STOC is here to help you with Angel and Venture Capital
funding to grow your business. Generally these are private
investment sources who seek companies with unique and proven
technology in a service or product, and they typically
target growth industries.
In overview, the following are definitions of Angel and
Venture Capital funding stages and requirements (in part
from Pratt’s Guidebook to Venture Capital Sources; 2001
Edition, Thompson Financial/Venture Economics): |
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• Angel investors and funds
typically fill the $100,000 to $2 million funding gap
between investments made by friends and family and the point
at which companies can realistically obtain financing from
Venture Capitalists (as defined below, typically providing
$2 million to $5 million in investment funding).
• Seed financing “is a
relatively small amount of capital provided to an inventor
or entrepreneur to prove a concept and to qualify for
start-up capital. This may involve product development and
market research as well as building a management team and
developing a business plan, if the initial steps are
successful.” (By definition, pre-seed financing would denote
financing to help articulate the concept).
• Start-up financing “is
provided to companies completing product development and
initial marketing. Companies may be in the process of
organizing, or they may already be in business for one year
or less, but not have sold their product commercially.
Usually such firms will have made market studies, assembled
the key management, developed the business plan and are
ready to do business.”
• Early- or first stage
financing “is provided to companies that have expended
their initial capital (often in developing and market
testing a prototype) and require funds to initiate
full-scale manufacturing and sales.”
• Expansion financing is
second and subsequent investment rounds typically financing
company product and/or market expansion, or keeping the
company financially healthy before a liquidity event such as
an initial public offering (IPO) or acquisition.
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To be successful with these investments, you should be able
to describe your market and idea clearly (for Angel
investors) and have a Business Plan written for Venture
Capitalists (we
can help you).
You need to be willing to share ownership with your
investors if you wish to secure funding from them.
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Other forms of financing may also be available. These
include but are not limited to government and private sector
grants and bank financing. STOC can help you understand
these alternatives and may be able to direct you to an
appropriate vehicle. STOC can also provide you with names of
qualified accountants and attorneys who will be able to help
you define and quantify your idea.
When you contact STOC, it would be useful for you to be able
to briefly describe your idea, indicate if you have (or have
applied for) a patent(s) and a written business plan, and
indicate what stage of financing you are seeking. While STOC
does not have funding itself, this information will enable
us to direct you to resources we know who may be interested
in evaluating your idea and perhaps providing financial
support. All inquiries will be treated in confidentially, in
accordance with STOC’s
Confidentiality Policy.
To request help with Angel or Venture Capital,
click here.
Complete List Of Venture Capital Sources
This Excel spreadsheet contains a comprehensive national
list of Venture Capital firms. It includes names of
principals, street addresses, telephone and fax numbers.
Venture Capital Sources by Industry Segment
Very often Venture Capital firms specialize in industries or
business segments. This Excel spreadsheet contains a shorter
list of Venture Capital firms sorted by industry, and
includes firm names, street addresses and telephone numbers.
List
Of Grant Sources
Grants are sums of money awarded to individual entrepreneurs
and companies by public and private sources, ranging from
the Federal government to private foundations. They may be
general in nature, or can be specifically focused on defined
development efforts. Grants often require detailed proposal
writing (to define the work to be performed) and
comprehensive reporting of results achieved. This Word
document provides a list of resources that identify grants
which are available to entrepreneurs and companies.
*note*
The above links are in Excel and Word formats. Please be
sure you have Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word to open
these links. |
