
Peter
At different points in his life John Paul DeJoria was homeless and an East LA gangbanger. Then he he turned his life around and launched John Paul Mitchell Systems with $700 back in 1980.
Here he tells how he did it in detail while being the keynote speaker at the Stanford 2011 Entrepreneurship Conference.
Despite all the media focus on Venture capitalists and super angels, the vast majority of seed and startup capital still comes from what we affectionately call the 3Fs. These are family, friends, and fools (aka dentists).
VCs only provide 0.05% of all startup funding while angels provide 0.91%.
The rest has to come from the 3Fs, personal assets, and creating financing.
How to Get Startup Capital?
Here are the top 10 tips for raising startups capital:
Startups are a Team Sport: Have a team of at least two people with complementary skills and talents show investors. For example, a great combination is where one has a strength in closing sales while other has a strength in ensuring that the product or service purchased is delivered as promised. A team of three is even better. An investment in a company with just the founder is too high risk for investors. What if the founder gets hit by a bus a few weeks after the money is invested? Chances are it’s a write-off.