Investments and where to get them?

Faced with all the difficulties of launching a new project I want to share useful information. In this article I don’t want to talk about everything at once, but about the important process – about searching investors for your Start-up. I want to share ideas and accumulated experiences. So where to begin and where to look?

If AmazingCart is a mobile application so let’s take it as an example. Here is the list “To do” for your Start-up:

• First of all you need to introduce your product or project to public mass. You need people talk about your product. For our eCommerce mobile app we chose such social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, VK and Pinterest. This is a good platform to share your news and communicate with potential customers. But this is not enough to search for investors. That’s why you need to look for them in a more professional environment. So we go to the next step.
• For our mobile application we created accounts in LinkedIn and Angel. These platforms are the great way to both learn about investors and let them learn about you. Creating a profile – including specific info about your company, product, and team members – makes it easy for people who are interested in your space to find you. Many of these new professional social networking sites even connect you with investors from other countries who want to participate in the global business environment and often bring your product or service to their part of the world.
• The next step we went was familiarization with Start-up Launch Platforms. We made analysis of such platforms, found that they are ok for eCommerce applications and went to conquer them. Companies like startups.co are providing a convenient channel for locating investors in an efficient way. But there a lot of such kind platforms. Be persistent and find them by yourself.
• The other thing that we used for our mobile app is Incubatore. Also can be used Accelerators. You may think what are these and what for they are? I’ll tell you. Exactly in incubators and accelerators based investors who themselves say that they are looking for projects to fund. For AmazingCart we used Incubator in Angel. But also there are Start-up accelerators, such as 500Startups, TechStars, Ycombinator who offer advice and help in investors searching.

All these things will help you to create and promote your Start-up. But main thing you shouldn’t forget that investors want to know why your startup is different than that of your competitors. If what you plan to produce is a trade secret 1 or a patent, you will have much more success finding investors as this would indicate a new invention or innovative idea. However, for many startup companies, they are not necessarily developing a new invention, but are creating a business that is similar to others. In those cases, it is critical to explain to an investor why the product or service you offer is better, different, or meeting an unfulfilled need in your community. By demonstrating to an investor that your business plan is unique from the competition, you will have a better chance of convincing them that your company is worth their investment.