Have you had success with Business Angels?

aaaaaaaahhhhhh

Hey guys. I have a business idea which I am looking to get off the ground and am considering partnering with a business angle.

I'm just curious to see if anyone has had any success with getting a business idea or start-up business off the ground using one of the few Irish Business Angel networks?

• What kind of industry is your Idea/Business?
• How has the Business Angel contributed to your Idea/Business?
• What is the current success rate of your Idea/Business since partnering with the BA?

Thanks in advance for any reply's
aaaaaaaahhhhhh

aaaaaaaahhhhhh

No one?

Buttercake

the idea must be a working model or have a feasibility study or a very beefy business plan behind it, also you must have a team behind it(they dont invest in one man bands) and be on LEO/Enterprise Ireland's radar.. Have you applied for grants etc?

they invest in any industry so long as they make a return. For every 5 they invest in 1 will do well and 4 will flop.

tbh I would consider a business angel investment the last route of investment unless I had a working product that had a customer base, passed beta stages, was "out there" and I wanted to go stratosphere with it.

They will look for a serious amount of equity as its a huge risk for them too.. They will want to see pretty decent feasibility reports in place and a serious management team in place to take the idea onwards and upwards.

While we hear in the news that XYZ App got a $million investment, its because they would have done a major amount of groundwork.

Angels are certainly not big and cuddly with bursting wallets, they will scrutinise everything and quickly move onto the next if they don't see an opportunity.

Good luck!

aaaaaaaahhhhhh

Buttercake wrote: »

1.) Have you applied for grants etc?

2.) tbh I would consider a business angel investment the last route of investment unless I had a working product that had a customer base, passed beta stages, was "out there" and I wanted to go stratosphere with it.

3.) They will look for a serious amount of equity as its a huge risk for them too.

Thanks for this reply
1.) We have applied for grants from enterprise ireland and the local city council. We were told we need to be importing or exporting before they well consider any grant requests.

2.) That was our thinking also. It was more of a last resort if we couldn't raise capital ourselves

3.) This was the major downfall with the BA's as far as we were concerned. Again it was a means of getting the project of the ground.

deegs

if EI wont invest... change you plan/product cos thats a signal to a BA not to invest...

pedronomix

deegs wrote: »

if EI wont invest... change you plan/product cos thats a signal to a BA not to invest...

Great advice!! I would only add that the vast majority of actual Angel investing (a serious misnomer in itself!) is from people the promoters already know, family and friends.

Buttercake

aaaaaaaahhhhhh wrote: »

Thanks for this reply
1.) We have applied for grants from enterprise ireland and the local city council. We were told we need to be importing or exporting before they well consider any grant requests.

2.) That was our thinking also. It was more of a last resort if we couldn't raise capital ourselves

3.) This was the major downfall with the BA's as far as we were concerned. Again it was a means of getting the project of the ground.

Whats your product line?, Can someone in the UK/US purchase or use your product?

- Have you tried the credit union or crowd lending?
- Bank? get a letter of decline and try Microfinance?
- Dragons Den?
- Family?

I would forget the BA idea altogether, the thought of Angel investment can cloud some entrepreneurs judgement and the route that they should be taking to move their product forward.

Enterprise Ireland is a vetting service for angel investment, if they said no or have no interest, I would swiftly move on and continue bootstrapping it.

aaaaaaaahhhhhh

Buttercake wrote: »

Whats your product line?, Can someone in the UK/US purchase or use your product?

- Have you tried the credit union or crowd lending?
- Bank? get a letter of decline and try Microfinance?
- Dragons Den?
- Family?

I would forget the BA idea altogether, the thought of Angel investment can cloud some entrepreneurs judgement and the route that they should be taking to move their product forward.

Enterprise Ireland is a vetting service for angel investment, if they said no or have no interest, I would swiftly move on and continue bootstrapping it.

We're looking to get into the area of Health insurance with added benefits and Travel insurance.
Later down the line expand into Motor/house/pet/life etc.
The long run idea is of course to expand into the UK, EMEA, North/south America etc.

Our main drive for the business is to create a brand new company capable of bringing the South East(Especially Waterford) out of the current unemployment state that it is in and create jobs with longevity and little turnover.

- Have you tried the credit union or crowd lending?
Credit Union wont support such a risk, crowd lending we haven't tried.
- Bank? get a letter of decline and try Microfinance?
Most banks are looking for 15% deposit first and this we cannot afford at the moment.
- Dragons Den?
Too commercial I think
- Family?
Same reason as the bank, family couldn't afford it at the mo.

EI thought it was a great idea, however they were more keen to have start-ups who are manufacturing where they are buying in raw materials and exporting internationally.