Many people have turned to the internet as their first method of finding angel investors. There are both many positives and many negatives to searching for outside capital in this manner. First, let’s take a look at the positives. It is not very expensive to try to find private funding using internet search methods. However, you must be very diligent as there are a number of web based operations that are simply seeking to take your money without ever giving you a proper list of outside funding sources. We will cover more of these issues below as it relates to using the internet to find angel investors. Typically, the costs associated with using the web to find private funding ranges from $ 50 to $ 250 depending on the services that can match you with potential funding source. You should be wary of any internet based company that gives you guarantees and promises as it relates to finding angel investment. Prior to working with any firm, you should always check their references and their history with the Better Business Bureau. The most prominent negative when conducting these types of searches on the internet is that there is a lot of bad information as it relates to working and finding private funding sources. As we discussed above, there are unscrupulous people out there that are looking to earn a profit for themselves without ever connecting you to a capital source. One of the other negatives when looking on the internet for private investment is that you may be required to conform to certain securities laws as it relates to finding capital from both in state and out of state investors. As always, your attorney should always provide you with a number of guidelines to follow as it relates to publicly promoting the fact that you are seeking capital for your business.
In closing, it may be in your better interest to spend additional money to attend events where angel investors are present to hear pitches from varying small business owners. Although the fees for these events can range from $ 500 to up to $ 5000, the companies that put on these conventions are generally legitimate businesses that have a broad array of contacts as it relates to placing your firm with a potential funding source. Of course, with any firm that you intend to do business with you should always conduct an extensive amount of due diligence as it relates to how many people have been successful with a respective company’s program, their fees, their refund policies, and issues pertaining to how confidential your business idea or concept will be when you are presenting to a large group of people.