katoved

Dear WickedFire members, I have come up with an idea today that I am certain will lift me out of the middle class ranks, and firmly implant me into the upper crust of society. Well maybe not that high, but at least into the upper low ten million dollar range.

The idea competes directly with Text-Link-Ads. I won't go into any further more details until a later date. But I assure you, that all WF members will be invited to the Beta release.

My question is for all of you (please give me your opinions):

Should I seek venture capital funding this week. I can hash out a short business plan in one day should I need to. I would like to keep the VC funding in (Chicago, IL) only. I am afraid that if I submit to VC firms out in CA, the idea might get leaked. But if its local, I think I might stand a better chance. So should I seek VC funding this week?

Sitemaker

VC funding just cause you got an idea? lolol. develop something yourself first then ask for VC funding

katoved

Shoe, Im 23 years old; yes of course I do! Well, I cant get any experience till I at least start doing business with some. By the way, can my uncle call you about disability insurance? I thought it might be a good idea for you and your family, because of the industry your in. If you go get injured or disabled, your income will disapear. If you purchase insurance, your family will always be able to enjoy the standard of living they have become accustomed to. Well, thats the way I thouhg. If so, please PM me with your phone number, so my uncle can give you a call. He has been an insurance salesman for over 20 years, he really knows how to adress your needs with the best possible insurance products. As far as VC presentations go, has anyone ever made one? I can be a great presentor and I think that might be one of my biggest things going here. Lol.

Rob_TID

VCs won't look at you until you have proved your metel by either developing this idea or having a track record.

If you do either of those, then you will come to know them as "Vulture Capitalists"

chris22

hahahahaha..nice how you worked that in there.

DruSam

If you want VC funding. Make sure you put an "r" at the end. Like "textlinkadswannabeR". Then make a really fancy bullshit description for it, "aggregates links with seamless augmentational metaphysical peer to peer format in real time". Put "beta" at then end of your bright and bubbly logo.

My serious advice is to start the site right away, or do some sort of test trials to prove that the concept can work in volume.

Stanley

katoved how good is your credit?

katoved

Thanks Dru Sam, I want you to know, that when I see that fucking little video game guy, it makes your credibility level go up. He was always a very responsible little fighting super midget, I dont remember his name, but I do remember that he was a moral little fucker.

katoved

My credit is very good, but im not going to take out any loans for this idea. I want backers instead. I will sell them equity in the business.

Jack Swift

Scrape together the resources to get it working on your own. Once the concept is up and running and you can demonstrate success on some level, then go to VCs to take it to the next level. I have a little experience in this area. If you believe in the idea, use credit cards, borrow money from family members and do whatever it takes to build the first level of the business. Then you might be able to get VCs to bite.

katoved

To tell you the truth, I think that without VC this idea would never get off the ground. Reason behind it, because it has VC written all over it. The concept is so fresh, and such a buzz word type internet name, the shark biting the rail might make the business that much hotter.

DruSam

hahahahahah that has to be my favorite quote this week.

his name is Mega Man

katoved

I fucking love responding to my own posts as many of you know. This is whats going to make this idea rock!

My showmanship skills in the office may really sell this thing. Im going to go in dressed like a new age Web 2.0 internet guru punk, it will go over huge in the office. Im going to be rich.

katoved

This is how things will work out. I will post regularly this week and let you know how the first meeting goes. I may even tape record it. I may even create a blog about it! This idea keeps getting better! Web20Blog.com

Hahahaha!!

Anyways, why wouldnt some VC who knows shit about internet start-ups. Just give me 100K to fucking start her up. I would give up 30% equity just for that.


That was good shit huh, a fuckin truism. Thats brand marketing for yah. Pervaded my subconscience from early adolescence.

darkdrift

From this, you odviously showed your lack of knowledge as an entrepreneur. VC is not for ideas. What you need is an Angel Investor...IM me, Ill help you out.

fenryr

wtf

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Palmerville

This is great schtick!

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chris22

Nothing like this, is it?

Andrew

I'm pretty sure Fred from A VC has made a few posts for people looking for venture capital; go to this site and read through his posts for the last 4-5 months, should be some good info in there

http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/

Stanley

Find Meebo and read their blog about how they obtained funding, it's very informative.

Also find the blog of Guy Kawasaki, he's a VC so his advice will be imperative for you.

Palmerville

Also read Guy's book, "The Art of the Start" on this very subject. It's good.

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DanNicol

i thought your recruit-a-soldier was your idea to make you rich? What ever happened with that?

Jack Swift

You are going to give up way more that 30% if you have nothing but a great concept and a great domain name. If the idea is that good, you should get it rolling on your own dime.

engaged

Alright, my cousin has a 130mm VC fund; anything on the scale of text-link-ads (TLA) is not going to need VC. TLA is a VERY small company. Look for angel investing, beg your family, hit up a local venture group and ask for $100K and mentors.

Also, unless your idea is really remarkable competing with other business in the billion dollar market share, you aren't getting VC unless you have a great leadership team or prior success, as people have said.

Name of the game dude. 99% of VC funded crap isn't novel ideas, its improvements in management, efficiency, slight twists, etc.

katoved

Yeah, that idea is not bad. However, it would take too much follow-up with potential recruits. It wouldnt be a problem, if the system allowed me to input more then 15 people at a time. If I could just throw their info into the database that would be the end of it and fine. But you would constantly have to swap out leads.

katoved

I have to disagree with you. I think that a VC firm when presented with a interesting offer will consider some type of financing for ownership.

wfhnow

Good luck finding someone to fund your idea!!!

aeiouy

That is a confidence instiller, by the way. Anyone not willing to risk their own money for an idea is likely to have a harder time convincing other people to invest in it.

To be quite honest, your chances of getting any kind of real financing outside of family members, and based on what you have posted here, is non-existant.

Your best case scenario is to get the idea down and protected in a way to prove you had it, then when someone takes it from you, you might have a small chance of making some money suing them.

Have you ever written a real business plan, let alone one that is intended to attract significant financial backing? I have, and you can't do it in a day, nor anywhere close to a day. If you did, your chances would go from zero to negative one million. Anyone investing in your idea would also be investing in you, and it does not seem like you are quite ready to be taking this step.

Do you have a strong relationship with someone who might be a bit more business savvy that could be the front person for this whole plan?

Honestly you don't just come up with an idea, then decide you are going to run out and attract major financing with a one day business plan, unless you have the cure for cancer and can prove it.

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katoved

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cRWGsOeV9FQ

This is how I plan on proving my concept to VC firms.

wickedDUDE

how much do you need? it's better to fund from your own pocket.

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chrislingle

Katoved - you need to find a VC that will believe anything. the nice thing about numbers is you can have them say anything you want! well if you are creative enough you can!

katoved

I think to find the programmer to do the work, the designer to make the site look awesome, would cost me around 10K. Then additional financial outlays for advertising and maitenance costs.

DavidR

What you need are seed/angel investors. VC is more for companies that need a few million to take it to the next level.

It sounds like you're hoping to have someone fund an idea. Ideas are generally worthless unless you can personally implement it. If you created a prototype and showed investors that it works, you should be fine getting initial seed money.

Good luck!

katoved

Thanks, I think Im going to put in a thousand of my own money, then go from there. If WickedFire.com members are interested in investing, please PM with your email. When the site is in Beta, I will be glad to show you the domain and see if you are interested in ownership.

engaged

You are 100% wrong. They've seen it all. Any big VC like Kleiner, Polaris, etc. isn't going to invest crap into a 1 man team and an idea.

Like I said, family is in VC with a lot of succesfull liquidation events, you are wrong, not to mention your biz is probably too small for VC.

Good luck, but you need to listen to advice when it comes from someone who knows. I'm even agreeing with Shoemoney, come on, it's confirmed, this is angel level investing.

katoved

Fine, I agree with you. But it still cant hurt meeting with them. Im sure they have a list of angel investors that would love to meet with me. Dont be so negative man. I should be getting mad props for just having the balls to walk into a VC firm and asking for money. But seriously, thanks for your opinion it helped.

engaged

I'm not negative, I'm being real. There are also some books written by some pretty big name VCs that may help you present your idea. And you may need some connections just to get a 5 minute meeting. These guys get lots of ideas.

In Chicago I don't really know of any big VCs, not familiar with the area, but I imagine there are some. But I did do present to Tribune's Biz development unit once and although they didn't invest, they offered a job in biz dev on the spot just for getting through the bureaucracy and getting a meeting.

katoved

Interesting. I could use a job; hahaha. I guess you never know where things will go once you meet people face to face. Networking really is the quickest and most powerful way to advance your direct/in-direct goals. It would be awesome to work for a VC firm.

engaged

That's my goal. Applying to HBS this year, if I get in I should be good to go with my cousin's connections.

katoved

Good luck. Maybe I should put my concept on Prosper.com or something. Anyone ever try to get financing for a web concept?

engaged

Dude, stay away from online funding. Try angel investors, family, friends, banks, SBA, etc.

aeiouy

One thing you need to realize is that for every person who is actively looking to invest in companies with capital, there are 10,000 people looking for someone to invest in your idea.

You seem to think it is as easy as simply getting a meeting and the money will flow your way. It rarely ever works that way. They don't know you from Adam. An idea is just that. You need to have an actual plan. They are going to ask you all kinds of questions about your potential business that you have probably not even considered. You will come out of the meeting feeling like someone killed your dog and burned your house down while feeding you raw veal with an e-coli side dish.

If you can actually start implementing a smaller scale of your business and get it working you will have a much greater chance of seeking any kind of funding going forward. So make something that works and go with it.

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L146705

why give them a slice of your business? if your middle class you should be able to afford to get it done yourself.

chris

I like your idea katoved, I found it interesting and inspiring.

It truly is a unique idea for the web, and I can foresee great sucess for your endeavours.

Your previous work, that appears prominently and presented well on your business portfolio site is remarkable!

I also respect your work-experience background as an Intelligence Officer for the Men In Black, and that I can only dream of the day I get as much pussy as you proudly claim to enjoy.

You really are the hard-working, reliable, honest, working-man's hero.

You're my role-model.

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katoved

Lol dude. Lol. But I didn't even spill the beans about my idea. Yeah, I think wasting my time trying to get VC funding is stupid. I should just spend that time finding a programmer. Thanks guys for stearing me right.

chris

maybe when you have a job, you can pay for a programmer.

cunt.

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katoved

What do you mean when I have a job? I own a fucking internet business man, just like every other person on here.

$5 Submissions

I used to work for a VC firm. Make sure you have the following

1) a solid business plan

2) relatively innovative idea

3) some legal protection or plan of legal protection for your innovative idea

4) proof of concept or initial revenue.


Best of luck, man

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engaged

Calling BS, unless it was a shitty/small firm. You don't leave a venture firm ot be hocking $5 articles or whatever. Money is too good. Good work/life balance. No way, don't believe it.

engaged

*bump*

Just waiting for a response $5... let's hear it...