Having a prototype is essential if you want investors to take you seriously. So good job on getting that. It would be very good if you can also get a designer to also make 1 or 2 sleek representations of your vision for what some key screens of the app could eventually look like. These screens ...
First of all, you have to figure out what type of investors usually invest in such startups. What I mean by that, is what is the profile you sould be looking for. Then you should earn their trust and respect (there are many ways to earn such qualities). Finally, you state clearly what your compan...
1. Check angel.co and other sites for investors who align with your values, type of business, sector etc. 2. See if you have mutual friends on LinkedIn and if so ask for introductions 3. If not then send a brief email with a one page pitch (I can help you formulate these) 4. Follow up w...
Depends. Case 1 : You want majority shares to be within your close circle. Well, in this case, your friends and family control over 51% of shareholding. But this limits the amount of money you can raise as Investors only have 49% portfolio in your company. Now, if you want this business to be sca...
Not exactly sure what you mean. Typically you get an exit either because the company in which you invested is acquired or it goes public (there are other options, but those are the normal ones). Angel investors usually consider the acquisition potential when making an investment. If there are a l...
Hi: Congrats on arriving at this important juncture in your business. Regardless of how you decide to compensate the development team (or any other employees/contractors), your most valuable asset at this point is your vision -- rallying others around conquering a big, broad challenge is stickie...
There is a famous saying in Silicon Valley "if you ask for moeny you will get advice, ask for advice and you will get money". With this said, I'm a strong believer that is more important to get the right investor than to get a good valuation or a lot of $$. Money is the same everywhere, green. ...
Yes, I'd contact them one by one. The best time to raise money is when you don't need it. And most investor relationships take awhile to ripen, so to speak, so if you start nurturing those relationships now, then you'll be in a good place with the investors when fundraising becomes a priority. I...
In my experience, angel investors bring money but little else. There are exceptions (super angels, etc.), but most angels expect you to run the business, have the ideas, turn them into something profitable and figure out how to make it all work. If your investor has specific expertise in your...
There is a difference between your product being open source versus the tech stack you use to build it being open source. You use email to conduct your business, and that's based on an open standard! Whoever told you it's "absolutely imperative" that you use Rails instead of an "open" language l...