[Param]

As the first post of this category, I’d love to name some of the best early stage VC firms that you can contact for funding. Capital is very important once you’ve set your goals right, start with your business and things start moving. You can contact any of the VC firms as per your business industry and stage.

1. Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Park, Calif
Industries: Consumer products and services, software

2. Khosla Ventures, Menlo Park, Calif.
Industry: Software

3. SV Angel, Palo Alto, Calif.
Industries: Commercial services, software

4. Accel Partners, Palo Alto, Calif.
Industries: Communications and networking, consumer durables, healthcare technology systems, media, software

5. Sequoia Capital, Menlo Park, Calif.
Industries: Commercial services, communications and networking, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, restaurants, hotels and leisure, semiconductors, software

6. First Round Capital, San Francisco
Industries: Commercial services, software

7. Franklin Square Capital Partners, Philadelphia
Industries: Apparel and accessories, commercial products energy services, utilities

8. Founders Fund, San Francisco
Industries: Commercial services, media, financial services, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, software

9. Thrive Capital, New York City
Industries: Consumer non-durables, software

10. Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Park, Calif.
Industries: Commercial services, communications and networking, retail, software

It’s always best to do your homework before approaching these firms and have a runway for your project for atleast 6 months. Hope this helps. I’ll be sharing some more Angel and Seed Investors in my next post. In case of any questions, you can contact me. Cheers

Topic

[Matthew King]

Great List! It is always a good idea to have a business plan in place, showing your ideas, how you are going to accomplish your idea, and the financial breakdown before approaching a firm to gain capital. Another great resource for beginning a business plan or looking for funding for your new startup is https://www.sba.gov/

[Susan]

Great suggestions. Venture capital can be extremely beneficial, as it can often mean “make it or break it” for new and / or growing businesses. Prior to deciding on the VC firm (or firms) to work with, it is important to make sure that they can not just provide you with necessary funding, but also that they are someone you will enjoy working with. This is because in many cases, venture capitalists will take an active role in the operation of your business (as well as taking an equity stake), too. So, in addition to knowing that they are a viable funding source, make sure that they are also focused on (or at least have a deep understanding of) the industry that your company is in, and that they are someone that you will enjoy working with either on a part-time or a full-time basis.

[Matthew King]

Definitely great points here by Susan. This is much more than just an investment for funds. They are as close to being a business partner as you can get without having a business partner that is just a friend you know or are related to. The working environment can also play a huge role on whether a business is success past their startup point. While the “boss” runs the face of the business and is often in the role of acquiring new clients. Employees often hold key points in the business’s “gears” and everyday operations. Creating a good working environment is key and can often lead to a booming business!

[Startu Founder]

The problem we are having is, most VCs don’t respond without a personal introduction. What have you done to get interest from any of these investors?

[Matthew King]

First, venture capital isn’t generally the very first spot you go for funding. Above we’ve listed a few firms that you can use for early stages but, there is still a ways to go before even early-stage capital will pay attention to you.

So let me ask this round of questions to better understand your goals and where you are at in your business venture:

1. When did you start your business?
2. Are you consistently making revenue for your business?
3. Do you have employees?
4. Have you applied for seed funding, first?
5. Have you tried an angel investor?
6. Have you tried crowdfunding?
7. Do you have a business plan?
8. An executive summary?
9. Are your finances, ROI, sales, customers, subscribers, etc all tracked and measured?

VC’s normally get a lot of emails, so you have to be crafty with your email headline. Follow the VC around online, comment on their work, reference their work, what they’ve done, ask for a simple interview to learn more about them and their success (this is not where you ask for capital, you are only trying to get your foot in the door).

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by Matthew King. Reason: Grammar

[paymenthuddle]

Does anyone know anybody at First Round Capital? I tried reaching out to 5 of their team members via LinkedIn (because they don’t publish a phone # or anything) and no responses back. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Matthew King]

I don’t know anyone personally there. About how long ago did you try reaching out to them?

[paymenthuddle]

Matt:

About two weeks ago I reached out to them.

 

Thanks,
Max

Payment Huddle

[Matthew King]

That’s a pretty long time. I would try messaging again, or you could reach out to their competitors since no one is getting back to you. For instance, like Foundry Group, SV Angel, or Founder Collective.

[paymenthuddle]

I also recently became a Referral Partner for Serent Capital (VC firm out of San Francisco). They gave me some great information on the process for these VC and PE companies.

1 – They look at roughly 2,000 proposals per year. This does not include the number that blindly get sent to them.

2 – Of the 2,000 reviewed, they will set up Management meetings (whether in person, or remote) with roughly 100 of those companies.

3 – Of the 100 Management meetings they attend, about 45-50 of these companies will get a Letter of Intent to close.

4 – They will close and provide funding on roughly 15-20 of the LOI’s.

So 2,000 proposals become 15-20 that close annually. And Matt is correct, many times you need an introduction if you want to get anywhere with some of these companies.

Thanks,
Max

[Author]

Replies