Start-up businesses are always on the lookout for ways to secure an investment that works for them. Private investors are a great place to look, and angel investors in particular can be extremely beneficial if you’re a start-up company seeking that initial push. But what can they bring to your business?

For starters, angel investors can usually offer more money to your venture than you can get from traditional routes. They won’t be asking for unrealistic interest rates or payment schedules either, but instead will opt for a proportion of the business.

This, too, can be beneficial. Because they’ll be investing their own money they’ll have that extra incentive to make it a success, as if the business fails they’ll lose all their money. This means that they’ll usually take an active role to ensure that it works.

Even better, angel investors are usually successful entrepreneurs already, so their active role will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. This can often mean the difference between the success and failure of a business, as if you’ve got someone on board who’s already a success and know what works, you’ll be more likely to succeed in the current venture as well.

If you look for an investor who already has experience in the field your business occupies it can be even more advantageous. If they’ve run successful business in your area they’ll bring their specialised knowledge and will know the specifics to make it a success, and any nuances will already be accounted for.

The experience of an angel can be invaluable to any start-up business. Often, although a start-up will have the business mapped out in front of them, actually doing it for real can bring new challenges that they never even thought of. Having someone who already knows how to cope with these challenges means that you’re more likely to overcome them.

Never underestimate the value of the contacts that an investor can bring as well. Not only will networking be a breeze with a respected entrepreneur in your team, but you’ll also be more likely to secure future investment if someone in the field already has faith in you.

Angel investors are a great way to secure investment, and should definitely be considered if you’re looking to raise finance. As you can see, they can bring a huge amount to your business and can make it a real success, and you’re far more likely to be profitable with the help of an experienced entrepreneur behind you.

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If you’re after investment for your business, one of your options could well be a venture capitalists. But will they be interested in your business? Well, it depends on what you’re offering. Venture capitalists usually has a specific set of criteria that a business needs to pass before they’ll invest, so make sure your venture ticks all the boxes.

First up, a business needs to have great potential for growth. Growth and profit is the primary goal of any venture capitalist, and is the only way that they’ll even consider investing. Make sure that your business has this potential. Usually, venture capitalists need to envisage this growth happening within 5 years, otherwise they won’t be interested.

Even if it’s a unique or unusual idea, don’t be put off. It’s often the most unusual or seemingly risky ideas that will make the most money in the long run, so make sure you portray this to your potential investor. Investors are never put off by risk, but if your business idea is boring, has been done too many times before or has no chance of making a profit, there’s no way that a venture capitalist will be investing.

Venture capitalists will only invest if they have a sound business plan presented to them. Your plan really needs to stand out and have all the facts and figures that they’re looking for covered in a clear, well-presented manner. You need to make sure that you cover all areas of finance and financial forecasting, so have a sound grasp of all the figures before you approach them and convince them that you can do what you’re planning to.

You need to offer them a decent share of the business. If it isn’t worth their time and money to invest, they won’t be doing so. Also, you need to have a clear exit strategy in place for them to get their return. Obviously, they need to see that they’re going to get their money back and that they’re going to get a nice return on their investment. Usually this is done in the eventual sale of the business, so if you can’t bear to see your business being sold, they won’t be interested and you shouldn’t consider them as an option.

So, a venture capitalist will be interested in your business if it’s a large company with huge potential for growth and return, if you know your figures and they can trust that you can take the business to the next level, and if you can offer them a decent share with a clearly marked exit strategy. As long as you cover all of these aspects, there’s no reason why you won’t get a venture capitalist interested in your business.

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