Where to find investors and how? Where to find an investor for a small business, for a start-up, for a project?

Starting a business in many cases requires the attraction of substantial investments. The corresponding capital can play a decisive role in the timely withdrawal of the startup to the promising market, improving its recognition in the segment, expanding its geography, and modernizing production. Where is the investor really to be found? How to build a trusting relationship with him?

For what purpose are they looking for an investor?

Before asking about where to find investors, it is necessary to determine what, in fact, for what purpose the search for partners should be carried out. Typically, this task is decided by the owner of a commercial enterprise. Assistance to the investor is required because of the lack of sufficient funds in personal possession in order to fully implement the business project. Interest in providing the necessary amount of funding can also be shown by the investor - in order to subsequently benefit from the growth of the company's turnover.

What are the mechanisms for building relationships with investors?

Also, before thinking about where to find investors, the entrepreneur needs to decide on the desirable mechanisms for building relations with the partner. There can be several such.

First, the relationship of an entrepreneur with a partner who is ready to provide financing can be a direct investment. The given mechanism assumes granting to firm of money resources in exchange for participation of the partner in direct management of the organization, in definition of strategy of development of business.

Secondly, financing can be attracted on the terms of portfolio investment. This mechanism assumes that the partner, investing money in the development of business, simultaneously acquires a share in the ownership of the company. In the first case, the investor's benefit is to participate in the management of a potentially large enterprise and become an influential participant in the business community. In the second, the same partner, if the company grows, gets the opportunity to significantly increase its capital.

What are investors?

Another nuance that must be studied by an entrepreneur before deciding whether to find investors is to consider the specifics of the activities of partners willing to invest in other businesses. The subjects that become participants in the relevant legal relations can be represented by: individuals, organizations. Both of them, in turn, are classified into venture investors and those that are ready to invest in fundamental projects. Investors can also be Russian and foreign.

Another criterion for classifying subjects involved in legal relationships with businesses on financing issues is the extent to which the state participates. There are government agencies - most often funds that help businesses to raise funds or provide them. There are completely private companies.

Kraudfanding

There is a special category of legal relations in the field of investment - crowdfunding. This term corresponds to the mechanism of attracting financial means of business from a large number of people - individual social groups or representing society as a whole. As a rule, investors who provide entrepreneurs with funds in crow standfending do not impose any obligations on them in terms of exchange for a share in business or participation in the management of the company. This feature predetermines the great popularity of the relevant legal relationships. Many entrepreneurs, thinking about where to find investors, are primarily referring to crowdfunding.

What can interest the investor?

Let's consider now a number of practical nuances characterizing mutual relations of businessmen and partners concerning business financing. So, before you think about where to find an investor for the project, you should pay attention to such an aspect as the attractiveness of the business project - those indicators that the potential partner will pay attention to when making a decision about investing funds in the company. Which ones?

First of all, this is the existence of a sufficiently large market for the sale of goods and services that the company produces. The second indicator is the dynamics of the industry development. The investor is interested in the fact that the product produced by the company has been in demand on the market for a long time. If the dynamics of the development of the industry in which the enterprise operates is high enough, the partner must ensure that the entrepreneur can ensure the timely release of goods that are not inferior to the products of competing enterprises.

Actually, the level of competition is also an important indicator for the investor. At the same time, for some partners, a higher one may be preferable, and for others it may be low. In the first case, the investor and entrepreneur can take advantage of the existence of a sufficiently stable demand for the manufactured goods and counteract competitors due to the higher quality or lower price of the products delivered to the market. Low competition is attractive from the point of view of the company's profitability. Of course, provided that there will be a demand for goods produced by the company.

Another important criterion for the investor to make a positive decision regarding the financing of the project is the validity of the business plan. The market can have the most favorable conditions, there is an optimal level of demand and competition, but if the entrepreneur does not provide a plan under which the company will take advantage of these opportunities, the investor may question the prospects for financing the company.

The next factor that the partner makes a positive decision on the project is the competence of the team with which the business owner works. Or his personal. The situation in the market can be optimal, the business plan - in detail worked out, but the implementation will not be at the highest level due to the fact that it will be implemented by untrained people.

These are the main factors that an entrepreneur should consider before thinking about where to find an investor for the project. If he successfully solved this problem, you can proceed to consider specific mechanisms for finding a partner. Where to find an investor for a start-up of an average or large enterprise in Russia?

How to find an investor for a startup?

Let's start with the specifics of finding partners for the founder of the startup. The main value of the corresponding type of business is a promising idea. As a rule, it is characterized by originality, dissimilarity with most other concepts. Another significant criterion for assessing the prospects of a startup is the lack of operating businesses in the relevant segment across the country or a particular region.

It happens that an entrepreneur who solves the problem of finding an investor in Moscow decides to switch to any of the markets in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, since competitors can already operate in the Russian capital. While in the regions similar businesses will not be too developed or completely absent as subjects of economic activity.

Above we considered the main mechanisms for attracting investment. If there is a question about where to find an investor for a startup, then the optimal schemes in this case will be: attraction of venture investments, crowdfanding. The advantage of both mechanisms is the absence of big risks for the entrepreneur. However, in the case of venture projects, the owner of the business in most cases has to give a share in the ownership of the company - the type of financing in question is classified as portfolio investment. However, the partner in this case, as a rule, takes on the bulk of the expenses necessary for the implementation of the project. The advantages of crowdfinding are also evident - it is an opportunity to attract a large amount of funds in the absence of most obligations to investors.

Where can I find an investor who is ready to invest in a start-up within a scheme?

If we talk about venture projects, then there is a large number of specialized funds that actively participate in the relevant legal relations. They exist both in Russia and abroad, and are represented by both state and private entities. Sometimes it's enough just to find a venture project or a venture fund that is suitable for yourself, and then to get acquainted with the proposals of the relevant firms regarding the prospects for partnership with private organizations.

How to find investors and where to look for them, when it comes to crowdfunding? This format of legal relationships is almost entirely online. There are a number of the largest, both Russian and foreign, crowds and flagging platforms. To use them is simple enough, but it is important to make a competent description of the business project, to tell potential investors about its advantages.

How to search for an investor for a small company?

Consider now where to find an investor for small business. This format of the company's activity assumes that the company is not a start-up, but already a functioning business that has more or less acceptable turnover. Investments in this case are sought in order to expand or modernize production, carry out a large-scale marketing campaign to increase brand awareness in the region, the country or abroad. Typically, small businesses are funded with the participation of investors who specialize in building fundamental partnerships with private firms.

Venture investments allow a scenario in which the partner in principle will not be able to return its own investments, since the business will be unprofitable. In turn, the fundamental partnership assumes that the investor will at least ensure zero profitability of its investments, and in the future - substantially increase the capital due to the growth of the enterprise.

Where to find an investor for small business? Such tasks are usually solved in the course of personal meetings of entrepreneurs and potential partners who are ready to invest in the development of the company. They can be held in the framework of specialized events - business conferences, round tables, presentations. It is possible that communication between the entrepreneur and the investor is also possible in an informal atmosphere, for example, at a corporate party for which they were invited. Fundamental investment is a common type of activity among financial funds. Information about them can also be found in the search engines.

How to find an investor for an average or large enterprise?

Where can I find an investor for a business that is a medium or large enterprise? It is noteworthy that a large-scale established firm, at least classified as medium-sized business, as a rule, is itself a desired object of investment for an experienced financier, since it is a functioning profitable business. Therefore, it is possible that it is not possible to look for a partner ready to invest money in a firm if it meets the criteria of a large enterprise.

However, another question may be relevant - where to find a private investor who would be a reliable partner, ready to build a constructive dialogue on business development. It is allowed, as a rule, in non-public ways - through communication with large financiers within the framework of private channels. But in some cases it is really possible to find an investor at major events, especially if it is, for example, the issue of international exhibitions. The prospects for building relationships with partners largely depend on the sphere of business.

So, the solution of the question "where to find an investor for construction" can significantly differ from such a task as finding a partner in the field of information technology. Construction business and IT - spheres with different profitability and dynamics of development. Each of them requires special investor competencies when evaluating the prospects of investing in a particular firm. But, of course, there are financiers who are equally well versed in both construction and information technology. Thus, the strategy of investment search largely depends on the scale of the firm, as well as on the sphere of the economy in which the company is represented. For startups, one approach will be more justified, and for other small businesses, medium and large companies, there are other strategies.

It will also be useful to consider a number of recommendations for entrepreneurs who have decided to find an investor, as well as establish a trusting relationship with them. We will study those strategies that can be characterized as universal, sufficiently suitable for business of any scale - a start-up, small, medium or large enterprise.

How to find an investor and establish relationships with him: recommendations

Actually, it is useful to search for an investor in those social environments in which people who engage in activities that are close to the company profile communicate. Where to find a private investor for construction is not a problem, it can be very difficult to establish an interaction with a person who might be interested in the sales area. Effective investment is largely a result of high competence, most often achieved within the narrow specialization of a financier.

Experts in the field of investment advise the owners of companies to first tell potential partners about what other sources of funding are expected to be used and what their actual availability is. This approach will allow the investor to understand his own role in the relationship with the business and assess his willingness to match it. So, if the firm also uses credit funds, its owner can let the partner know that he can count on a smaller share in the business than if the investor financed the project individually.

Another important nuance is the discussion of the conditions for changing the agreements reached initially. It may be that the project in the course of development will begin to show more or less profitability (or the dynamics of investment return) than is expected by the business owner or investor, so it may be preferable for them to change the order of their own participation in the company's activities.

The entrepreneur should discuss with the partner the reporting procedure for this or that economic transaction, its composition. Some investors require the preparation of only accounting documents of the appropriate type, while others prefer to receive management reporting. These nuances are useful to clarify at the earliest stages of the partnership.

It is important, therefore, not only where to find a business investor, but also how to establish long-term partnership with it. A high level of competence in entrepreneurship is always appreciated. Therefore, an investor will be interested in building an effective partnership. It is necessary to be able to listen to it and take into account the interests expressed by it.

Summary

So, we have considered the question of where to find a real private investor. Its successful resolution depends on the scope of the firm, its scale, the level of competence of the entrepreneur and the specialists he is attracted to. An important role is played by other conditions for financing the company, as well as the willingness of its owner, if necessary, to review the agreements reached with the investor in order to build long-term partnership relations.