How to Find a Private Investor
When you're starting your own business, you might discover you don't have the finances needed to get it off the ground. If that happens, you will need to find a private investor. Private investors will give start-up capital in exchange for owning a portion of the business. There are a number of places to look for investors, ranging from groups set up for angel investors to family, friends and people within networks.
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Instructions
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Create a business plan. When you're trying to find a private investor, you're going to need to have a business plan in hand. Not only does the business plan give a broad outline of the business and the direction that you want to take it, but it also provides concrete data that a private investor can study and examine. You might actually find someone who wants to be a private investor the moment you contact him, and you need a business plan to give to him.
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Make a list of friends, relatives and acquaintances. The first level of looking for private investors should come from those who know you personally. When compiling the list, think about anyone in your background who might share common ground with the business you want to start or grow. For example, if your old college roommate was obsessed with music and if your business is music-related, you have a contact who shares two links -- knowing you personally and sharing common ground with the business.
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Join the local Rotary Club. Rotary Clubs can be found in just about every city and usually have members from the local business community. Once a month, there are luncheons and guest speakers. By joining the Rotary Club, you will have the opportunity to meet businesspeople from your local area who might be looking to invest in new projects. In addition, Rotary Clubs do volunteer work around their location, which can also lead to encountering potential investors.
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Offer your product or service to potential investors on a trial basis. Do not give them a sales pitch. Simply let them see what you have to offer. If you want, you can have some contact information but do not attempt to do a pitch at this time. Having an investor come to you instead of the other way around shows a high level of interest. Ideally, the product or service could be discovered by an investor but the next best approach is to simply give the investor a taste of what you have to offer.
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Check with various online resources, such as the Angel Capital Association. This organization is composed of over 300 angel investor groups. Another resource to examine is the Center for Venture Research. This site will provide information on the groups that have private investors, as well as how much the average deal is and how to contact the people involved.
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References
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