America is called the land of opportunity. The country was built on the dreams of men and women who arrived in a brave new world looking for a better life. They resurrected businesses on the foundation of big ideas, hard work and determination.
In a lot of ways, it must seem as though we're living in unfamiliar territory as well. America is adjusting as a superpower in a new economic environment. Funding to start new businesses is getting harder to come by. But just like our forefathers, the ideas are bright and we'll need hard work to realize our dreams as well.
When people start new businesses, they usually invest their own money until it runs out. They drain their credit cards and personal savings; they acquire mortgages and second mortgages. They might also borrow from family and friends. If they are lucky, the new business can turn a profit in which they can then reinvest in the company. But the reality is, sometimes there is a time element involved in starting up a business. You want the competitive advantage of being the first to put out a product or a service. Hence, sometimes a quick and large infusion of capital is needed.
A startup business can apply for a bank loan but they are hard to come by if the requested loan is considerable with little or no collateral to offset the risk. At this time, the eager entrepreneur might look to funding from angel investors or venture capitalists.
So what exactly is the difference between angel investors and venture capitalists? The answer is that angel investors choose which company they want to invest in. Venture capitalists, on the other hand, invest on the behalf of private investors in a professionally managed fund. The fund is usually considerably larger than that of angel investors and therefore divided amongst several startup companies. In return for the capital funding, startups give the venture capitalist firm or the angel investors shares in the company. In addition, the VC firm and angel investors become more involved in the decision making process in order to protect their investment. This usually translates into a seat on the board of directors.
Having less autonomy does not necessarily mean a bad thing for the company founder. In fact, experienced VC firms and angel investors might have connections which can help the startup business. At the end of the day, it's about making the business successful and profitable.
Business owners dream of the day where they can strike it rich. This might happen by bringing their company to its initial public offering or by being acquired by another larger company. Like our forefathers who built America, we can all dream. It just takes a bright idea and hard work to make it into a reality.
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