Quote: (09-25-2016 05:34 PM)dispenser Wrote:
My meaning was that I'm a year away from assembling an exhibit and then looking for investment.
The automation aspect means that very little space or manpower is required. I'd invest in it myself, but I have some private obligations that come first.
I think the word naive wasn't appropriate. I'd prefer to work with people who don't have any confidence in their ability to tug on my reins (wouldn't we all?,) and who don't understand risk as coldly as businessmen.
1K investors... I'm smalltime, but I'm not pitching in the local pub. That was originally what I was curious about - where would I pitch? This is a topic off the beaten track, and perhaps not the best one to ask an above-board professional.
Quote:Quote:I hadn't considered that.
If your business takes off, you will be stuck with this person.
Ok, that's a little clearer.
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I'd invest in it myself, but I have some private obligations that come first.
Understood, but you can't have an investor know this. If you are making enough to comfortably invest 10-20k, but have 'private obligations' you are prioritising, however legitimate, it'll be a turn off to investors. They want to see that you are 100% committed and have made sacrifices yourself to bring it about. If you won't put in money they think you can afford, they will wonder why not.
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I think the word naive wasn't appropriate. I'd prefer to work with people who don't have any confidence in their ability to tug on my reins (wouldn't we all?,) and who don't understand risk as coldly as businessmen.
I understand this completely, but I think if that's the case (which it is) then you want the opposite kind of investor. Smart, shrewd, successful guys whose interests are fully aligned with your own will want to leave you alone to get on with it. You are much more likely to have the naive guy meddling, precisely because he doesn't understand or wants to feel like a high power guy. You certainly don't want people interfering, or placing onerous reporting requirements on you. However, the right investors won't do this, and they may well be able to offer you expertise and contacts which accelerate your success.
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1K investors... I'm smalltime, but I'm not pitching in the local pub. That was originally what I was curious about - where would I pitch? This is a topic off the beaten track, and perhaps not the best one to ask an above-board professional.
Honestly, for the money you're talking about, the local pub would be as good a place as any to raise it. The money you're talking about is chicken feed to anyone making over 150k p/a. If you don't know anyone like this, going to a high end bar and making friends with some high rollers wouldn't actually be a terrible way of perhaps finding an investor.
Fundamentally though, you're may well be way short in your estimates of what you need, especially if this is your first time doing something like this. R&D usually takes a lot longer and costs a lot more than most people realise. If you genuinely have a good idea potentially worth a lot of money, I would advise you to start looking for money now, and be planning to raise enough that you can afford to work on it to the exclusion of all else for the next 18 months. If you don't, and this is just a hobby, or the dreaded side-hustle, then I suspect you will struggle for investors. Noone wants to give any appreciable amount of money to someone who's just playing.
As for where to find investors - there is a lot of money around. Interest rates being what they are, there's no shortage of guys capable of writing £10-50k cheques who are looking for somewhere to put their money. When the time comes and you want investors, if you have a good idea then it probably would be as simple as talking to a few guys in nice suits in fancy bars to get the ball rolling.