You want investors?

Investors are out there. 

If you have a great Story, Team and evidence of Traction then it is really possible to get investors.

However fishing isn't the right word.

But then "Aggregation" is a bit heavy.

"Gathering" is probably a better term.

To "gather" investors we usually start with an investor discovery session.

Prior to launching your capital raising campaign , you should make a comprehensive list of potential ‘first mover’ or ‘earlybird’ investors, so that the capital raising process starts quickly and accelerates rapidly, attracting the attention of broader networks of investors.

Lets get onto the Discovery Session to identify who might make up that group.  You can do this with co-workers in your business or quietly on your own. However I recommend you contact me and I facilitate it for you. It will be much more successful like that as I will take your team through a structured proven process.

A Discovery Session simply allows you to make a list of potential candidates so you have a target group to approach. By law, you can only promote to your offering to this "First Tier", so the broader you make this, the more chance you have of establishing the initial momentum and getting underway to reaching your funding target.

Below are listed some areas to consider when making the list of your potential first investors.

• Family – Ask your family members if they would like to invest. Often family members are reluctant to invest because they never really know what they are getting into, but your offering documents makes it simple, clear and well structured as to what they are investing in.
• Friends – Same as for your family, ask those who know you and love you the most to consider investing. Again, investment document profile will make it easier and a lot more professional than just going to them with your hand out
• Neighbours – Who are the people that live in your community that ask you with some interest ‘what you are up to’? Surely there are people in your local area that may make good potential investors – the local greengrocer perhaps?
• Workmates – The clearly defined structure of your offering documents makes it easy for the people you work with to invest, as well as for the people in the small business or venture for which you are raising capital. Identify who might just make a great candidate as an investor.
• Lawyer – Ask your solicitor (if you have one) to assist you by considering investing, or at least spreading the word to any potential clients on their books who may have an interest in your business type or industry, or investing generally
• Accountant – The above point also applies to your accountant
• Clubmates– Are you the member of a sporting club, social club, or a group like Lions or Rotary? Are there members there that you could introduce to your funding raise? Remember, you don’t have to directly ask them to invest – if you have set up your profile and offer in a way that is attractive, they will feel compelled to invest without you asking. You just need to tell them about what you are doing and invite them to take a look.
• Social media contacts – Do you have friends on Facebook, Followers on Twitter, or Connections on Linkedin? Prior to a capital raise, build up your contacts on social media, and once your campaign is live, be sure to invite your connections to have a look at your business on the profile page of the platform you are using or the offer documents. Marketing this way is a game of numbers, and the more connections you have on social media, the better chance you will have of reaching your capital raising target, so be sure to build up your connections before your campaign goes live, but remember, never publish information about your investment offer, only your business
• Interest groups on social media – Not only is it wise to start building up your followers on social media, but start to seek out groups and individuals with an affinity for what your business does or what your product delivers in general. By connecting with likeminded individuals and seeking out groups on social media, you greatly increase your pool of potential investors. A simple search for search terms associated with your product or service will connect you to a whole new groups of potential investors and remember, never publish information about your investment offer, only your business
• Everyone in your Sent box, Inbox, and Deleted emails – they are all email contacts and a great place to start a database. Everyone who has sent you an email in the past or everyone to whom you have sent an email is captured on your computer. "Fish" out these email addresses and start to build a list of them (a simple database). You can then email them all about what you are doing and send the hyperlink to your campaign on once your profile is live.
• Local media – Start to build a list of local media contacts so you can let them know about what you are doing. On the nightly news you will see many of the reporters have their twitter handle (jot them down and send them a direct message). Many of the journalists in the local paper have their email address listed at the end of articles they have written – add them to your database. Contact the local radio stations and tell them about what you are doing. The local media are always on the hunt for interesting local stories, so feed them your business news.
• Blogs – Ever considered writing a blog? It is a great way to get your thoughts out there and engage likeminded people and those interested in your product or service. And if you struggle with writing a blog, you can do a video blog (face to cam) or even use sites to create a cartoon blog to get you message and thoughts out there. As well as creating your own blog, do as we have suggested above and search for blogs related to your product or service, and join them to engage with people who may become potential investors
• Awards and competitions–Enter as many competitions as you can. If you enter competitions for products, services or businesses like yours or in your local area, you will start to shift the spotlight well and truly your way, opening yourself to more potential investment. Business Excellence Awards are a great way of getting your name out there and finding sources for potential funding.
• Local investor groups / Angel groups – We suggest you identify local investor groups or Angel groups, and let them know about what you are doing. See if you can present your business and plans for capital raising at one of their events or arrange a one-on-one meeting with likeminded investors
• Tribes–This is a term given to groups of people who follow similar causes or interests with passion and focus. Identify your tribes, those people who share your passion for your product, services or the outcomes they deliver. Connect with your Tribe and continue to build your tribe around you. Those who share your passion are often the first to invest and the most vocal in spreading the message to the Second Tier of prospective investors.
• Suppliers– Those who supply you, whether it be the components for your product or service, or anything from the cleaning products your use in your business to your stationery supplies, all make potential investors. They always keen to strengthen ties to their customers, and may make for potential investors. There is one way to find out – add them to your list and invite them to have a look at your profile and offer documents
• Customers– As with suppliers, loyal customers like to align themselves to brands and companies about whom they feel most passionately. Let your customers know about your capital raising, and you may be surprised as to how many of them end up becoming investors
• Strategic investors–Now is the time to think way outside the box. Who could be a strategic investor in your company? Perhaps another company that wants to access your customer base to sell them an aligned product? Or perhaps a potential buyer for your whole company who may wish to get in early on a piece of the action. Think more laterally as to who might be a potential strategic investor, and add them to you target list.

The above is a sample of targets we build up during an "Investor Discovery Session". Yes it may be a bit like "fishing" but we prefer "discovery".