So I get asked all the time to help people find financing. Am i qualified to do this? Yes, and no. I never raised money for my companies, i'm not an investment banker nor am i a VC. sure, i've invested in a few things along the way but am I a financier? No.

So am I qualified to answer this? maybe.

I do run a seed capital group and fairly well connected in nyc finance, and make many connections between both sides (have 4 deals in and around term sheet from the last 3 months) and i like to think i'm valued for my unbiased feedback and calling both ;sides on their bullshit right off the bat but i could be wrong .

So now that i'm done discrediting myself :) ..i'd like to answer my own question

Many entrepreneurs waste countless time trying to raise capital - mainly because they don't understand what investors look for.

Investors look for 2 things: 1) Protection of their investment and 2) Exit

Protection of their investment means that they give money, they want a shot at getting it back...there are 3 primary types of companies that can get funded
a) demonstrable, protect-able IP with a clear usage
b) serious traction in usage, revenue or profits
c) proven management team (need a ceo, founder, coo or chairman that has had an exit before or a super sexy public story)

Usually professional investors want 2 of those 3 but sometimes they'll take 1 of them (usually requires either traction or proven management, ip by itself can be elusive to fund without a story)

Them the investor looks towards an exit. Generally is there either a) a $20-50MM potential exit in the next 12 months if its a small investment

or more likely

b) a $1BN+ addressable market opportunity where realistic potential is to generate $100MM a year in revenue within 3-5 years.

or

c) You play in a market that does a lot of M&A and you could be bought for $100MM+ with a little traction in 3 years or so

The ipo option isn't so realistic right now unless its a creative firm (read: hedge fund, pe fund or ibank) that will so some structured finance to get liquidity. Most VC's aren't creative financiers though.

If your startup doesn't fit into those categories you probably aren't fundable. Don't want to bust your bubble but better work on getting traction than barking up an unfruitful tree.

So I was browsing someones profile and he had at least 30 applications on it. To me thats a sign that ADD has taken over facebook in its entirety. Now there are so many apps its crazy out there and there's app for just about anything you can think of but while some of them are very good, there simply is too many, building facebook apps right now has quite a limited effectiveness compared to six mo........

So as I've tried to do every weekend since I was 13, I read the NY Times Magazine, that newsmagazine stuff into the gigantic stack that is the Saturday Times by home delivery. I glanced through it, reading a few interesting articles and noticed something I find disturbing. The first 2 ads i noticed were for insanely priced real estate in NYC. Scrolling through more pages showed more RE ads and one........

Hey everyone,

I was just asked by a friend for ideas on how to grow an event series to be both the size and quality desired. Here's a couple of tricks.

1) Your first event should be free and be out there with a lot of people. The goal of the event is not to get press but to build a track record. As long as half way decent people show, you're good. It doesn't need to be amazing just good en........

i just thought id share.

MYBlackbook.org deserves a quick note. It is an online sexual history tracker. I think its hilarious and a great idea. Keep it up, lol

The first Seed Capital Happy Hour was a huge success. We had over 70 attendees including many of NYC's top VC firms and private investors. Untold billions of dollars in capital were represented and it was a lot of fun. I got emails from several people telling me how much they enjoyed it and that they will be back next time. I want to publicly thank my cohosts The Hatchery & TriState Ventures for h........

So i get asked all the time to be partners in businesses. It's funny but people I've never met and people I just meet offer me half of their companies all the time. I wouldn't offer myself half of my company but go figure. Of course, I turn everyone down unless I know them or they come from a personal referral. In addition, when I accept equity, I never take a full share even if its offered. Now,........

Business Cards that are metro cards so you give a $2 rechargable metro card to everyone you meet.

So I was screwing around on facebook and saw an ad with Trump's mug on it. I clicked. And found a new low. Trump is pimping a home based business opportunity. Give me a break. You are supposedly worth billions, why must you fleece the innocent and naive?

http://binghamton.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18677424976