- a subscription to underwear. If you are also thinking about developing your startup or launching something from scratch, then our experience will surely be useful to you.

We spent some of our own money on the project to test the viability of the idea, but there were no longer enough funds to grow and test serious marketing hypotheses. Then we began to look for investments and found.

Trusbox is not a purely technological service, but it definitely has the potential for development towards IT, so we were looking for investments like that. Technology projects often require long and complex development, and the result is measured not only by such metrics as we are used to based on university economics lessons 10 years ago. So if you want to open a beauty salon or a car repair shop, then my advice, alas, will not work for you. But if you came up with a program that facilitates the work of a car repair shop, you can find investments in the project, following our experience.

Anna Gorodetskaya

My documents: what to prepare

At the first stage of the project, it is often recommended to draw up a lot of documents: a description of the concept, mission, necessary regulations - that is, materials without which new team members will hardly understand what your project is about. It is not a fact that you will definitely need all the files later in your work, but they will definitely come in handy when you are drafting key documents for investors.

• Detailed presentation of the project
  You must have a document ready, from which a person who has no idea about the scope of your project will understand what you are doing, for whom and how. The document answers the usual questions: what do we do, who do we do it for, how do we do it, who are we, what are our plans, who are our competitors. If, like me, you are thrown into a work stupor by open empty files, then use the presentation template on canva.com - there are already structured templates with a minimal design and icons that you can use to visualize processes and numbers.
• Project business plan
  Even if you have not made a single sale yet, you should still have an idea of ​​where the money is in your project, even if it is small and not soon. But if your project, in principle, does not involve earnings, then perhaps it belongs to the social or art sphere, and sponsors rather than investors will help you better.
• road map
  A document that will describe what, when and with what forces you plan to achieve. It should consist of several milestones and a description of the processes and resources that will help you get there.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator/Unsplash

Where am I: determine the stage of the project

To choose the right potential investor and project presentation strategy, you first need to decide what you have. For projects in the early stages of development, there is a simple classification.

• Pre-seed- you have an idea, a team, a working prototype, hypotheses about the audience and distribution channels, confirmed by small numbers. That is, you have a project in which there are some people, and the project is working confidently, albeit at a low speed.
• Seed- you have bypassed all the traps of the previous stage, did not go crazy, did not go to Nepal and are now ready to grow dramatically and strongly.

Your investor search strategy will depend on what stage your project is at: some funds may specialize in projects of different stages. When you contact a specific fund, you will need to indicate what your current status of the project is.

If your stage is a confident pre-seed and you have not released, in fact, nothing, then this does not mean that you will not be able to find an investor. The first option for finding an investor will not require you to have a finished product.

About the benefits of hackathons

If you have a development team, even a small one, be sure to participate in thematic or corporate hackathons. A hackathon is a short-term event (most often they are held on weekends) where teams or individual developers solve one problem voiced by the organizer. In addition to the possible winning of an impressive prize that can be spent on the development of the project, you will meet serious people in your industry.

Companies that host hackathons are obviously interested in additional products, if they like your project, you have a serious chance to attract the organizers of the hackathon as an investor, as was the case with three teams at the hackathon "Create a University" . A list of upcoming hackathons can be viewed.

If the hackathon does not suit you, then nothing prevents you from contacting the investor directly, because thanks to the documents that you have already prepared, you know how much investment you need (although this point will be discussed).

QIWI Universe/facebook

Where to look

1. Follow the trail
If your product can definitely be classified as “something tech” (medical technology, financial technology, etc.) and it solves some understandable problem, then pay attention to large companies in your sector, many of them have their own investment solutions. For example, QIWI has a separate platform through which you can contact the company with a request for investment.

2. Spying on the neighbors
If you carefully and carefully prepared the presentation of your project, then you probably know all the competitive startups in your industry. Information about transactions is a major newsbreak that is very rarely hidden. You can check online to see if your competitors received investments in the last year, and if so, from whom. Feel free to contact funds that have invested in projects similar to yours: this means that the fund is already working with your topic, understands something about it and will be able to evaluate your project for subsequent investment.

3. Contact directly
The simplest and most obvious advice, which for some reason no one uses: just write to investment funds. The Firrma website has a ranking of the most active (that is, those who made the most deals) venture capital funds for the year. There are both seed and new funds. The algorithm in this case is as follows: you need to go to the investment fund website, try to find a project presentation template there, fill it out and, together with cover letter send to the address indicated on the site. Investment funds really read the letters that come to them. They make money from investments and certainly don't want to miss out on interesting options.

I strongly recommend that you find a specific foundation presentation template and work with it, because in any case you will be asked to provide information in a standard form, and you will simply lose time and some credit of trust if you do not use a document that is in the public domain.

cartierawards/instagram

One of the formats for accessing investments is startup competitions. Most often, an investment fund and some large firm are combined to organize them, and the winners receive prizes from both: in the form of investments, in the form of services from the firm, or both. For example, the First Height contest is held jointly by the consulting giant McKinsey & Company and the large investment fund Winter Capital. But the most famous startup competition in Russia is GenerationS. In addition to the main competition, it has different nominations every year, the application process and expert verification in them can be easier, so check if there is a special nomination on the subject of your project this year, and if so, feel free to apply on the website (list of special nominations located at the bottom of the home page).

Separately, pay attention to competitions that stimulate the development of women's entrepreneurship. So, the famous jewelry house Cartier has a competition program for women - business leaders from around the world.

By the way, not only Cartier has separate women's acceleration and investment projects. Read more about special opportunities in IT for women Pink already.

Investor's Choice

Important and responsible business. Because the investor gives you not only money - he gives you connections and opportunities to make this money even more money.

In addition, investment money is not given just like that - you can only get it in exchange for a share in the company. That is, by letting another participant into your project, whose interests will already be exclusively commercial, you should be prepared for the fact that your actions as a project manager should also take into account the possible benefit for the investor.

This is the main difference between investments and lending: you can simply return the loan and forget it, and the investor will stay with you until he leaves the project (sells his share). So if your project involves a relatively simple development cycle and does not require so many funds, then it will probably be easier and faster for you to take a loan for business development, and only then attract larger investments to scale the project.

Whichever option you choose, I wish you good luck and courage: no matter the outcome of your investment hunt, the experience of communicating with funds and making presentations will remain with you forever.

Often successful companies are created through the cooperation of several parties: one has an idea, the other has the resources to implement it. Thanks to the Internet, it has become easier for these parties to find each other. However, it is important not just to find a person with money, it is necessary to attract a good partner, cooperation with which will become the basis for a successful startup and further promotion of the business. Considering the proposals of investors, try to think over which of them will be interested in your business. To do this, formulate the stage of development of your business: whether it will be its origin, formation, growth, maturity, or decline. Each company, which is at various stages, needs its own investor.

Features of the stages of company activity
At the stage of inception, as a rule, an entrepreneur has nothing, only an idea, and sometimes a registered patent. There are also problems with the formation of a managerial link, while business processes are not well established. Relatives and friends often act as outside investors, as well as private individuals with some experience in this area and willing to take risks. On our website you can find such offers of investors.

During its formation, the organization already has an established production of finished products, or already provides services, but its activities do not bring the desired income, and sometimes even unprofitable. This stage is distinguished by business processes that have not been worked out to the end, only the formation of a team of managers takes place. At this stage, it is necessary to pay attention to the financial and legal documentation of the company. The investor who is interested in it should easily understand the corporate structure of the organization, its financial position. It is good that the company does not participate in litigation, disputes with government agencies, etc. At the stage of expansion of activities, the volume of operations performed increases, and profits become stable. As a result, the company begins to take a stable position. The stage is distinguished by well-established business processes, new markets and projects are opening up. At these stages, banks, investment funds and other serious investors are involved in financing.

Benefits of our business club
The site is designed to help its visitors to develop their business and increase their capital. In particular, various investor offers are presented on this page. We recommend that you read them carefully and do not make hasty decisions. Try to learn as much as possible about your partner, evaluate his reliability. When drawing up contracts, carefully read them, let there be as few understatements as possible, and all agreements are recorded in writing. On this page, you can both find an investor and become one yourself by posting an investor offer. Many of our visitors were able to find reliable business partners with whom they have been working for many years. Perhaps you will become one of them.

Search for investors for business: 4 basic steps for finding + 9 sources of start-up capital.

Search for investors for business with the presence of brilliant ideas, a lot of energy and a huge desire to develop, will not require much work.

It is carried out on initial stage implementation of a new business project when there is a problem of shortage of funds.

In this article, we will tell you in more detail which investors will help make your dream a reality.

How to find an investor for a business and how to interest him?

Each person seeks to replenish his “purse” by any means, especially when it comes to an investor.

Who has almost all the finances in work, thereby regularly replenishing the bank account of his owner, provided that he does not have to do anything for this.

Usually, people use this type of saving and increasing funds after they encounter interest that banks give for keeping on deposit.

After all, such income barely compensates for the rate of inflation.

The investor should be treated as a full-fledged partner.

On the one hand, an idea is invested in cooperation, and on the other, money.

Therefore, such a process is mutually beneficial for all.

Experts say that a successful search for investors for a business depends on a professionally prepared and presented presentation that can convince the investor about the profitability of the investment.

For an investor, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• creativity and uniqueness of the future business;
• the amount of the deposit;
• payback period of a new idea;
• detailed calculation of income.

If weighty arguments are found according to the above criteria, then we can assume that the person will unconditionally agree to cooperate.

Finding an investor to invest in a business: 4 basic steps

Action #1: Develop a plan

Develop a plan, which will subsequently be presented to the contributor.

The presented presentation is necessary to convince the potential investor of the profitability and quick payback of the project.

An example of the information that a business plan for an investor should contain:

A business plan for such a purpose is somewhat different from the standard one.

First of all, volume.

It is believed that a document longer than 15-20 pages will “work” many times less effectively than its “brother”.

Also, the difference is that - this is a guide, as it were step-by-step instruction for the entrepreneur himself.

But the plan prepared for investors is a marketing tool.

It should not just describe the business, but present it attractively.

For this purpose, applications, graphs, tables, and diagrams are actively used.

It is better to entrust the creation of such a document to specialized intermediary companies.

Action #2: What type of investor is needed?

Decide which investor is needed to develop the idea.

For example, you can find a contributor who will provide funds for the purchase of necessary equipment for the business or expansion of the enterprise at a conditional interest rate.

Or find an investor who will sponsor the business and become a co-owner in the future.

You should determine the direction in the search for a contributor and the features of your cooperation.

Action number 3: Help from experienced businessmen

“The main thing is not the effect, but the effectiveness in actions.”
Farhad Ahmedov

Seek advice and guidance from experienced businessmen who have been working in this direction for more than one year.

They will help you point out possible risks or simply suggest how to find an investor for your business. .

Action #4: Specialized Services

Place project and short description on specialized startup databases, forums for finding business investors.

After that, after some time, maybe there will be a call from an investor about the interest to invest money in a start-up business.

We present the most popular specialized services for placing an idea and searching for an investor:

1. https://www.investclub.ru/view.php?id=10639 - the site will help you find an investor for any type of business activity.

https://starttrack.ru/ - StartTrack 725 helps to make deals between the founder and a person who is ready to invest in the presented project.

To date, 800 investors are present on the site and 40 projects are on display.

The portal contains 4,325 projects, of which 1,423 need investment.

https://www.napartner.ru/ is the very first startup exchange on the Russian market.

There are 1,239 investors, 9,983 "innovators" and 500 business ideas waiting on the Innovative Ideas website.

There is also a section where you can purchase an already implemented business.

https://www.askcap.ru/ is one of the largest investor search databases in the country.

The website contains profiles of 6512 ideas, the lion's share of which is available for consideration only after authorization on the portal.

Technoparks, incubators, accelerators, venture funds cooperate with Askcap.

https://angel.co/ - this service is the progenitor of the above investor search sites.

There are 1,600 startups and 421 investors from the Russian Federation on the portal.

Where to search for investors for business?

Before looking for an investor for a business, you need to contact specialists in the economic sector who will calculate and draw up a detailed action plan.

Friends and relatives

Finding an investor for a business is not an easy task.

It would be wise to involve all relatives and friends in such a process.

This is the most advantageous way that will reduce the perceived risks to a minimum.

In addition, if the implementation of an idea requires small investments, you can interest your comrades in the profitability of the project, and offer to invest hard-earned business in the promotion.

Naturally, at a certain monthly percentage.

Businessmen with experience

It is either big, there are businessmen who firmly stand on the “platform” of trading and want the already earned finances not just to lie in the bank, but to bring additional monthly income.

A person should be disposed towards a newly minted idea and offered to make a contribution on favorable terms for both parties.

Or, at the request of the investor, make him a partner.

But the last option can fetter and limit the actions of the founder of the business.

This step should only be taken as a last resort.

Funds

One of the ways to find an investor for a business is through investment funds or funds established to support start-up entrepreneurs.

But for this it is necessary to provide weighty arguments that your project is vital to society.

You should know that often when contacting this organization, a businessman should already have some initial capital and a willingness to invest in his business.

That is, this method is more suitable for existing enterprises that want to expand their sales area and product range.

To get help, you also need to provide a plan, an analysis of the current company.

Don't forget to follow up investment funds who can hold competitions and select promising works.

Who knows, maybe you'll be lucky.

Consider the most popular funds that have helped many aspiring entrepreneurs:

https://www.runacap.com/

The founder of the fund is Russian businessman Sergey Belousov.

He introduced brands such as Rolsen to the world and is the creator of Parallels (cloud hosting platform).

If you manage to cooperate with this company, then there is no doubt about its profitability.

Igor Matsanyuk, after moving from Murmansk to Moscow, founded a fund specialized in games, services and applications for phones.

If an entrepreneur has a creative idea related to computer technology, then this fund is for him.

1. https://www.kiteventures.com/ is another fund for business development.

Business incubators

There are already more than a hundred business incubators in the Russian Federation.

These are structures that are created to help start-up companies at the start of their work.

Business incubators offer their residents:

• rental of premises at a reduced price (and in some cases - free of charge at all);
• meeting rooms;
• support in establishing contact with investors and buyers;
• consultations in consulting and information matters.

The key difference between a business incubator and other forms of investor assistance is the participation of people who mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.

They perform the function of not just “providers of finance”, but also development partners, business mentors.

If you need the support of experienced businessmen, please contact the following business incubators:

• https://www.osp.ru/news/2010/0913/13003512/
• https://inc.hse.ru/
• https://www.inmsu.ru/ru/
• https://www.rea.ru/ru/org/managements/orgnirupr/Pages/bi.aspx
• https://www.ranepa.ru/kto-ya-2/student-bakalavriata/studencheskaya-zhizn-v-akademii/biznes-inkubator
• https://rb.ru/incubator/incube/
• https://theoryandpractice.ru/organizations/3940-biznes-inkubator-incube-ankh

Bank as an investor

When there is not even the slightest idea or all of the above options have been considered, then a bank loan is one of the options for obtaining the desired amount.

But getting it is not so easy.

Often banks put forward excessive requirements for the borrower, which the latter does not always cope with.

To apply for a loan, a bank provides:

• surety,
• security deposit,
• package of relevant documents.

If bank requirements are not met, then you can be left without a business, and even with a huge debt.

A bank loan is ideal for starting a small business that does not require serious capital investments.

Finding investors for a business is a rather laborious task that requires great patience and perseverance.

It is necessary to carefully consider each of the available options and calculate possible financial losses.

If all this is done, then there is a huge chance to find a profitable investor.

Investors among foreign businessmen

If all possible ways have been tried, but the investor cannot be found, then you should seek help from foreign entrepreneurs.

In the case of foreign investors, you can forget about your previous triumphs.

Such people look exclusively at real achievements in business.

Also, only those projects that can bring multimillion-dollar profits (preferably in US currency) are usually considered.

Not necessarily a business idea should be a technological direction.

Any ideas that multiply the investor's capital many times over are considered.

Foreign investors will never invest their capital in a project based only on the ambitions of the creator of the idea.

Only figures and facts from the prepared business plan will be weighty arguments for concluding cooperation.

You can look for foreign investors for your business idea on the following sites:

• https://investgo24.com/ is an international portal that will help you find investments for your idea.
• https://start2up.ru/ - will help you find a person who is ready to invest in a business, not only in the regions of Russia, but also abroad.
• https://www.magnat.su/ - with the help of this site you can find not only foreign partners, but also put up your own business for sale.

franchise

The search for investors for a business method guarantees rapid development and a start to enter the market platform under the auspices of a well-known brand.

Banks provide finance for the development of a franchise business with great pleasure.

This is one of the few cases when the latter provides the necessary funds to open a company without any problems.

And that's not all: a deferred payment for a period of six months is provided.

With the help of this, a novice businessman will be able to direct his strength and energy to the promotion of his offspring.

This speeds up the process of repaying the debt to the bank.

To obtain this type of loan, it is necessary to place one guarantor, and the bank is guaranteed to approve the application.

How does this method work?

Suppose a novice businessman has a promising and creative idea related to the engineering industry.

The founder contacts an authorized company (eg Porsche).

To its representative, he demonstrates the presentation of his idea.

And if the company is interested in this innovation, it can give its patronage to the project in the form of financial assistance or allow the use of the official logo of the enterprise.

When a start-up firm has such a patron behind it, the banks consider it reliable enough to provide the necessary loan.

Who is an investor and look for him, you will also learn from the video:

Search for an investor for business– this is not an easy task.

Of course, you can do without outside help if you save the necessary amount and open a small food shop.

But if the founder has a different task, then the search should be carried out in all possible places with the involvement of a large number of people.

You can also shift this task onto someone else's shoulders and contact a specialized company that is able to find an investor for the project itself.

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This section is for those who are either ready to invest and are looking for an object for profitable investment, or vice versa, is interested in attracting Russian or foreign capital. Here are both announcements of private investors who are ready to invest in business, and investment programs of investor companies, which offer, among other things, project financing. Funds of direct and venture investments, the largest regional and industrial investors. A wide range of investment opportunities will be found here by both representatives of small and big business.

It doesn't matter who you are: a private equity fund, a venture fund, a private investor, a business angel, an investment bank or a management company, if you make direct investments and are ready to provide project financing, then this portal will be useful to you.

If you are interested in diversifying your investment portfolio, looking for new and profitable objects for investment, post information about yourself: about investment priorities, volumes and directions of investment, principles for selecting investment projects and companies, ways to exit investment project.

You can not only post information about yourself, but also subscribe to receive applications in attracting investments. Just customize the search form according to the criteria you are interested in and regularly receive investment requests in your mailbox. Do you want to search for investment objects more actively? Then refer to the section "Investment projects".