Читать книгу Six-Week Start-Up - Rhonda Abrams - Страница 37

To start your search for funding from an angel investor, check out the Angel Capital Association (www.angelcapitalassociation.com) or The Angels’ Forum (www.angelsforum.com). The National Venture Capital Association (www.nvca.org) represents the venture capital industry in the U.S.

If you decide you absolutely need investors, make certain you spend as much time as possible getting to know any potential investor—after all, you’ll be tied to each other for a long time. It’s unlikely you can ask as many probing questions of a potential investor as you can a potential partner, because investors usually view the investment process as an examination of you—not the other way around. Nevertheless, find out if they’ve invested in other companies before. If so, speak to other entrepreneurs who’ve worked with them. “What are their financial and business motivations for investing? Are those goals a good fit with your own? How much control do they want in the business?

RED TAPE ALERT!

Even if you never use the word “partner,” if you and a friend decide to start selling used golf balls online together, in the eyes of the law you’ve become partners. The best way for things to stay friendly between partners is to have a clearly defined partnership agreement before you begin the company. Prepare a legally binding contract spelling out the terms of your partnership: who owns what percent, how decisions are made, what happens to the company if one or more of the partners wishes to leave, how and whether additional partners can be added, and so on. It is also advisable to work out a “Buy/Sell” agreement, so the terms of how and to whom a partner can leave or sell their interest in the business are clear. You may want provisions limiting their ability to sell their interest to others and, in the case of a partner’s death or disability, to have other partners buy out their heirs at a fair price—you don’t necessarily want to wind up running the business with your partners’ spouse or child.

Of course, when you need money to start a business, you may feel lucky to get the money you need from anyone. But over time, if you have a fearful, intrusive, or controlling investor, you may soon regret being involved with them.

If you decide you need investors, you’ll find more information in Week Five, including Questions to Ask before you accept financing (page 232) and a worksheet with an Investor Comparison Chart (pages 234—235).