not go to needs not related to the implementation of the project.


Conclusion of an investment agreement - sample

An example of an investment agreement can be downloaded from the link below:

(example, sample)

Thus, it is important to maintain a certain consistency in attracting investor funds. A businessman should follow the step-by-step instructions described above. Then raising funds will be as effective as possible.


The main ways and where you can find investors

4. Where to find an investor - 6 options for attracting investment 🔎💸

We have already written about how important it is to draw up a competent business plan at the first stage of searching for an investor. However, not all businessmen know where to next look for someone who will agree to provide funds for the implementation of their project.

However, there are several options, and each of them deserves close attention from a businessman.

Option 1. Close people

Finding investors to finance a business – not an easy task. Therefore, it is advisable to involve as many relatives and friends as possible in this process. This option is ideal for those who are just starting their own business and have neither experience nor popularity. Moreover, loans from relatives and friends are less risky.

If the project does not require large initial investments, it can be offered to be financed by close people for a small percentage, which will be paid when the business becomes profitable.

Option 2. Businessmen

In all cities (especially large ones) there are a large number of businessmen who have already earned capital. Now they want to receive passive income by investing money in some profitable business.

It makes sense to turn to such businessmen to receive funds to develop their own business.

Most often, merchants issue money according to one of 2 (two) schemes:

  • in the form of a loan with payment of interest;
  • as a share in a new business project.

It should be understood that the second method leads to a significant restriction of the freedom of decision-making of a novice businessman. Therefore, you should think several times before choosing this option.

Option 3. Funds

Another way to find investors for a business is special funds - investment And assistance to small businesses. However, obtaining funds from such companies can be difficult.

You will have to prove that the new business project is viable enough. It should also be taken into account that a newcomer to the field of entrepreneurship must have his own funds, which he wants to invest in the project along with those attracted. Therefore, funds are more suitable for those who already have an existing business.

So that the decision to invest funds is positive , you will need to analyze the current activities of the company, as well as formulate a plan for its further development.

Those looking for an investor should also look into the activities of government funds. They often provide funds to the most promising business projects, organizing competitions for this purpose.

Option 4. Venture investment

This option is quite widespread in some developed countries. If you want to attract money to a business with the help of venture investment, you should keep in mind that such funds invest only in risky projects with great prospects.

In this case, business projects are most often financed innovation sphere , Sciences , and IT technologies .

Less often, but still, venture funds are invested in trade, as well as the service sector.

We wrote in detail about venture investments, in particular what they exist and what they do, in a separate article.

When investing in a business, venture funds want to receive regular income. For this purpose, they take over a share of the business. Moreover, they own part of the company for only a few years, after which they sell it to third parties.

Option 5. Business incubators

A business incubator is a special platform created for the purpose of implementing various business projects. To receive investment funds through an incubator, it is important to draw up a competent business plan.

In addition, you will need to win a competition or successfully pass a special interview.

Option 6. Banks

If you can’t find an investor, you can try to apply for a bank account. However, getting a large enough amount is often difficult. Therefore, this method of searching for an investor is suitable when when you need a small investment.

Credit institutions demand enough from potential borrowers high requirements. To receive money, you may need to provide property as collateral, guarantors, and collect a large list of various documents.

If a loan applicant cannot fulfill at least one requirement of the credit institution, he will not be able to receive a loan.

Thus, searching for an investor for business– it’s not an easy and rather lengthy matter. Therefore, a businessman will need a lot of patience. It is important to evaluate all possible options and analyze emerging risks. Then you can be sure that your search will be crowned with success.

There is an article on our website in which we talked about where and how to properly draw up a promissory note - we recommend reading it.


Basic rules for finding investors and their investments

5. 5 important rules for finding investors 📌

Every day a huge number of different business projects appear that require investment of funds. The owner of an idea does not always have the necessary capital. However, most ideas require quick start and development. In this regard, huge a number of businessmen are looking for an investor to implement the project.

Often this process is delayed, and often completely ends in failure. To increase your chances of success, it is important to follow 5 (five) basic rules. They allow businessmen to be more confident in finding an investor, as well as approach the selection process wisely.

Rule #1. The search should begin as early as possible

Every businessman must understand that searching for an investor is a long process. A lot of time passes from the moment they start until the funds are received.

That's why start You should look for an investor as early as possible. Ideally, this should be done when future activities have been planned, and it has also become clear how best to present the benefits of the project to potential investors.

It's important to understand that the risk of the investor is higher than that of the project owner. It is the one who invests money in business who risks his capital, loss of time and reputation.

Therefore, he has the right to suspend investment of funds or even negotiations if he decides that the risk level is too high for him.

Moreover, investors usually carefully study the company in which they plan to invest money. They analyze the history of the company, its successes and failures, and prospects for further development. All this leads to the fact that it is better to start looking for an investor in the early stages.

Own funds invested in a business usually run out very quickly. As a result, a sharp rise at the beginning of the project may give way to a fall even before the start of investment receipts, and this situation may alienate most investors.

Rule #2. It is important to collect as much information as possible about a potential investor

When looking for an investor, it is not the best decision to cooperate with the first one who offers his capital. It is necessary to collect as much information as possible about the prospective investor.

In this case, you should find out:

  • what areas does it usually invest in;
  • possible volumes of invested funds;
  • investor preferences regarding the method and principles of cooperation.

All collected data should be compared with the desires of the businessman himself. You should cooperate with the best investor. This means the most optimal, not the largest and most popular.

It's important to understand that any interaction with an investor should take place in the form of mutually beneficial cooperation.

At the same time, both the businessman and the investor themselves must imagine what stage of interaction they are at, as well as what will happen next.

A good investor, if he knows why, will provide significant assistance in the development of the project. A bad one will ruin even a great idea.

When assessing the investment amount, worth understanding, which, if necessary, 50-100 thousand dollars there is no point in turning to someone who traditionally invests millions. The same can be said in the opposite case: there is no point in going for big investments to someone who simply doesn’t have them.

A large amount of collected information can make it easier for a businessman to participate in the negotiation process with an investor. You can think through a rough plan of negotiations in advance, and also decide what questions you can ask the investor.

Moreover, if there is sufficient information can be predicted, what questions the owner of the funds will ask the businessman, and decide how to answer them. Information about an investor's previous investments can be very helpful during negotiations.

Even before meeting with an investor, a businessman must decide how he will behave during the negotiation process. The investor must believe that a businessman needs not just money, but mutually beneficial cooperation.

If high-quality contact is established between the parties, you can be sure that the interaction will be beneficial for both parties.

There are many examples in history that with good relationships between businessman and investor even if there were errors and small failures, they were still provided. Ultimately, success was achieved in the activity.

Rule #3. The amount of investment must be carefully planned

A businessman must remember that the investment amount must be indicated specifically in numbers, not a range. An investor will almost certainly refuse to invest if he is asked for an amount from 100 to 200 thousand dollars.

In this case, the owner of the funds may have a huge number of questions, which will almost certainly lead the negotiations to a dead end.

A businessman must tell the investor a specific amount , which should be reasonable. The size of the investment must take into account all possible scenarios that could cause the range to arise.

Rule #4. Focus on goals

When developing company development goals for which you need to raise funds, do not use them too much globalize.

Ideas that are too large, as well as the desire to cover a large number of issues, usually cause investors to doubt that it is possible to successfully implement them.

Therefore, the goals that a businessman sets must be as specific as possible . They must be limited by capabilities as well as needs. A businessman’s goals should be specified even before he finds an investor.

Even in cases where in the future it is planned to develop the project to a global scale, you should not immediately describe this idea globally. Such interpretations usually repel investors.

Those who have experience in investing, as well as developing business projects, agree with the opinion that with globalization, forces and resources are dispersed, but proper efficiency is not achieved.

Therefore, an investor should be sought under solving specific problems And business issues.

Rule #5. You should be as honest and open as possible

In the process of negotiating, and subsequently when drawing up reports, a businessman should not lie And keep back.

In the process of conducting business, it is quite normal to deviate from the original plan, but such facts cannot be hidden from the investor . He has the right to be aware of the current situation.

At the same time, it is important to explain to the investor the reasons for the deviation from the plan, what this may lead to, and how it is planned to proceed further.

Compliance with all the above rules increases the chances that a good investor will be found. And this is precisely the key to a successful start of any activity.

6. Providing professional assistance in finding investors 📎

Those who are unable to find an investor for their business on their own can turn to professional help.

There are special platforms on the Internet that help not only those who want to invest, but also those who are looking for capital to develop their activities.

The most famous Russian-language sites are 2 (two) sites:

1) EASTWESTGROUP

The resource's specialization is search for investments for investments both in operating and mothballed businesses. To use the services, just register and then contact those who provide the funds. The resource allows you to save not only time, but also energy.

Company specialists conduct business analysis, after which its strengths are determined. This is done absolutely free and helps attract investors. The resource has been investing for more than ten years.

By registering on the site, a businessman gets in touch with several dozen investors at once. This significantly increases the chances of receiving funds. The cost of the investor search service is calculated individually for each user. However, you do not need to pay anything until you receive the funds.

Using the site's services is very simple. Just go through a few steps:

  • submit your application;
  • get a free consultation from a company employee;
  • sign an agreement with the company on the provision of intermediary services;
  • the resource itself conducts negotiations with the investor;
  • businessman enters into a mutually beneficial deal with an investor.

2) Start2Up

This resource is a kind of bulletin board on which they post investor proposals, entrepreneurs, startupers looking for business partners.

Thanks to the site, those who have funds can find where to invest them. At the same time, budding businessmen have the opportunity to enter into an agreement with investors who are ready to support their project.

All advertisements posted on the site are divided into groups depending on the region, as well as the field of activity.

The most popular business areas here are:

  • Internet;
  • IT technologies;
  • education;
  • art as well as culture;
  • the science;
  • real estate.

There are also other promising areas of activity.

The site's users include hundreds of businessmen and investors. These are people not only from Russia, but also from Belarus, as well as a number of European countries. Therefore, the chances of those who register on the site to find an investor increase significantly.

The site contains several hundred offers buy out a startup, invest funds in different areas of business, and improve existing production facilities.

In addition, with the help of the project it is possible to purchase or sell the property of ready-made companies. You can follow the news of the portal using the Facebook group.

Thus, those who find it difficult to find an investor for their project can turn to popular Internet resources for help.

Don’t forget about the site’s crowdfunding as well. Thanks to (a type of crowdfunding), it is also possible to attract capital from interested platform participants for a share in a startup.

7. Answers to frequently asked questions 📑

The topic of finding investors is quite complex. Therefore, businessmen have a huge number of questions in this regard. The publication would not be complete if we did not answer the most frequently encountered questions.

Question 1. Where can I get money for my business?

Finding money to grow a business can be a daunting task for any aspiring entrepreneur. This especially concerns the formation and further startup development. Develop any business project without raising funds practically impossible. We wrote about what stages it should go through, how to attract money, etc., in a separate article.

Every aspiring entrepreneur is looking for his own options for finding an investor. That’s why it’s so important to reconsider how you can find funds.

Method 1. Accumulate

This option is the simplest. Having accumulated money, the entrepreneur will not become financially dependent on other people; he will be able to run the business completely independently, without reporting to anyone and without giving away part of the profit to anyone.

At the same time, to save money, you only need great desire, as well as financial self-discipline. It is enough to optimize your own expenses to start saving money. With due diligence, already for 6 -12 months you can raise a significant amount of money.

This option is suitable for those who know how to save. If you manage to save for a major purchase or vacation, this method of finding funds will probably suit you. Moreover, this option helps you learn an optimal attitude towards money, which will definitely come in handy in the future when implementing a business project.

Method 2. Take out a loan

Those businessmen who have a good understanding of the rules of financial discipline may well take out a bank loan for the development of activities.

The danger of this method is that at the very beginning of business, companies almost always operate on the brink of loss. Therefore, there is a high probability that there will simply be nothing to pay off the loan.

This method is suitable only for those who are confident that the business will become profitable even before the loan payments begin. It is worth understanding that credit institutions startups rarely invest. Much more often they issue loans for the development of an existing business. However, the decision is always made individually.

A businessman should definitely take into account that interest in most cases is at least 15%. In addition, it is important to contact banks with a good reputation.

To simplify the task for businessmen, the table shows the best banks for small and medium-sized businesses.

Method 3. Government subsidies

The state is trying actively support small businesses. Any aspiring entrepreneur can take part in competitions for subsidies.

If you wish, you can contact the Employment Center to receive a self-employment grant. The amount for this program varies by region, but on average it is 90-100 thousand rubles.

In addition, so-called incubators have been created in the country (most often on the basis of the largest higher educational institutions that teach the subject of “economics”).

Such structures are financed from the budget. The goal of such organizations is to create favorable conditions for business development.

Method 4. Close people

This option can be considered a last resort, since doing business with relatives and friends can be very difficult. Nobody likes to just give away their money, so even close people should be interested. You can offer them a share in the business.

There are also advantages to this method of raising funds. Firstly, it is easier to agree with loved ones on the timing of the return of money. Secondly, receiving funds is much faster, since you do not need to collect a large number of documents and also wait for a decision from third parties.

Method 5. Private investors

In some cases, there are simply no other options other than borrowing money from private investors. You can get funds from private investors quite easily quickly and without unnecessary problems.

Most large cities have Internet sites that post relevant advertisements. At the same time, to obtain a loan it is enough confirm your identity and write a receipt. Some private investors require mandatory notarization of this document.

Question 2. Where to start looking for an investor for a small business?

There are several basic steps that will help a novice investor navigate the process of finding an investor.

Step 1: Making a plan

A businessman must develop a high-quality business plan, which he will use as a presentation to people who invest money in the business. It is the plan that will help convince the investor that the businessman’s project is capable of generating significant profits.

Important so that the business plan contains not only a description of the company itself, but also a study of its position in the market, as well as further development prospects.

Step 2. Choose an investment scheme

There are several possible options for raising funds. Investors can buy new equipment, by providing a loan at certain interest rates. Others invest, demanding in exchange for a share in the company .

In any case, a businessman should decide in advance which of the schemes is most suitable for him. It would be useful to indicate this in the business plan itself.

Step 3. Help from professionals

Experienced businessmen can provide valuable advice on both raising funds and running a business.

Step 4. Search for online resources on investing

There are sites on the Internet that allow you to present projects to business angels. After posting information about themselves on such resources, businessmen often note an increase in the number of offers from investors.

Question 3. I am looking for an investor to start a business from scratch/into an existing business. What portals/sites and forums should I look on?


Popular Internet resources (websites, forums, portals) for searching for investors

The development of Internet technologies has made it possible to significantly simplify the procedure for finding investors. There are quite a large number of Internet resources that help in this difficult task.

Here are the most popular ones:

  1. Starttrack.ru is a popular investor search portal. There is an opportunity to post information about your business project. If it passes approval, the chances of attracting investors will increase significantly.
  2. Ventureclub.ru– a resource that allows you to find fairly large investors.
  3. Napartner.ru- is a regular bulletin board on which investors post information about themselves.
  4. Mypio.ru– here you can place information about your business project. Advertisements on this portal are viewed daily by a large number of investors.
  5. Startuppoint.ru– a project with a huge number of proposals from investors. If today there is no suitable option here, it is quite possible to post information about the project for viewing by potential investors.

Question 4. Where to look for an investor for a startup or how to find an investor to implement an idea?

A businessman must remember that the most suitable place to look for an investor is where the maximum number of them gathers. It can be various exhibitions, and presentation events. As part of such events, round tables of money owners are usually organized where you can get to know the future investor. This option is quite simple, however its effectiveness is highly questionable. Such events are held extremely rarely; meeting the right person also happens here not easy.

Another easy option– investing in a new business project by diverting funds from an old, already developed one. Naturally, this method is unacceptable for novice entrepreneurs.

You can find private investors on various Internet resources. You can find a large number of business investment proposals. But don't forget that areas of large accumulation of funds are infested with a huge number of scammers. Often, businessmen are offered to contribute a certain amount of money to start investing under various pretexts.

It is considered a good way to attract investment investment broker assistance. For a small commission, the businessman shifts the worries of finding an investor onto someone else's shoulders. In this case, you will have to pay only upon the issuance of funds.

The help of business angels is often considered effective.. However, today there are too few of them for a large number of applicants. In addition, they often demand a significant share in the business being created.

Incubators do not have the purpose of investing in projects. They are created to provide businesses with optimal conditions for development.

Question 5. How to search for foreign investors? Where to find foreign investors who will give money?

At the moment, there are several ways to find a foreign investor who is interested in your business:

  1. Using the intermediary services of public or private commercial structures in searching for investment proposals;
  2. By posting information about a project (startup, idea) on specialized sites (investment project databases);
  3. Participating in various specialized exhibitions and fairs.

Many different agencies successfully operate in the investment market and provide professional services for finding foreign investors. It is important for potential foreign investors to see the prospects of your business project.

8. Conclusion + video on the topic 🎥

If you have read the publication to the end, rest assured that you have received enough information to attract an investor. It is important to remember that this process is not easy and requires high-quality preparation.

A businessman must remember that even if he finds sufficient funds, there is no guarantee that the project will be successful.

Finding an investor is only the initial stage, a small part of a long and difficult journey.

Having spent money, a businessman must make every effort to achieve the desired return from it.

In conclusion, we suggest watching a video from Stolitsa FM - Where and how to look for business investments?

And also an interesting webinar “How to attract investment in business” from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

The site magazine team wishes you good luck and success in attracting a good investor and, of course, success in the further development of your business. If you have any comments or questions on the topic, please ask them in the comments below.

No enterprise can operate without investment, and very often budding entrepreneurs have a great idea, but do not have the funds to implement it. In this article we will talk about where to find an investor for a business and look at 14 important things that you should definitely know before you start looking for an investor.

We are looking for entrepreneurs in need of investment!
We are looking for entrepreneurs who want to open their own business and need investment! Our base includes more than 10,000 investors around the world who regularly invest in new projects.

All you need to do is describe your idea and leave your contact information. We will send out a newsletter to our investor base and if someone is interested in your project, we will contact you in 2-3 days.

We have already found more than 800 investors for small businesses and this number continues to grow every day. Send your ideas regardless of whether you want to open an ordinary hairdressing salon or a technological IT startup.

It doesn't matter what stage your project is at. Even if it is too crude and is only in the planning stage, then write anyway, we will help you create a financial plan and find an investor.

Thank you for submitting your application!

If your idea is of interest to one of the 10,000 investors, we will contact you as soon as possible.

14 Important things that will help you find an investor

First, we want to look at the 14 most important things that you should definitely know about in order to find an investor for your business. Without knowing these basics, any method of finding third-party investments will not work for you, so be sure to familiarize yourself with them.

1. I have a brilliant idea and I won’t tell anyone about it!

A very common mistake that very green entrepreneurs make is hiding their ideas. They think that they have come up with a brilliant idea that will bring in millions of rubles and do not tell it to anyone because they are afraid that someone will steal it and implement it faster.

There are situations that reach the point of absurdity, when at a meeting with an investor, entrepreneurs do not fully talk about their idea, hiding some points and repeating only that it is brilliant and will bring a lot of money. Of course, investors will not work with such people.

Let's figure out where ideas generally come from and why they seem profitable to us.

The business idea itself appears in our head based on life experience. If you are a motorist, love your cars, spend all your free time in the garage, then most likely the idea will arise in your head to open a business related to cars, and not to create a coworking space. The same thing happens on the other side, 90% of people will consider your idea bad because they have a different life experience, your field will be uninteresting to them, and your business plan will seem completely crazy.

The business idea itself is nothing, no matter how brilliant it may be. The implementation of this idea is important, because creating a business is much more difficult than just coming up with it in your head.

Don't hide your business idea and try to share it with everyone because:

  • 90% they won't steal it because they won't like it
  • 9% they won’t steal it because they won’t be able to sell it
  • 1% wants to cooperate with you or invest money in your project

2. Everyone sees your business plan differently.

The problem that haunts almost all enthusiastic entrepreneurs is the wrong vision of their idea.

A simple example: you have an idea, you briefly describe it because you’ve read a lot of useful advice about how you need to attract an investor’s attention in 5 minutes, but you don’t have a detailed description of your business. As a result, you attract the attention of an investor, he understands that the idea is too crude, and everything else is in your head.

Understand that in the same idea you can see a potential multimillion-dollar business and, conversely, a project awaiting failure. If you see success in your project, your main task is to make sure that a potential investor sees it too.

That is why during, for example, the presentation of your project, all slides should be aimed at convincing the investor of the success of the business. There is no need to talk about what color the paint on the office walls will be. Roughly speaking, there is no need to focus on things that cannot convince the investor of the profitability of your project.

3. Why do you really need an investor?

Now we will not talk about all entrepreneurs, so you should not take the information received personally.

Some entrepreneurs are looking for a business partner and share with him the amount of initial investment, profit, work and one more very important thing - risks. When you find someone to invest money with you in your business, you are also sharing the risk. In other words, you avoid responsibility and look for someone who will solve your problems.

If you were 100% confident in your business idea, you would be able to find money on your own: sell a car, take out a loan, save up, sell an apartment, etc. But you are looking for an investor, which means that you yourself are not sure that your idea will work. And if you work with a partner who also invests time and money in your business, then you will not only be to blame for the losses.

When entering into the business of a partner, risks are always shared, but it is important that you have the greatest confidence in the project.

4. Investor assistant

There are two options for working with an investor:

  • The investor does not understand at all what you are doing and simply invests money in you
  • The investor understands the niche better than you

When you yourself do not yet have much experience in business, cooperation with an investor who will simply invest several million in you is more likely to become a failure for both of you. The simplest example is that a young businessman decided to open a business on the Internet and his investor was a man who had been involved in car services and car trading all his life; he doesn’t understand anything about the Internet at all and has difficulty recovering the Odnoklassniki password. Of course, such cooperation will not be successful. A novice entrepreneur himself does not yet fully understand what to do and does many things for the first time, while an experienced one simply cannot give any advice, because he understands little about the niche.

5. You need a business plan

Regardless of whether you are looking for an investor for an existing enterprise or a business from scratch, you will need a business plan in any case. Many people are scared by this word and it seems to them that a business plan is some kind of complicated thing that you are not able to do on your own.

In fact, everything is much simpler, a business plan in its idea resembles a regular course work that we wrote at the university, and it should include the following paragraphs:

  • Business overview
  • Test idea description
  • Detailed description of the service or product
  • Market analysis
  • Production plan
  • Sales plan
  • Financial plan
  • Business sensitivity
  • Regulatory information

Nothing else is needed. By drawing up a business plan yourself, you will delve even deeper into the niche and, perhaps, this will lead to some positive consequences.

The most important thing is not to lie even a little, for example, about market volume. Firstly, the investor may notice that you are embellishing everything, and secondly, even in your work, the real numbers will not coincide with reality. Both the first and second situations will not lead to anything good.

6. Your experience

A very important thing that all investors look at is your experience. There are 3 types of experience:

  • In life— the likelihood that someone will invest money in a person who has just graduated from school is extremely small. Of course, there are also situations when an 18-year-old guy finds investors and by the age of 25 becomes a millionaire, when others are just taking their first steps. Let's be realistic, this option is extremely rare and if you are 18 years old, we recommend that you continue to get an education and at the same time try to create your own business.
  • In a niche- a good option would be if you have some experience in the niche in which you want to open a business. For example, you worked as a dance teacher for 10 years and decided to open your own dance school. You have a good understanding of the niche and this is a big advantage.
  • In business- if you have already tried to create your own business, then this is very good. Some people hide their previous projects because they were unsuccessful. Should not be doing that. A good investor is well aware that the more times you have failed, the more experience you have and the more likely your new project is to succeed.

7. Start a business from scratch

It is much easier to find an investor in an existing business than to get someone to invest money in your business plan, so try to start your own business.

It is not necessary to provide a large number of services or products. It is important to ensure that the enterprise does not operate at a loss. Of course, starting from scratch is quite difficult, but if you think about it, you can do it in any niche.

For example, in the case of a hairdresser, you can rent an office for a few hours, hire one employee and share the profit with him, and look for clients via the Internet.

Another advantage will be that by opening a business with minimal investment, in the future you will be able to find ways of development without an investor.

8. Same values

We strongly discourage cooperation with investors whose life values ​​are very different from yours. In the early stages of work, it is quite possible that everything will be fine for you, but in the long run this will lead to trouble.

Since you look at life too differently, you will solve problems in business differently. Problems in business appear every day, and if you constantly argue about how best to solve it, this will lead to a loss in speed, which is very bad for any business. It will be a complete disaster if at the very start you divide everything 50/50 and do not decide who will make the final decision in disputes.

Therefore, to save your time and nerves, we recommend looking for investors who are looking in the same direction as you.

9. 31, 62 or 93 meetings per month

Finding an investor for your business is difficult, and even more difficult is to do it while sitting at home on the couch in front of the TV. This point is perhaps the most important - you must systematize your search for an investor.

Set your goals correctly. Finding an investor is not the right goal. Having 186 meetings in 3 months is the right goal.

You can start with something simple. Conduct 4 meetings with a potential investor per month, and then gradually increase this number.

Understand this: the more meetings you have, the more likely it is that one of them will be successful and you will finally find an investor.

If you think that after 10-30 meetings you will find a partner, then we hasten to upset you with the realities of life. Only after 100-400 meetings you will find an investor, this number can be even higher. Also, do not forget that finding a person who agrees to meet with you and discuss your business idea is also not so easy, but we will talk about where to look for investors a little later.

10. What should the presentation be like?

Presentations are a creative thing. When creating them, there is a concept of “don’t overdo it” and many people don’t understand it at all, so below is a list of things that you don’t need to do at all:

  • Animation
  • Large blocks of text- this is not a presentation for school work, so there should not be a large amount of text at all.
  • Design- if you are not a professional designer, then just forget about design and make the presentation convenient.

The main goal of the presentation is to prove that your business will become successful, so each of its slides should be aimed, first of all, at this. If a slide simply describes some aspect of your business, but does not contribute to a positive investor decision, then we reject it. Everything should be aimed at one goal - receiving money from the investor.

11. What questions do all investors ask?

Coming to a meeting unprepared can be equated to not showing up to the meeting at all. Therefore, we recommend that you prepare for questions so that you don’t get stuck at an unexpected moment.

The most frequently asked questions from investors at the meeting:

  • Who believes in your success?
  • Who inspires you?
  • What tools do you use to track the market?
  • Tell us the history of using your product?
  • Is it possible to reduce costs?
  • What are the main characteristics of your target audience?
  • What will the market look like in 5 years?
  • What failures have you had and what did you learn from them?
  • Have you ever been fired?

We sorted out the issues, great! But an investor can issue the following phrases:

  • I forgot what you do— some people are offended by this phrase; the investor came to the meeting unprepared and, as a result, the dialogue goes in the wrong direction. Take this calmly, such people have a huge number of meetings, letters, messages, etc. every day. He really might have forgotten what you do.
  • I don't understand what the idea is— try to chew and explain the idea as simply as possible. At the first stages, you shouldn’t overload a person with some unnecessary terms, which you should learn about a little later.
  • You are not solving the real problems of the population- the investor considers your project unsuccessful, you need to convince him by describing the large volume of the market, the number of potential buyers and approximate revenue.
  • I'm not sure you can handle this— convince that you have experience, a team and are 100% likely to cope with the assigned tasks.
  • I doubt I can afford it- investors say this phrase with a degree of regret. He likes your project, but at the moment he or his money is busy working on something else.

12. Think about the terms of cooperation in advance

You need money for business - this is understandable, but do not forget that you will receive it under certain conditions. Think in advance about what conditions will be categorically unacceptable, satisfactory and best for you.

Below are options for cooperation with a partner.

Cooperation format Investments Profit
Equal contribution to business work 50/50 50/50
The first partner has more experience or works harder 40/60 or 50/50 50/50 or 60/40
The first one works more and has more experience 35/65 or 50/50 50/50 or 65/35
Same experience, but the first one works more than the second one 70/30 70/30
The first one has less experience, but works more 70/30 60/40
The first one has little experience, but works a lot. The second one has a lot of experience 80/20 60/40

In addition, you need to think about the moment of exiting the business. For example, some niches are simply unworkable without a partner, so if one goes out of business, they sell the entire enterprise and split the profits. There can be many situations, but the moment of exit must be thought through.

13. Who will an investor never cooperate with?

There is a list of people with whom a potential investor will never want to cooperate, and it does not include people with an old suit that has seen more than one meeting. It's more about your qualities than your appearance.

What investors don't like:

  • Unsure- if you yourself are not 100% confident in your idea, then this will definitely lead to failure.
  • Slow- speed in business is a very important thing, if you are slow, stop being so.
  • Inexperienced- this point is not the most important, but still, the more experience you have, the better.
  • Irresponsible- there’s nothing even to describe here. If you want to open a business, you must be prepared for enormous responsibility.
  • Satisfied- we are talking about people who do not strive for a good life, but are content with what they have.
  • whining- if you talk about problems every five minutes, about how bad everything is in his life, in the country, in the world, then they are unlikely to want to work with you.

14. The investor does not invest money in the business!

This moment is one of the most important. Understand that an investor does not invest his money in a business, he invests it in people. If he sees you as an accepted interlocutor, close in spirit, with whom he would like to have a common cause, then he will be more likely to invest in your startup.

Even if they come to him with a brilliant idea for investment and in the future it will bring millions of dollars, the investor still will not work with a person he does not like.

Therefore, if you want to find an investor, then in addition to working on your business idea, you also need to work on the art of communicating with people.

18 ways to find investors

Finally, we have come to the most interesting part and will analyze 18 ideas on where to find an investor for a business. When using these methods, do not forget about the 14 things that were discussed earlier.

Method 1: igotmoney service

The first thing we want to recommend to you is that it will help you find an investor for your small business. We have at our disposal a database of more than 10,000 investors from Russia and many foreign countries. All you need to do is describe your business idea and leave your contact information. Then we will send out a mailing to our database and connect you with investors who are interested in your project.

At the moment, we have already managed to find more than 800 investors for beginning entrepreneurs and this number continues to grow rapidly.

The service is absolutely free!

Method 2: Incubators

Business incubators are government organizations that support small businesses in Russia. The advantage is that you can get large investments, large discounts on office rent, but the disadvantage is high taxes, which pay for the work of such incubators.

After you choose a particular incubator, you must send your application there and then prove the viability of your idea using a business plan.

Method 3: Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding platforms will help you find an investor for your startup, especially if it is unusual and interesting.

The point here is that you describe your idea in detail, record a video and announce the required amount. If people like you, they will send you money, and in return you can give them some small favor.

Such platforms allow you to raise millions of rubles in a matter of days, but you should understand that you won’t raise a penny to open a cafe here. It’s another matter if your project is original, for example a video game about the life of ants.

Method 4: Friends and relatives

The most popular way of investing among businessmen is through friends and relatives. Working with a close circle of people has a huge advantage. You don’t have to enter into any agreements, think through the division of shares, etc. Just borrow the money.

Of course, not everyone has Bill Gates as a friend, from whom you can borrow a couple of million to start your own business, but you can go further and find distant relatives or acquaintances. Even if they don’t want to lend you money for free, you can work with them as full-fledged investors.

Method 5: Credit

Some entrepreneurs are afraid of loans and are not ready to take them even for business. Of course, in the future you will have to pay interest rates and in the end you will give back more than you took, but do not forget that by working with an investor you will give even more money and will continue to give it until you close or sell the business.

Therefore, in financial terms, it is much more profitable to take a loan than to work with an investor. Another thing is that it is possible that without experience or the help of an investor you will not be able to achieve success in business at all.

Therefore, if you are confident in your abilities, then take out a loan. If you need more than just financial help, then find an investor.

Method 6: Social networks

In the digital era, we can connect with anyone on the planet using social networks. Investors are people too, so it’s quite possible to find them, for example on VKontakte, and just write to them.

The problem is that often investors do not write on their pages on social networks that they are investing money in a business, so it is very difficult to identify them from the flow of other people.

In other words, first you must understand who has the funds to invest, and only then you should look for them on social networks. For example, you want to open a car service, find at least the names of car service owners using the Internet, and then find and write to them on social networks.

Method 7: Communities of Entrepreneurs and Investors

Many entrepreneurs and investors are divided into different communities. Some have a paid access, and some simply have an open chat, for example on Telegram, that anyone can join.

You should find such a community and ideally join it. If access to it is paid, then you need to find at least one person from this community, tell him about your idea, and perhaps he will help you find an investor.

Such communities regularly organize meetings or events where they discuss various problems and, most importantly, help you find a real investor in your project.

Method 8: Notice Boards

The easiest and laziest way to find an investor for your business in Russia is through bulletin boards. For example Avito. You simply place an ad in the business category stating that you are looking for an investor for your project and wait for some investor to be interested in you.

The labor costs in this method are minimal, it’s definitely worth a try, but you don’t need to have any high hopes. There are a huge number of people like you, so your ad may get lost among thousands of others, especially if the business niche is not very original.

Method 9: Events

Think about where investors go and go there. Very often they attend various events and there you can easily find an investor without any deception. For example, investment conferences. Come to them, meet investors, briefly talk about your idea and exchange phone numbers.

It is important not to make a mistake with the event. The conference “Tips on how to start a business from scratch” can be very interesting, but there will be very few potential investors who are able to invest money in your idea. But the conference “What niches are relevant this year” will attract many more investors, because they need to constantly refresh their knowledge to understand where to invest money and where not to.

Method 10: Existing Business

Many entrepreneurs dream of their business working without them, developing and making a profit. Typically, such a desire arises closer to 30-40 years, when you want to devote more time to rest and family.

Your task is to find such businessmen and invite them to invest in your business. It’s extremely easy to search for them; look through successful businesses in your city, meet their owner and suggest your idea.

Be prepared for rejection and don't take it personally, because on your way to finding the right person, you may encounter hundreds of people who will tell you “NO!”

Method 11: Western investors

As we all know, there is much more money circulating in the Western economy and for foreign investors the size of Russian investments seems insignificant, so they may want to invest their money in your business.

The important point here is perspective. If you need 3,000,000 rubles to open a business and the maximum you will earn is 300,000 rubles, then you are unlikely to lure Western financiers with such prospects.

It’s another matter if you make a presentation as follows: “In the future, you can earn 3,000,000 rubles a month, for this you need to open 30 restaurants; to open one you need only 3,000,000 rubles. You can start with one and if the indicators are good, then gradually open new ones.” This approach will be of much greater interest to Western investors.

Method 12: Expanding someone else's business

The essence of this method is much easier to demonstrate with an example. Let's say you want to open a production of countertops made of artificial stone. Find construction companies involved in apartment renovations that constantly purchase countertops from third-party companies and invite their owners to create a joint business. The benefit for the owner of a construction company will be in the following things: he really needs countertops and if they are produced at his enterprise, it will be much more profitable, it will be profitable for him to invest money in some kind of business.

It is important that the business you want to open is profitable for a potential investor, as in the example above.

Method 13: Marketing

One of the most controversial methods on which you will have to spend some money.

First, you will need a beautiful website that describes your idea in detail.
Secondly, you must buy advertising to attract visitors to your site.

Another thing is that in any case you will need money to attract investors through marketing and this method is more suitable for existing businesses.

Method 14: Public Figure

Become a public figure! By this phrase we do not mean millions of views on Youtube and a huge number of subscribers on Instagram, but something else. Become a public figure in your field.

For example, you do yoga, you understand it and want to open a small yoga studio. Start a blog in Yandex Zen, on Youtube, or just make an interesting website. Then people will know you, you will have feedback, tell your subscribers that you want to open your own studio. Many will want to help you, someone may invest money. Well, if the blog itself does not attract an investor, then in any case it will be an excellent portfolio for your future business.

Method 15: Your employees

If you can’t find real investors, then you can take absolutely crazy measures - make your employees investors. This method has proven itself well in the West and has not yet taken root very well in Russia (and is unlikely to take root in the near future). Its essence is that you recruit a team of employees and inform them that everyone must invest some amount in the project, and in the future the profit will be divided into shares.

This option, in our opinion, is not at all realistic in Russia in its simplest form, but there is an exception. It can only work when everyone in your business wants to be businessmen rather than employees. They invest money in your project, will work and perform the functions of an employee, and when the project reaches a good profit, then simply at the expense of their share they hire an employee to take their place.

Method 16: Networking

Networking in simple words is the creation of trusting relationships with people who can bring some benefit in the future. This is a whole science and you should study it if you want to learn how to find investors for your projects.

There are a huge number of books that will help you find the right events, find the right people at them and convince them.

An important rule of networking to learn is that when a potential investor tells you “No,” try to convince him to give you the contacts of someone who might eventually say “Yes.”

Method 17: State

Don't forget about the country in which we live. The government can help small businesses. It especially supports agricultural businesses.

Winning a tender can be a great start for the development of your business. The only question is that the competition here is too great and the number of people who want to receive help or investment from the state is simply huge.

Method 18: Forums

The last method will be quite simple - these are forums. Look for forums somehow related to business, investments, money, and so on.

You should not burst into a forum with the only message that you are looking for money for your business. First, talk to people for some time, get remembered by them, try to communicate with potential investors in private messages, and only then declare to the entire forum that you need money for your brilliant idea.

We wish you to quickly find an investor for your business and really hope that you liked our article! We remind you that we will send it to 10,000 potential investors in our database and notify you if anyone is interested in your project.

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Hello, dear readers of the financial magazine “site”! Today we will talk about investing in business, startups and other business projects, where and in what areas of business it is better to invest.

After reading this publication you will learn:

  • To do this, you should invest in a business - the main advantages and disadvantages;
  • What types and methods of investing in business exist;
  • What are the best areas to choose for investing in startups in Russia this year?
  • What are the risks of such an investment and how can they be reduced?

At the end of the article you will find answers to frequently asked questions about business investing.

The publication will arouse interest among everyone who is concerned about the problems of investing in business. It will be useful for both beginners and those who already have experience in such investments.

What are the main advantages (+) and disadvantages (-) of investing in a business, what types and methods of investing in business projects exist, what are the risks when investing in startups - read on about this and more

Investments in business can provide a comfortable existence for the investor. Such investments allow you to receive. This is an activity that, if carried out correctly, requires minimal investment of effort, but at the same time provides a stable profit.

Most citizens living in the territory of the former Soviet Union have a misconception about long-term investments that can provide a stable income. They believe that only those who initially own significant capital, certain talents and luck. In addition, our citizens are confident that investing in business is risky, especially in the current crisis situation.

Eventually the majority of our compatriots do not take any steps to increase their well-being. All their lives they only dream of getting big money with minimal effort.

Actually a chance to become financially independent everyone has one. To do this, it is enough to radically change your thinking, switch to the financial area, stop working for others and start working for yourself.

Investing in the development of your own business They allow you not only to receive income that practically does not depend on the time and effort spent on it, but also to gain confidence in the future. Moreover, high-quality investments make it possible to implement even seemingly unrealistic ideas and plans.

Moreover, in the modern world, even those who do not have much capital can start working for themselves. Moreover, economic education at the initial stage Not required, because in the modern world you can find a huge number of areas for business development that are not related to economics.

2. Advantages and disadvantages of investing in business 📑

The investment process is always accompanied by risk. Investments in business in this sense are no exception. As in any other activity, such investments have its advantages and disadvantages.

2.1. Pros (+) of investing in business

Among the main advantages that come from investing financial capital in a business are: the following can be distinguished:

  1. The investor gets the opportunity to influence the activities of the organization , as well as on decisions made by management. Sometimes it is the investor who takes control of the company. At the same time, competent management allows you to develop a business and increase its profitability. Ultimately, the level of profitability of invested funds also increases.
  2. Investments in business are distinguished by a wide choice of forms and directions for investment. You can invest in companies that produce goods or provide any services - the choice here is really huge.
  3. Opportunity to become an investor with a small capital . At the initial stage, it is not necessary to invest huge sums of money. It is enough to purchase a small part of the company. If the investment is successful, you can subsequently buy shares owned by other persons.
  4. If investing in a business is viewed as a passive income-generating activity, they are distinguished by simplicity and accessibility b. The investor is not required to have any knowledge.
  5. Investing in a business is one of the few types of investments, in which assets have a real form. The result of investment activities can be seen in the company's assets.
  6. Investing in entrepreneurship , the investor can choose a company operating in the area that is most interesting and familiar to him.
  7. The income from such investments in the long term is unlimited. If business is conducted correctly and the company achieves a leading position, there is every chance of achieving monthly profits at a level significantly exceeding 100%. Over time, the better the company in which the funds are invested in, the higher the investor's income level will be.

2.2. Disadvantages (-) of investing in business

Despite the significant number of advantages of investing in a business, this type of investment also has a number of disadvantages:

  1. Investments in business are accompanied by a high risk of losing funds . With the wrong approach to investing, you can lose not only part, but also all of the invested capital.
  2. Legal restrictions . Some types of business activities are significantly limited by legislative acts, regulatory and other government bodies. Corruption is quite developed in our country, so this drawback is important to take into account.
  3. Unexpected development of events . Entrepreneurial activity does not always move exactly in the direction in which owners and investors plan. There is a risk that unexpected events may occur that will render the investment ineffective.
  4. In the case of equity investment in a business, there is a possibility of disagreement. If a conflict occurs between investors and they are unable to reach an agreement, one of them may decide to leave the business and withdraw their funds. This will inevitably affect the profitability of the project.
  5. If you use the active investment option, you will need certain knowledge and experience. In this case, the investor will have the opportunity to maximize possible income.
  6. The return on business investment is often unstable. Profit over different periods of time can vary greatly, changing under the influence of a huge number of factors. Under absolutely identical initial conditions, different firms can bring different returns to the investor. When investing money in a business, you have to constantly study the market and adapt to it. This is the only way to get the most profit.
  7. Additional cash contributions are often required. If you do not invest additional money in a business at a certain point, you can experience a significant reduction in the return on previous investments.
  8. Profit will not come immediately. Since investments in startups are long-term, you will receive income only after a fairly long period of time.

Thus, investing money in a business has its advantages and disadvantages. It is important to remember them and take them into account during the investment process.


Dividing business investment by characteristics

3. Classification of business investments and their types 📊

Despite the fact that business investments seem quite simple, they are very diverse, each type has its own nuances. Therefore, it is important to classify them.

This can be done based on several criteria:

Sign 1. By right of ownership

According to the right of ownership, investments in one’s own and in someone else’s business are distinguished.

If the investor at the initial stage has sufficient capital, as well as knowledge, experience, and wants to work for himself, he can invest in creating his own business. Many investors consider this option to be the most interesting.

The advantages of this type of investment are:

  • the opportunity to realize oneself;
  • maximum return on investment.

There are also disadvantages to investing in your own business.

Among them are the following:

  • high level of risk, since it can be difficult to predict the development of events when creating a business;
  • the need to have certain knowledge and skills;
  • not only material investments will be required, but also significant expenditures of time and effort;
  • large initial investment.

As for investing in someone else's business, this method is much simpler. In this case, you will not have to personally deal with various organizational issues. After investing money, specialists will take care of the project themselves: implement and promote it.

Sign 2. By volume of investments

Business investments can also be classified by the volume (share) of investments.

In this case, the following are distinguished:

  1. Full financing of activities. In this case, the financial burden falls entirely on one investor. Such investment is most often found in the case of developing your own business.
  2. Partial funding, which can also be called equity participation. In this case, funds received from investors constitute only part of the capital of the newly formed company.

Sign 3. By investment stage

Investments in business can also be classified according to the moment at which investments are made:

  1. Investing in startups is carried out at the very beginning of the creation of an activity. In this case, there is an idea, the development of which is planned to be carried out using funds raised from investors.
  2. Investments in existing projects. Often, to develop a business, additional funds are required, which are raised from investors. In this case, the company already exists, is engaged in a certain type of activity, has its own clients, and brings in a certain profit.

Sign 4. According to the form of profit received

Based on this feature, one can distinguish active And passive income. In the first case, the investor usually also serves as the head of the company. With passive income, coordination of activities is placed on the shoulder of the hired manager.

Sign 5. By appearance

Based on type characteristics, business investments can be straight And portfolio.

  • Direct investment is the investment of funds in the assets of a specific company.
  • With portfolio investments, the investor's capital is distributed among the shares of several organizations. In this case, the totality of acquired shares of various companies is called a portfolio.

For ease of understanding, the main classifications are summarized in the table:

Thus, there are a huge number of types of investments, which are distinguished according to different criteria.


Popular ways to invest (enter) into business projects

4. 7 main ways to invest money in business 💰

Many people believe that they can only invest in their own business. However, there are a huge number of options for such investments, differing in the degree of investor participation, the required amount and other parameters.

Below are 7 main ways to invest in a business:

Method 1. Own business

This method is usually first thought of by those who hear the concept investing in business.

Using this investment option, you will need to invest not only money in the activity, but also your own energy and time. That is, this method of investing is active income.

The return on investment does not begin immediately. But there is a significant advantage for the investor - all profits will belong to him undividedly.

Many people dream of owning their own business. But it should be understood that not everyone is able to lead and develop it. Here you will need to invest soul, experience and knowledge, learn a lot.

Method 2. Equity participation in business

This option for investing and creating a business is one of the most popular. Most companies, occupying leading positions in the world, appeared precisely thanks to this method.

The popularity of this method of investing is largely due to the fact that not everyone who has money can run a business on their own.

It often turns out exactly like this: one partner contributes almost all the necessary money, the other manages the company.

Usually the degree of influence as well as profit shared between partners in accordance with the shares in the business owned by them. To avoid any disagreements in the future, it is advisable to stipulate all the terms of interaction immediately and record them in the share participation agreement.

Method 3. Investing in startups

In this case, investments are made in new projects. Most often, at the investment stage there is only an idea. Moreover, the one who developed it does not have the money to implement it.

A huge disadvantage of funds is too much dependence on stock market disasters. In this case, even significant diversification of assets will not help. Also, you can earn income by purchasing shares only during market growth.

The advantage of such investments is passivity. The investor does not need to do anything; the mutual fund managers work for him. Moreover, there are no commissions. All profits and losses are made up of the difference in the price of the share.

Method 7. Hedge funds

In the CIS countries, such a tool is still poorly distributed. In essence, they are similar to mutual funds, but profits can be obtained by speculating in securities, as well as in the form of coupons and dividends. Therefore, they may well generate income during periods of market decline.

Only large investors can participate in this method of investing. Entry into hedge funds begins from 100 (one hundred) thousand dollars.

Thus, there are 7 main ways to invest in a business. However, if you look at it more broadly, absolutely all investments sooner or later end up in business.


Current directions for investing in startups in 2020 in Russia, where you can invest money profitably

5. Investments in startups - TOP 13 best directions 2020 in Russia where you can invest money 💎

The startup market in Russia is becoming increasingly popular, and the volume of investment in it is growing every year. Therefore, everyone who decided invest your money in business, it is important to know which areas of a startup are considered the most in demand.

Areas for investment are gradually expanding. However, over a long period of time, leaders remain unchanged. These include IT projects (), as well as small businesses, including those run using franchises (We wrote in more detail in a separate publication).

The energy sector is slightly behind the increase in investment. Oil prices are unstable, people are paying more and more attention to the environment. Therefore, in the field of energy, the most popular among investors are projects related to the creation alternative environmental energy sources.

Let’s figure out which areas of investment in startups are most popular at the moment. Experts believe that they are the ones will maintain leading positions in the next 5 years.

1) 8 areas in IT

The IT field is represented by a fairly large number of different areas.

Direction 1. Robotics

Inventors and investors spend enormous amounts of time and money to achieve complete control over processes using remote control, for example in industry.

Another popular area of ​​robotics is social. In this sense, robotics is designed to help people with disabilities, as well as to carry out a rehabilitation program for them.

Direction 2. Programs for 3D printers

In recent years, the 3D printer has become a breakthrough in the industry. That is why at the moment it is of great relevance to create programs that will ensure the most effective use of these technologies.

Direction 3. Health gadgets

This refers to applications that can be installed on mobile devices and turn them into a personal doctor or trainer, as well as a nutritionist. Today, investments in such projects are among the most popular on crowdfunding platforms.

We wrote about crowdinvesting, crowdfunding platforms, and so on in a separate article.

Experts say that in the future such projects will become increasingly popular. Not a single person can do without applications developed with their help.

Direction 4. Cloud data storage

Professionals say that in the coming years there will be continued investor interest in cloud technologies, as well as in the ability to store huge amounts of necessary information. What is now in first place is not so much convenience and an intuitive interface, but rather the security of downloaded data.

Experts believe that whoever can develop the best program for information secrecy will easily conquer the market for such technologies.

Direction 5. Big Data

Projects related to the creation of programs designed to store and work with huge amounts of information continue to remain popular.

The main consumers of such products have been and remain retailers.

Direction 6. Distance learning

This area of ​​investment is considered one of the most promising. Programs that allow you to receive distance education are gaining immense popularity today.

The demand for such services is at a very high level, so the development of such programs will continue in the near future, which means it will be profitable to invest in such projects.

Direction 7. Children's applications for development

Every child in the modern world has a mobile device. At the same time, there are very few truly interesting programs that allow you to teach them in game mode. Similar projects are of great interest among investors.

Direction 8. Mobile consultations

Applications that make everyone's life easier, help them effectively manage cash flow, time, education and other vital issues. Today, such programs are very popular.

At the same time, there are a huge number of such applications on the market. Therefore, any startup will have to try hard to find a truly unique product.

However, there are options; you can create programs that will be as localized as possible, for example, suitable for residents of a certain city or area of ​​a metropolis.


Directions for investing in small businesses

2) 5 directions in small business

The most popular startups are found not only in the IT sector, but also in small businesses. The most relevant ones are discussed below.

Direction 1. Recycling

Environmental trends are permeating every area of ​​life. Therefore, issues related to the processing of all kinds of waste are the most pressing for many people today.

For such startups, finding money is not difficult. The necessary equipment and machinery can be obtained either on credit or on lease. we wrote in our previous material. Plus, such programs attract interests not only private investors, but also different government agencies.

Direction 2. Computer training

All kinds of programs that allow people to learn how to program, create websites and animation, as well as edit videos and work with photographs are very promising activities.

Direction 3. Outsourcing

Any aspiring entrepreneur understands the importance of companies providing outsourcing services. Such companies allow you to save a significant amount of money and at the same time receive quality service.

This is why many experts believe that outsourcing – this is the direction of the future.

Direction 4. Content translators

In marketing today, the information provided is of great importance. A huge amount of content is taken from various foreign sites.

Therefore, startupers believe that content translation companies are one of the promising areas of development.

Such activities will definitely be in quite high demand in the field of Internet marketing.

Direction 5. Project testing

Such a service allows you to check its effectiveness even before releasing the project to the masses. Such an analysis makes it possible to release to the market only those products that are competitive. As a result, already at the start of the project, novice entrepreneurs can save a significant amount of invested funds.

Thus, there are several promising areas for investing in startups. Any investor should be guided by his knowledge and preferences; it is advisable to have an idea of ​​the areas that are planned to be financed.


Main ways to invest in startup projects

6. Investments in business projects - 5 main ways to invest in startups 📝

When deciding to invest money in startups, an investor must decide how he will do it.

There are several ways to invest in startups:

Method 1. Through crowdinvesting platforms

This method is ideal for beginners. Through such platforms, you can distribute capital between several projects by investing a small amount in each of them. This option will help a novice investor gain initial knowledge and experience.

There are several ways to make a profit from such investments:

  • in the form of royalties, which means interest on profits;
  • with so-called public lending, after a certain period of time, the investor returns the invested funds along with interest;
  • When using equity crowdinvesting, the investor receives a share in the organization.

Investors using this method should understand that it is quite risky. There is a chance that the project will never be implemented.

In addition, Russian legislation does not define a clear attitude towards such investment. Any guarantees are provided only when purchasing company shares.

Method 2. Business angels

With this option, you need to make regular deposits to receive a share or discount on the purchase of shares when the next stage comes. Traditionally, this means an amount in the range from 50 (fifty) to 300 (three hundred) thousand dollars .

Often, support is provided to startups that do not have a budget for a product prototype. As a result, investment risks increase significantly.

Therefore, angels with significant experience, in order to diversify risks, invest in several projects at the same time.

To invest in the considered way Business knowledge required, in which funds are invested. This will allow you to make a competent assessment of the submitted projects.

Method 3. Investor clubs

In this case, the investor transfers funds to the club, which, at his request, searches for a project. For this, the club charges a commission from the investor. The investor significantly saves personal time and at the same time he can control the entire process.

This method of investing in startups is suitable for beginners. Thanks to its use, a novice investor has the opportunity to participate in large promising projects with a small capital.

When participating in the club, there is also a risk of losing funds. Most often it is associated with the club’s dishonesty, which increases the number of operations carried out, significantly lowering the requirements for projects to participate.

We wrote about that, as well as what rules to follow when searching for investors, in a separate article.

Method 4. Investing in venture funds

This method is passive investing. The investor only has to pay the commission; all the rest of the work will be done by specialists.

Disadvantage This method of investing is that it is poorly developed. It is difficult to find companies that have achieved success over multiple investment cycles.

Moreover, investors are often placed within strict limits: the minimum investment is usually at the level of 500 thousand dollars.

Method 5. Creating your own venture fund

Investors who have 10 million dollars , as well as the opportunity to maintain a team of professionals and rent an office, can try their hand at creating their own fund. Such companies most often invest only in well-prepared projects. However, most often no more than 30% of which they generate profit.

With this method of investing the risks are the highest. However, if successful, the income will also be the largest.

There are quite a lot of difficulties when creating your own venture fund, primarily due to the poor development of this area in Russia.

Thus, there are several ways to invest in startups. An investor should choose the appropriate one based on experience, amount of capital, and acceptable level of risk.


A step-by-step guide to investing in your business

7. How to start investing in your business - step by step guide 📋

Business development is influenced by a huge number of factors. First of all, psychology, as well as entrepreneurship technology.

Properly organized activities have a direct impact on the successful start and further development of a business. Statistics confirm that about 90% projects becomes unprofitable already in the first 2 (two) years of its existence.

However, the reason is not always due to high competition. Most often associated with the lack of a clear plan, as well as a development concept.

Instructions for novice businessmen will help to minimize risks and also increase the chances of a business becoming profitable.

Step 1. Decide on the area of ​​activity

Professionals say that finding a business area that suits you can be difficult. This is real art.

Don't be afraid to start something unknown. It should be understood that most often specifically for beginners and pioneers get biggest profits.

Moreover, if you find a promising area of ​​business that no one has worked in yet, you can not only earn large sums of money, but also gain fame throughout the world. In this case, age and level of knowledge do not matter.

You can, of course, choose less risky ways. To do this, it is enough to apply existing business schemes. Do not be afraid of those areas of activity in which there is huge competition.

Main so that your project is in steady demand. For example, the existence of a huge number of beauty salons in a metropolis cannot cause losses for another one of them, since this service is in great demand.

The main task in starting any business is to create an offer that will be unique on the market. It must target a specific group of consumers, and it is their needs that must be met better than other companies.

Step 2. Selecting a tax system

Any business involves paying taxes. In Russia, the taxation system provides for the possibility of using a simplified taxation scheme for small business companies. This allows you to reduce the financial burden (About for individual entrepreneurs, read the special article).

However, it should be taken into account that for low-profit companies it is much more profitable to choose the basic deduction scheme, since in this case the tax calculation is based on the profit received.

Step 3. Registration of activities

Anyone starting a business can choose the legal form that suits them. In this case, you should focus on the amount of invested capital, as well as the planned scheme of conducting activities. Most often, representatives of small business companies can choose one of two forms of registration: LLC or individual entrepreneur.

Which option is better should be decided on a case-by-case basis. So, when registering an individual entrepreneurship, the procedure is much simpler. In addition, conducting business as an individual entrepreneur requires a minimum of reporting. For those who are just starting to run a business and have little understanding of accounting, this option is the most preferable. It will take about a week, and the fee is about 1000 rubles.

When the company's turnover increases, it will be necessary to carry out the re-registration procedure. In this case, an LLC is opened, which is already a legal entity, which means it has the appropriate rights. At the same time, the reporting provided becomes significantly more complicated, and responsibility also increases. You will have to pay a fee of about 5,000 rubles.

Step 4. Opening a current account

Any investment activity in a business involves cash flow. Its directions can be different: replenishment of assets, payment of bills, receipt of income. Therefore, an individual entrepreneur or LLC needs to open a bank account.

Some beginning businessmen decide to use an account opened for an individual. However, it is wrong to confuse business money with personal finance.

When opening an account, you just need to choose a suitable bank. Bank employees will help you handle the rest. Some credit institutions offer to open a current account using the Internet (online). At the same time, some banks can deliver ready-made documents to a convenient address.

Step 5. Start of activity

Once the idea has been developed and the previous steps have been completed, you can begin to implement the project. To do this, it is advisable to prepare a detailed business plan. Shouldn't be ignored This stage of creating a business, otherwise there is a high risk of unpredictable developments. for small businesses we wrote in a separate material.

A documented development strategy will help minimize risks. In case of unexpected turns of events or when clashes with competing companies begin, it is the business plan that will help find a way out of a difficult situation.

Once the plan is drawn up, you can proceed directly to running the business. To do this you will need to set up relationships with suppliers, consumers, customers And buyers.

It is important to be prepared for the fact that starting a business is gradual process. Therefore, there is no point in worrying if at the very beginning of the business things do not go uphill. At the beginning of activity it is always difficult. Gradually, experience will come and it will be easier to navigate the business.

Beginning entrepreneurs should not be careless about the instructions provided. Following the steps and keeping them in order helps start a business more efficiently .


What risks can an investor face when investing in a business?

8. Main risks when investing in business and how to reduce them 📛

There are two parties involved in any investment process - investor directly And Business owner.

Investor's goal- choose a business in which investments will help not only not to lose capital, but also to increase it. It turns out that the risk of investing is important for an investor.

The purpose of the company owner somewhat different - to attract money into business and not lose it. It is this type of risk that is important for finding investors.

It turns out that both participants in the investment process have a common goal - to minimize risks.

The most important risks for investors include the following groups:

  • organizational;
  • legal;
  • economic;
  • financial.

Risk can be managed if relationships are involved in the business investment process enshrined in the investment agreement. You can find a large number of examples of such agreements on the Internet. However, in reality there are often situations that do not fit into traditional patterns.

Therefore, when investing in a business, it is best to seek help from professional lawyers. This is especially true for direct investment agreements.

In this case, if the investment project fails, the investor will have the opportunity to get back at least part of the invested funds. And if the event is successful, he will without any problems receive all the profits due to him.

Before investing money in any project, an investor should analyze it independently or involve specialists for this. It is important to evaluate correctly How effective is the project?

Equally important is checking the background information, as well as the conditions for the existence of the project and the likelihood of its success. In addition, it is necessary to estimate after what time its payback will come .

If a business owner provides an investor with a business plan, it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of all sections of the plan. Particularly careful you need to be with those business plans that promise too high a level of income. Errors in calculations often occur; moreover, if there is a desire to cheat, data may be falsified.

Business investments always include 2 (two) components- This cash owned by the investor, and capital directly to the project owner. It is important at the initial stage to immediately determine whether there is enough money to implement the plan.

If the investor understands that the business plan involves the participation of the owner himself, it is important to find out whether he has enough money or whether there are options where to get it. In this case, the investor insures himself from the need for additional cash contributions.

Thus, before investing in business projects, you should carefully study the scope of the business. If the investor does not understand in this topic or he does not have specialists who have sufficient knowledge in the represented field of business, it is not worth investing in the project.

It is best to invest in a business that you understand or that is simple enough for investors to understand. Finding a businessman who needs money is not a problem. For the investor, the efficiency of the project comes first.

It is important to invest in an enterprise that is well organized and will bring profit in the future. Otherwise, the money may not be returned.

Professionals also recommend that investors definitely go to production either in company office, in which you plan to invest. This often helps investors make the right decision regarding the possibility of financing a project, as it helps to visually evaluate the organization of business in the company and in production.

9. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) 📢

Investing in a business is a rather complex process, and therefore inevitably entails the emergence of a large number of questions. Let's try to answer the most frequently asked questions.

Question 1. I want to invest money in promising young startup projects. How can I do that?

We have already answered this question in the article itself, so we will answer it more briefly and meaningfully.

There are several ways to invest money in startups:

  1. Invest via crowdinvesting platforms (starttrack.ru , mypio.ru );
  2. Retrain as a business angel. That is, invest money in various business projects in the early stages, for a share in the company or convertible debt (when an investor purchases shares in the future at a “discount”). The size of angel investments is usually from $45-50 thousand to $300-350 thousand.
  3. Invest money through investor clubs. In this case, investors give the club their parameters and characteristics (preferences) for the investment object, the club finds projects according to the required parameters and prepares a deal, where it receives a commission for it. The club maintains full control over the transaction. ( altaclub.vc , common.skolkovo.ru/ru/espace/investors , smarthub.ru )
  4. Transfer funds to a venture fund for management. Thanks to the professional and competent selection of promising projects, the investor’s risks are significantly reduced. The venture fund itself works with startup projects, and the investor pays a commission for managing the money and receives dividends.
  5. Create your own venture fund. To create a venture fund, you need to create a company, rent an office (commercial premises), maintain a professional team and have investment capital of at least 10 million dollars. Typically, such funds invest money in more mature and developed projects than the same business angels. Typically, the transaction amount is in the range from $1 million to $5 million . (and about 70 percent of all invested projects, as a rule, do not bring profit).

In a separate article, we also talked about the methods in more detail.

Question 2. Where to look for startups?

If you decide to find a startup project on your own and invest money there, we recommend using our recommendations.

1. Register in startup databases as an investor

In these databases, you can filter startup projects by niche (select tourism, IT, etc.). As a rule, the databases have a well-structured description of the project, since all projects undergo minimal moderation of the resource. The advantage of such a search is a quick and clear comparison of startups.

There are many such sites in the world, but we recommend:

  1. AngelList- the world's main service for finding investments and startups (it is the founder of the startup field), on the basis of which a large number of clones have been created. The service database includes more than 1,600 startups and 380 investors from the Russian Federation (and their number is constantly increasing)
  2. Starttrack.ru is a crowdinvesting platform that has the functions of a startup database. The platform allows you to enter into syndicated deals. Transactions are also carried out at closed meetings of private investors. As a rule, investors who are willing to invest 300 thousand rubles or more in the project are invited to such events. There are about 800 investors in the database.
  3. Spark- a service for finding an investor, but recently new interesting and technological projects have been uploaded there, where the creators share their experience and upload projects for investment. There are about 4,500 projects in the database, of which about 1,500 are in need of investment.

2. View information through open databases about startups

Here you can view projects that have already attracted investment.

  1. crunchbase.com- one of the largest databases on the venture market, which contains more than 700 thousand profiles of investors and startups.
  2. Rb.ru/deals/— Russian platform with a chronology of transactions, profiles of private investors and startups, funds, etc.

3. Follow the finals of competitions

During the competition, each project withstands tough competition and evaluation by a jury. As a result, only truly high-quality projects remain. Which deserve the attention of investors.

4. Follow accelerator releases

Also keep an eye out for accelerator releases. Accelerator is a company where the activity consists of helping other companies (accelerator residents). The accelerator’s assistance is in the development, promotion, recognition of the company (brand), etc.

An accelerator is a program that quickly allows you to develop a project from its inception to the moment when it becomes interesting to an investor. The projects that reached the end are the strongest, because they managed to overcome several stages of selection.

Accelerators make money by reselling shares of the company that were received (bought back) in the past.

Accelerators include the following: IIDF accelerator, iDealMachine, MetaBeta and others.

Investors should know that investment success is determined, among other things, by knowledge. Even participation in a club does not completely free you from risks.


Question 3. How can an investor check a startup on his own?

To obtain an objective opinion about the proposed investment object, you need to perform a number of actions. They are united by the concept DUE diligence. It is important to take such actions before making any investments, buying a company or merging it with another company.

Due diligence effective in the decision-making process on any cooperation with any company.

Despite the importance of the procedure in question, many investors ignore it. However, due diligence helps investors preserve the majority of their capital, so let's look at the steps that should be taken.

1) Product

The investor must himself try the product or ask a friend who falls into the target audience to do it.

No less important has an attempt to sell the product to someone you know. As a result of such actions, a huge number of unnecessary things will probably be eliminated.

2) Team

It is important to carefully study the main actors (founders) of the project. To do this, you can use the social network Facebook, LinkedIn, etc... Here you should evaluate people's profiles, find them on other networks and try to understand what unites them.

This way you can understand how willing an investor is to cooperate with such people. Another smart moveinvite someone for an interview. During it, it is quite possible to extract a huge amount of information about the company with which you plan to interact.

3) Investor

There is no point in asking other investors for their opinions on any project. It is unlikely that you will be able to get a reliable answer. It’s better to do it differently: call an investor who is not connected with you in any way and offer become a co-investor. Most likely, you will be able to hear a truthful opinion in response.

Thus, it is quite possible to evaluate a project for investment on your own. The main thing is to adhere to certain rules.

Question 4. What are the features and procedure for drawing up a business investment agreement (investment agreement)?

Conclusion of an investment agreement represents an important stage in making investments in any business. It represents an agreement concluded between the parties to the transaction, which are the investor and the business owner.

The purpose of signing such an agreement is regulation of the relationship between the parties to the transaction, first of all, regarding how costs and income will be divided during the implementation of the project.

For each of the parties to the agreement in the contract in mandatory planned income And expenses.

In accordance with the agreement in question, the parties to the transaction undertake obligations to make common efforts to implement the investment plan.

It is important to note what is the main investor's task- invest funds, and business owner– use them exclusively for their intended purpose in accordance with the project business plan.

An investor can have different status: legal entity or individual. He invests funds in a specific business project. The purpose of investing is, first of all, to generate income in some form. In this case, the investor assumes certain risks. They are related to the possibility lose invested money , both completely and partially.

The business owner's task is to raise funds. Moreover, the purpose of such actions is to achieve a certain result in the course of investment activities. In the financial world, such activities are understood as the actions of investors, consisting of a practical and analytical component, which are aimed at achieving the goal set in the plan.

Before signing the investment agreement, it is important to carry out a number of activities:

  1. Negotiations must be held without fail. During their implementation, the investor and the business owner must determine mutual obligations, as well as the procedure for distributing income and expenses. The result of the negotiations is the conclusion of an agreement.
  2. The project owner must draw up a business plan tailored to the investor's goals. This document must necessarily consider: an analysis of the company’s most important competitors, the product market as a whole, as well as the niche occupied by the company. Financial calculations, including the expected risk, are also important. You should also describe why the proposal is valuable, relevant and what is its novelty. At the end of the business plan, the prospects for the project are given, as well as possible scenarios for the development of events.

The investment agreement has legal force only if if it is concluded in writing . This should only be done after negotiations have been held and a business plan has been drawn up.

If the parties do not reach a mutual decision on any issues, they must draw up a protocol of disagreements. Subsequently, this document plays a huge role, especially at the stage of signing agreements. At this point it is considered an integral part of the agreement.

You can find a lot of investment agreement samples on the Internet. They are somewhat different from each other.


Standard business investment agreement - you can download the investment agreement from the link below

(investment agreement) (doc., 15.2 kb.)

However, there are points that must be present in every contract:

  • a description of the legal status of each party;
  • a list of the most important terms used in the agreement with a mandatory definition of all concepts;
  • a specific reference to the subject of the agreement - what investment project it is, giving the name and description of the project, its main purpose, you should also indicate who the developer of the project is;
  • for what period is the contract concluded?
  • how settlements under the contract are carried out. If the parties reach an agreement on the investor’s right not only to the main remuneration, but also to additional remuneration, this should be stated in the contract;
  • the rights that the parties acquire;
  • what obligations do the parties have when signing an agreement;
  • how the investor will receive the result of investment activity;
  • what are the property rights of each party after the results of investment activities are obtained;
  • what responsibilities each party bears during the implementation of the project;
  • how the contract can be terminated;
  • how changes are made to the concluded investment agreement;
  • reference to force majeure;
  • how and where disagreements that arise between the parties to the contract are resolved.

The following must be attached to the investment agreement:

  1. an act on the distribution of property rights between the parties;
  2. existing protocol of disagreements;
  3. protocol for reconciling developed disagreements.

It is usually difficult for an investor and a business owner to draw up an agreement that would satisfy both parties and take into account their personal conditions. Therefore, the best solution would be to use the help of a professional lawyer.

10. Conclusion + video on the topic 🎥

We examined the main issues and points regarding investing in business. If you read this article to the end, you probably learned something new about investing in business. Now you can try out the acquired knowledge in practice.

And a video about the features and nuances of investing in business from Oleg Ivanov (“Business Environment”):

The site magazine team wishes you good luck and success in investing in business. If you have any comments or questions on the topic, please ask them in the comments below. We are waiting for you again on the pages of our website.

You have decided that you will develop your own business. Alone or in a team of like-minded people, you continuously improve your business idea, study the market, and look at possible competitors. And the moment inevitably comes when you understand what initial investment your project requires. Investments at the start may differ significantly, but in ninety-five percent of cases, a beginning businessman does not have the required amount of available funds. The way out of this situation is to find an investor for the business.

In this article we will talk about:

  • what preparation needs to be done before launching your project on the investment market;
  • where to find an investor;
  • how to interest an investor in your project;
  • consider forms of investment cooperation;
  • Let's talk about the mandatory clauses of the investment agreement;
  • let's be inspired by the experience of successful startups and look at their working ideas

So let's get started.

First, you must clearly understand your business idea and its accompanying business mission. If you yourself cannot formulate how exactly your future product or service differs from those existing on the market, do not expect that an investor will be interested in your idea.

Example of a bad business idea presentation: opening of a private kindergarten in one of the cities of the Moscow region.

An example of a good business idea presentation: opening a private kindergarten for 100 places in the village of Nakhabino, Moscow region, in order to satisfy the increased demand for kindergartens in the absence of supply.

Answer your questions honestly, preferably in writing.:

  1. Why do I think that my future product/service is better than what is already on the market?
  2. What target audience might it be of interest to?
  3. How popular will my product/service be?
  4. How do I plan to organize the production of goods/services? Here it would be appropriate to briefly describe the technological process.

At the meeting with you, the investor will ask these questions, so you must be 100% sure of the answers. Also, detailed answers to the questions described above will contain a business plan, with which you will go to the investor for a presentation of the project.

Second, you need a well-written, workable business plan. There is a lot of information on writing business plans both on the Internet and in specialized literature. You just need to study this issue and follow the recommended sections when writing. If you do not have the time or skills to write such documents, you can always turn to professionals for help. There is a huge selection of business plan writing services on the Internet. But!

A good business plan is not a beautifully written document or professionally presented information about the market and product. This is, first of all, a detailed description of your idea and evidence that the idea will be profitable. By the way, we talked about how to write a business plan in one of them.

Whether you write it yourself or delegate the writing of a business plan, you must know by heart and be confident in every proposal, and especially in the technological and financial parts. Be prepared for the fact that every statement you make will be questioned by the investor.

Investors are primarily interested in:

  1. The amount of investment you are applying for, as well as what share the investment will occupy in the total amount of capital investment in the project.
  2. Profitable interest rate on investments. The rate on risk-free and low-risk investments (deposits, bonds, reliable shares) tends to 14-15% per annum, so you should offer a higher rate.
  3. Payback period is the period in months during which the profits from the business will cover the initially incurred costs.
  4. Project risks. The startup is a leader among risky capital investments. Write honestly about all the risks; experienced investors know about them anyway.

Indicators that must be present on the title page of the business plan:

  1. Amount of investment.
  2. Profitable interest rate.
  3. Payback period.

If the investor is not satisfied with the above indicators, he will not look at the rest of the information. Put yourself in his shoes. He gives his money, earned with blood and sweat. What is he waiting for? Innovation? Social significance? ARRIVED. Everything else interests him insofar as. So give him a profit.

The third point in preparing for a meeting with an investor will be creating a presentation of your business project. Whether it will be a full-fledged presentation in Power Point, a printed album, or a set of sheets with key figures, tables, images is up to you. It all depends on the scale of the spartap and the requirements of the investor you contact. The main thing is your ability to convincingly present the project using prepared materials. Remember, the main thing is your prepared speech and charisma, and then a beautifully designed presentation. Get the investor interested, give him something to think about, and “infect” him with your idea.

When the preparation is completed, you can begin the search.

Where to find an investor?

Credit organizations

The most obvious solution for a novice businessman is to contact a bank. Many, many aspiring entrepreneurs took out so-called business development loans or even consumer loans and successfully developed their business. But banks want to invest money only in reliable projects and receive a good interest income.

If you choose this path of searching for investments, we recommend contacting a bank where you have an account and/or have a positive credit history. If there are none, contact large banks with a well-known name, avoid microfinance organizations.

A list of the most interesting business loan offers to date is given in the table.

Table 1. Business loans in Russian banks

BankLoan nameSumTermInterest rateSecurity
Banca Intesa"Costs Down"from 3 million rubles1 year and 1 month - 10 yearsfrom 12.5%required
Ural FD"Business Mortgage"500 thousand rubles - 14.5 million rubles.6 months - 10 years13-13,5% real estate
Severgazbank"Modernization"500 thousand rubles - 5 million rubles.1-5 years9,9-13,5% required
Rosbank"Commercial mortgage"1 million rubles - 100 million rubles.3 months - 7 years12,22-13,76% required

A list of interesting consumer loans is given in Table 2.

Table 2. Consumer loans that can be used as business investments.

BankLoan nameSumTermInterest rateSecurity
Sberbank of RussiaConsumer secured by real estateup to 10 million rublesup to 20 years12,50% required
VTB Bank of MoscowCashup to 3 million rublesup to 60 monthsfrom 14.90%Not required, proof of income required
Housing Finance BankUniversalup to 8 million rublesup to 20 years12,89% required
GazprombankSecured by real estateup to 30 million rublesup to 15 years12,70% required

Pros: high probability of receiving funds if all documents and security are provided, transparent and verified scheme for raising funds.

Minuses: high interest rate, security and confirmation of income, guarantees of third parties or organizations are almost always required.

Private investors, business angels, crowdinvesting

If the option of going to the bank seems too “expensive” to you (and it is), or you do not want to provide the bank with your apartment as collateral, you should take a closer look at private investors and the so-called “business angels”. Private investors are most often people who have already earned enough money from their business. And now they invest it in other businesses and receive passive income. In addition to investments, business angels provide expert support to young businesses, can introduce you to certain business circles, advise working business models, and suggest ways to optimize your business.

Type the words “private investor” and “business angel” into a search engine and you will find more than a million offers from potential investors. Among the proposals there will be investment exchanges, the most famous of which are:

  • start2up
  • EASTWESTGROUP
  • investorov.net
  • business-platform
  • SBAR (Russian business angel community)

However, do not create vain illusions that by placing an ad describing your project, you will receive hundreds of offers from potential investors. You will have to write letters and call yourself, and more than once. After sending a hundred applications, you may receive only three to five responses. .

Beware of scammers, of which there are a sufficient number on the Internet. Never deposit money for anything, under any pretext. And read the contract carefully.

Register on forums for professional communication of TOP managers, such as E-xecutive and Up-pro. Reputable employees of large companies communicate on them. They have free financial resources, but no time to develop their own business. A good opportunity for you to express yourself.

Another interesting subtype of private investment is crowdfunding and crowdinvesting projects.

The term " crowdfunding" comes from the English words "crowd" - crowd and "funding" - financing, provision. It is clear that we are talking about collective fundraising for a project. This can be either a commercial endeavor or a charity event. Crowdinvesting- This is also a collective fundraiser, but Spartapas and commercial ventures are already becoming the object of investment. Investors expect profit from such investments.

Crowdfunding is an interesting option for an interesting idea

Both types are relatively new in the world of investing and dynamically developing. True, to successfully search for a group of unrelated investors on the Internet, your project must be either very bright or very modern and trendy. The proposal should “catch” the eye. High technology, IT, projects with a social impact, with a creative component, etc. are suitable. And you are unlikely to receive large investments (more than 1 million rubles), since mainly young beginning investors with a share of adventurism, but without large funds, register on such sites.

Take a look at Russian crowdfunding sites:

  • Planeta.ru;
  • BoomStarter;
  • Simex;
  • Crowdsourcing.ru.

It is worth noting that your relatives and friends may also turn out to be investors for your project. But you shouldn’t take such investments carelessly. Make preliminary preparations for a meeting with a loved one in the same way as if you were presenting a project to an unfamiliar investor.

Pros: private investors require fewer documents and often provide money without collateral; they can help a business with experience and connections; for small, ambitious projects, investments are found quickly.

Minuses: the target income interest rate is often higher than in banks, the risk of falling for scammers is high.

Video - Attracting investments

In this video, Oleg Karnaukh, founder of the Smart Business project, says:

  • at what stage does a small business need investment,
  • what arguments to get for a conversation with an investor
  • how to remain the owner of your business
  • how to scale a business.

Investment venture funds

Let's move on to the most difficult, but also the most interesting ways to attract investment.

First, let’s define what a “venture fund” is.

Venture fund comes from the English word “venture” - an adventure, a bold undertaking, a risky undertaking. Such funds invest money with a high degree of risk, but also with great profit. 80% of venture capital investments depreciate in value, but 20% bring such a profit that it is several times higher than the costs.

If your future business does not relate to:

  • high-tech sector,
  • IT and telecommunications,
  • healthcare,
  • Internet and e-commerce,

You can safely skip this paragraph of the article and move on to the next one.

For the remaining ones, we reveal the work scheme of venture funds. The fund's team consists of experienced financiers who deal primarily with high-risk investments. All applications go through several stages of consideration.

Stage 1. Review of submitted applications. The business plan and other documents are checked for correctness of writing, compliance with the fund’s policies, and profitability. 90% of applications do not pass this stage.

Stage 2. Conducting research in the field of competitiveness of a new product, financial efficiency of a future business, and management competence. 9% of applications do not pass this stage.

Stage 3. Negotiating and concluding a contract. 1% of those who apply become the owners of the required amount for business development.

We recommend applying to venture funds and taking an active interest in new venture projects. Even if your application is rejected at the first stage, this is not a reason to stop, but an opportunity to analyze your mistakes and submit the documents again. In fact, this is a free master class on attracting investments from experienced investors.

Table 3 lists the largest venture funds operating in Russia.

Table 3. Large Russian venture funds

Fund nameInvestment areaAverage investment amountsExpected share in the company
Runa CapitalIT, mobile technologies$3 million20 - 40%
ABRTTechnological projects, InternetFrom $1 million30 - 35%
e.venturesIT, internetUp to $10 million30 - 35%
RVC (Seed Investment Fund)Science and technology, precision technologiesNot defined, investments only with a partner25%
Russian VenturesInternet, services$35 – 500 thousand15-20%

You must understand that if you want to make a profit from your project, then it must at least bring 40-45% profitability, because you will give 30-35% to the vendor. Are you ready for this challenge?

Pros: the ability to find funds at the initial stage, without collateral; The very concept of venture investment implies that the investor may lose money if the project fails.

Minuses: not suitable for all projects, long and complex competition for obtaining funds, high investor share in the company.

Video – Conference of the Foundation for the Development of Innovation and Initiatives

After watching this video, you will learn how to bring an IT startup to the international venture capital market. And also how, where and at what rate to ask for money for innovation

Grants and subsidies

The most desirable type of attracting investment for any beginning businessman is, of course, a grant or subsidy. After all, you don’t have to give them away! Or it is necessary, but after a certain period and without interest. Therefore, those wishing to receive such financial assistance from outside are a dime a dozen. However, in order to qualify for a grant or subsidy, your business project must bring not only profit to you, but also benefit to society. Only projects with a social impact receive the attention of non-profit foundations.

Funds that provide support to new and small businesses are divided into state and non-state.

Target areas subsidized by government grants:

  • Agriculture;
  • Innovative technologies;
  • Education;
  • Advertising and Marketing;
  • Tourism;
  • Healthcare;
  • Production of goods for export.

Non-state funds subsidize the following industries:

  • Agriculture;
  • Innovative production;
  • IT and telecommunications;
  • Internet trading;
  • Healthcare;
  • Social business;
  • Creation.

Let's look at the most interesting measures of state and non-state support for small and new businesses.


Pros: Grants received do not need to be repaid; subsidies are given either on a non-refundable basis or without interest.

Minuses: This type of financing is not available for all projects; you will need to regularly report for the money received.

The investor has invited you to a meeting. What's next?

Armed with a business plan and project presentation, you rush to negotiations. At this stage, the main task for you is to talk about your business idea as convincingly as possible. And sell it for as much as possible.

Meeting with an investor is the most important step

Yes, yes, that's not a typo. During negotiations, you sell your business idea and your efforts to implement it, and in exchange you receive money at a rate of return that suits both you and the investor.

Negotiations are by no means a friendly meeting, but a kind of battle with an investor for future profits, so remember a few important rules.

  1. If possible, carefully study the bank, fund or person you are approaching for money. What businesses does he invest in? How does he feel about risk in investing? What goals does he pursue? Use the information received in negotiations
  2. Always focus on the benefit for the investor, not on your financial goals
  3. Prepare a rough structure for the meeting and think through answers to possible questions.
  4. During negotiations, write down all the key points, otherwise important information may simply fall out of your attention later.
  5. Be flexible, consider investor offers
  6. At the end of the meeting, write down all agreements reached. Prepare supporting documents together.

One of the important topics of negotiations with an investor will be the choice of investment form. There are two such forms for small businesses: lending and buying out a share in the business. Let us consider in Table 4 the comparative characteristics of the two forms and determine the pros and cons of each of them.

Table 4. Characteristics of various forms of investment

IndicatorsLendingBuying out a share in a business
Return on investmentNeed to returnNo need to return
Revenue partInterest on the amount of debtPercentage of business profit
OwnYou remain completely the owner of the businessPart of the business becomes the property of the investor
Making decisionsThe lender does not influence your decisionsThe investor influences decision making, the level of influence is determined by the investor’s share in the business
RisksIn case of business insolvency, the creditor bears no or minimal risksThe investor bears the risks together with you in proportion to the share in the business
prosYou remain the owner of your business and can, after repaying the loan, take all the profit earned for yourselfYou share responsibility for the success of the business with the investor. No profit - no payments to the investor
MinusesIf the business experiences financial problems, the loan will need to be repaid firstAny more or less important decision must be discussed with the investor

The final stage of negotiations with a potential investor will be the conclusion of an investment agreement. Most often, you will be offered an agreement developed by the investor and, accordingly, focused on his interests.

Read all clauses of the contract carefully and ask clarifying questions. Feel free to make corrections. It’s better to show the contract to a lawyer to avoid pitfalls.

Video - Master class on finding investments

Look at the secrets of finding a development investor from Sergei Gribov. At the master class, he explains the entire practice of obtaining investments, based on his fifteen years of experience in creating startups in countries such as Israel, America and Russia.

Who did it?

Yes, attracting investment in a young, growing business is not easy. Yes, in exchange for the funds received, you will have to give away part of the future profit. But who will stop it?

See how inexperienced aspiring businessmen like you achieved success. Do you see any familiar companies among them?

Max Levchin, company founder PayPal, attended Champaign College with a degree in communications security. He never even thought about creating a world-famous online payment system, but while still in college, he became the founder of three companies in the field of information technology. True, none of them achieved success. Then he had such a bright business idea that he dropped out of school and moved to Silicon Valley to bring it to life in the most suitable place for this.

PayPal is a well-known payment system that developed thanks to a well-formulated idea

In the summer of 1998, he was living in a friend's apartment in Silicon Valley, without funds, without certain prospects. One day Levchin went to a lecture at Stanford University. Peter Thiel was reading it, and Levchin wanted to take a look at the man about whom he had heard so much. After the speech, Max approached him to tell him about his idea and ask for expert advice. Til listened to the young man with interest and invited him to a business breakfast.

Levchin described his idea to Til, and he offered to implement it by investing some money. It turned out that Peter Thiel ran a hedge fund.

Yahoo! began as a site where two Stanford University graduate students, David Filo and Jerry Yang, collected web links to documents on various topics. Passionate about their idea, the students added new links to the catalog every day, and soon the catalog website became popular. At the end of 1994, Young and Philo decided to create a commercial organization for their website and asked Tim Brady to write a business plan. Brady was in his senior year at the time and therefore turned the business plan into Yahoo! graduation project.

At the 1995 San Jose Electronics Show, Yahoo! placed its stand. There was not a single Internet project among the event participants, so the Yahoo! investors noticed. A few weeks after the exhibition, the students found funding for their company and moved into a real office (they had previously worked in a trailer on the institute's campus). The venture fund Sequoia Capital acted as an investor and managed to receive $1 million as an initial investment

But this is America, you say. Such ideas are born there, such capital circulates there, you say. And you will be wrong. Here are examples from Russian reality.

The founders of a large online labor exchange, Denis Kutergin and Alexey Gidirim, worked for a long time without funding, seeking their own funds. The breakthrough came in December 2010, when YouDo entered the top ten Internet projects of the Web Ready competition. Within a few months after this, the company was assigned an investment attractiveness index of “A” in the StartupIndex rating. In 2013, she won a competition announced by the Pavel Durov and Yuri Milner Foundation and received $1 million for development.

In 2016, Alexey Moiseenkov, an employee of My.com (a subsidiary of the famous Mail.Ru Group) developed an application for smartphones Prisma, allowing ordinary users to create photographs in the style of Van Gogh, Munch, Marc Chagall and other famous artists. Alexey skillfully found funding for his project. He showed the idea to the Deputy General Director of Mail.Ru Group, who became interested in the project and introduced Alexey to the founders of the Gagarin Capital fund and private investors. Today Moiseenkov is a dollar millionaire. Prisma is not Alexey’s first startup; before becoming a successful startuper, he managed to hit a lot of bad points for himself.

Prisma - an application for creating a picture from a photograph using neural networks

As you can see, it is quite possible to get investment, but it requires persistence. And a little luck.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we note that you do not have to concentrate on any one way to attract money to your business. You are a generator of business ideas, so be creative to the end! You can, for example, receive a subsidy for business development from the state, become a resident of one of the business incubators, invest your funds and attract friends, making them business partners, and make up for the lack of funds with a bank loan. And this is just one of the options.

Take action, don't give up and may the force be with you.