Ten tips for entrepreneurs looking for angel or venture capital funding

During the Internet boom, investors were mostly interested in the potential of a company. These days nothing is considered a sure thing and if your start-up business isn’t on the right track, or if you haven’t done your homework as an entrepreneur, then you won’t have much luck raising capital.

As someone who has coached successful businesses for years, Chris Lynch, vice president of economic development at the Irvine Chamber, provides ten tips to help you secure the financial support and funding your business may need to succeed.

1. Know your investor:
Investors are typically intrigued by companies that fall within current trends, but that is not always the case. A large pharmaceutical company, for example may be more interested in a small biotech start-up that shows potential to produce a new drug that they can’t produce themselves.  Different angel and venture capitalists are looking for different things and most have a track record of the type of company, and even rate of return, they are looking for so—do your homework and know who you are pitching to.