Funding for up and coming B2B app

lastusername

Hi folks,

Just looking for some general advice here. A few years back my co-founder and I started working with a developer on a collaboration app for work, which after many delays, we launched late last year.

The short version of what's happened since then is that what has worked really well for us is the uptake of the app by those who have managed to use it bug-free, and the profile of the users who have used it (exactly the groups we've envisaged using it).

What hasn't worked so well is the tech support and development side. Our developer got too busy with other projects (he runs multiple businesses), and so we have a gap between the potential of the app and the traction we've seen when people have managed to use it without any tech issues, and the support we are able to get on the tech side.

We are now thinking we may need to get some sort of informal investment to make some critical updates to the app - this would involve hiring a freelance developer or maybe a small agency with modest rates to make these updates. We believe this would allow us to get the traction required to secure more formal investment from the likes of Enterprise Ireland (who need to see that a product has passed the 'beta' stage).

Anyway, I realise there are not many specifics in here but I just wanted to ask if anyone has any advice, or any experiences to share around angel investment or casual investment from sources other than the usual accelerator programmes, EI, etc. Did you get out and network, or was there a particular path you followed to secure funding, for example?

We've had people signing up to our app from really large companies right through to smaller companies in a wide variety of industries - from game store shops right up to an international coffee chain. Literally just now I am seeing two people in a large global chocolate and confectionary brand signing up to use it.

We can see the potential is there and that we are addressing a gap in the market. It's just frustrating that we don't have the funds to get the app into a place where it's stable and functioning, in order to fill this gap.

All advice and feedback welcome, over PM either if you'd prefer not to share on-thread.

Thanks!

antoinolachtnai

There is a well understood path for these kinds of products. There is a lot written about it.

It comes down to how much traction you've gotten already, and how big the potential market is, and whether you are well placed to bridge the gap.

Ideally you would find some way to fund the development out of cashflow, but that may not be possible.

I don't know what you mean by 'informal investment'. I don't think anybody is going to invest in your product or company without a formal investment agreement in place. Essentially this means you will give away some of your rights in the company in return for the money.

lastusername

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

There is a well understood path for these kinds of products. There is a lot written about it.

It comes down to how much traction you've gotten already, and how big the potential market is, and whether you are well placed to bridge the gap.

Ideally you would find some way to fund the development out of cashflow, but that may not be possible.

I don't know what you mean by 'informal investment'. I don't think anybody is going to invest in your product or company without a formal investment agreement in place. Essentially this means you will give away some of your rights in the company in return for the money.

Thanks, very familiar with how it all works but the catch-22 really is that we need funding to support the development and maintenance of the app. Without it we are in a position where we can't onboard new users (due to bugs and other factors), or respond to any bugs or tech issues that arise as users continue using the app after signing up. But we do know that when some people sign up and use it, they become avid users.

We can see that people from our exact target market are signing up in numbers without any marketing or advertising - they are all coming through the app stores on autopilot.

Of course, many will not continue to use the app after downloading as it may not be what they expected or for some other reason, but all we need is a certain % to use it to build traction. They won't though, if it's not stable and functioning.

By 'informal investment' I just mean from someone who may be reading here or who knows someone else who might want to invest; i.e. not the usual state funding or accelerators and so on. We are looking at these options too of course, but we'd have a better chance of getting funding from the likes of Enterprise Ireland if we already have a bit more traction and a more stable app.

Just to mention, if anyone is interested in what they are reading and would like to learn more, they can feel free to send a PM - happy to share more details with any serious parties who might want in on the ground floor. We are a small but experienced team with a lot of experience across design, digital marketing and product management.