Finding Your Wings: How to Locate Private Investors to Fund Your Venture [Hardcover]

Though they represent a potentially limitless source of funding for entrepreneurs and small business ventures, private investors are unfortunately just that—hard to reach, intensely selective, and unusually immune to investment solicitations. Now one of the nation′s leading experts opens his Rolodex and shows how to raise money for any venture from this highly specialized segment of the investor market—high net worth (HNW) private investors. Finding Your Wings unveils a proven three–step strategy that shows entrepreneurs how to locate these co–called "Angel Investors."

GERALD A. BENJAMIN (San Francisco, California) is a Senior Managing Partner of International Capital Resources (ICR), an investment banking, corporate finance, and capital sourcing firm that specializes in reaching private investors for venture capital opportunities. JOEL MARGULIS (Hometown) is a freelance writer.

"As the manager of an active SBA lender, I see hundreds of young companies apply for debt financing without success. Finding Your Wings provides unique insight into obtaining one of the key funding alternatives, namely, ′angel′ investors." — Ralph Barnett President, Bay Area Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders

"This is a must–read for anyone to effectively and efficiently access the ′angel′ investor." — Scott L. Kelly Vice President, Baraban Securities, Inc.

"Finding Your Wings provides a valuable tool set to anyone seeking private capital." — Mitchell Stevko Investment Banker, Van Kasper & Company

"Finding Your Wings is a clear and concise guide for the entrepreneur on how to approach the ′business angel′ market for investment funding. Overshadowed by venture capital and investment banking, the private investor represents a viable and growing source of funding." — Ronald C. Lynch Vice President, Multifinance Holding Corp.

"Finding Your Wings is a groundbreaking text for helping entrepreneurs improve the odds of obtaining the capital necessary to grow their companies. Anyone who is raising capital for a small business should read this book." — R. Thomas Goodrich General Partner, Duff, Ackerman, Goodrich & Associates, L.P.

"Finding Your Wings provides important and practical insights, directions, and assistance for those entrepreneurs looking for appropriate options to funding early–stage and seed ventures." — Lucien Ruby Managing General Partner, Quest Ventures

Finding Your Wings

Capital. It is the single most important ingredient to getting your venture off the ground. But finding it can be a challenge — particularly if you′re running out of funding options. Suppose your venture is too small for institutional players. What do you do once you′ve exhausted your personal financial resources? Where do you go after the banks, the leasing companies, the venture capital firms? What you need is an "angel"—a private investor with high net worth. In Finding Your Wings—the only book of its kind—Gerald A. Benjamin and Joel Margulis provide you with a roadmap to guide you to your private angel.

As a primary source of capital for early–stage and growing companies, this specialized segment of the investor market is a vital resource for today′s entrepreneurs. However, much like the capital they provide, these private equity and debt investors remain true to their name—private. Finding Your Wings offers a solid set of tools with which you can, first, determine whether private investors are a viable and appropriate source of capital for your venture; and, second, develop a winning strategy to locate, contact, and establish relationships with these angel investors. Most importantly, with a greater understanding of the private investor perspective, you′ll be able to frame an attractive—and effective—investment proposal. Finding Your Wings will teach you about:

• The structure of the direct, private investor market
• Alternative sources of capital
• Different types of private investors
• What angels look for in a deal
• The role of the placement agent in raising private capital
• Building your own database of investors

Plus, a special appendix will walk you through the entire process of writing a business plan.

With in–depth information you won′t find elsewhere, Finding Your Wings is the book to turn to when you′re looking to get your venture up and running.