To quote Stephen King, the famous author, “What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
This book will give you some secrets to make your path to success a little easier. Its loaded with wisdom from dozens of entrepreneurs, investors & success stories like Resmed, Looksmart & Hitwise.
Visit Allen & Unwin, our publisher to order a copy.
Are you looking for a guide to build a great business?
Are you thinking about venture capital backing?
How about some case studies of successful start-ups that made it to the global stage?
We interviewed dozens of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists so the new edition of Enterprise & Venture Capital (Allen&Unwin) has it all.
Check http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741756906 to order.
Start ups must have capital from the founder(s).
The amount varies but it needs to be a significant portion of the founder(s) personal networth.
That’s called hurt money and if the founder doesn’t believe in it enough to bet the farm, no one else will back it.
Angel Camps – probably worth while. Anywhere you can go to learn from other people who have done it before will help you.
Bootstrapping is a great way to make a start. I know an entrepreneur here in Australia who did consulting for many years to fund the development of his software product. He also utilized government grants very well.
Returns – VC’s and angels that I know want 5 to 10 times there money back when the exit event takes place, usually 3 to 7 years after the initial investment.
That may sound like a lot but returns are all tied to risk levels and start ups have very high risk.
How much – take as much as you can get. It usually takes several times more money and several times longer than you think to build a business.
How big – VC’s and angels want to back businesses that can generate $50m to $100m in turnover (or more). That means you need a very large addressable market.
Its rare to get more than 20% market share and its rare to grow share by more than a few percent per year.
Generally you need a market of $500m but many will tell you its got to be a potential market of $1Bn+.
Read the book Enterprise and Venture Capital by Christopher Golis. I am currently co-authoring the 5th Edition of this book. Cheers Tom
Tom The Money Man's Weblog 