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Where Have All the Venture Capitalists Gone?
artlu asks: "I have a great idea for a dotcom company, and I just started to execute the initial stages of my business plan. I developed the initial website, gained a user base, and am about to incorporate in Florida. Now I need to find a venture capitalist! However, every capitalist I approach is fearful of dotcoms. I ask the Slashdot community: How do I find a post-bubble dotcom investor?"
There are still plenty of VC's around - and they have plenty of cash as well! Maybe it is you? Maybe they think your idea sucks? giving away more things for free? they know that that is an exceptionally difficult business model to pull off, and will only work when you have some exceptionally good services to give away.
In your case, there is little that is unique, and you don't seem to have any USP's (unique selling points), anything that I can't already get elsewhere, as part of a larger service, and most importantly, readily visible revenue stream.
I'm sorry to be blunt and harsh mate, but the VC's are still there, they are just talking to people with a better plan......
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
While standing in the front of your venture capitalist, turn 180 degrees so that he can see your back. So, put your pants (and underpants down) and try to touch your feet with the tips of your fingers. You can slightly open your legs to make it easy for your to touch your feet. Now wait for your new "venture" to start and enjoy. Good luck.
Why don't you tell the capitalist you can do it in 24 hours?
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With that aggravating beauty, Lulu Walls.
Since you are creating a web site for day traders, I think your business plan should include some info on how you can attract venture capitalists. If not, update your business plan.
RFC1925
You need a privacy statement. It's very important, especially for what you're doing.
Seriously though. They both exist, and have heaps of money because there's been nothing to invest in to speak of.
However, the stupider ones are out of business, and the smarter ones are being a lot more careful in their dealings now.
... I wouldn't give you money. Would you trust someone who advocated day trading to manage your investment well? I find it interesting that you quote Warren Buffet in your theory section when essentially you are going against everything that he stood for (regarding investments).
Realize that in order to succeed you will lose - a lot. I lost $11,000 when I started out, but I think of that money as an education. Also, do not even attempt to day trade with less then $40,000 as you will need Day Trading Buying power. PAPER TRADE.
How much did you end up making? If you did/are doing well, why are you changing professions (trader to dotcomer)? If not, why would I trust my money with you? (especially since you're losing your money in such a foolish manner--day trading)
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I'm sorry, I don't have any answer to your question, except for a rather pessimistic view of things. So if you want lists of investors, read no further.
Most VC:s in the seed/early financing business (which you seem to be looking for) are still licking their wounds after the IT and biotech bubbles - and won't go back there for a long time until there is a really really really good and obvious opportunity. Which, at this point in time, reduces the chances to almost zero, since everything that resembles "dotcom" has a built-in negative bias, given all the (rightful or not) media bashing received the last three years.
Prove me wrong, I would be more than happy if you succeed in your quest! Because, just as the market grossly overestimated the value of the dotcom industry in the late 90's, it is underestimating it today.
1 - Ask Slashdot ...
2 -
3 - Profit!
-- "So, what's the deal with Auntie Gerschwitz et all?"
Where's the money... seems like you're missing the basic idea, they want to make money. Unfortunately it's a big waste of my time to explain this to you, so.. good luck.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Get a .org domain :)
.org domain is inappropriate/not correct use/no one will find you yada yada yada... sheesh)
Steve.
(BTW Its a joke comment. If I don't say this I will probably end up with a shed load of replies saying that a
Sounds like someone got carried away with the 24HDC...
And he actually managed to get a plug on Slashdot. This is just slightly pathetic.
Bot Assisted Blogging
Free advertisement in /.
What a feat.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
- Who's representing you? Don't have legal counsel lined up? You're opening a securities firm and you don't have a securities lawyer hired? Buhbye.
- Who among your executives is an SEC-licensed broker or agent? Nobody? Buhbye.
- From where did you receive your MBA? Wait, you're trying to run a securities firm and you don't have an MBA in an executive position? Oh, right, right, you have "extensive trading experience". Right. Just like every other daytrader who lost his shirt. No MBA, no investment. Buhbye.
- What services are you offering which nobody else offers? You aren't offering unique services? Buhbye.
Those questions aren't nice, but those are questions which will be asked straightoff, and if you don't have good answers for them you won't even get your foot in the door.the wall st. journal has been running numerous articles (can't find a free version online) that say tech VC's are flush with cash and there aren't enough viable companies to invest in
VC will suck you dry, before you notice.
First thing you should do is stop calling it a "dotcom business". Many VCs got burnt by them 5 years ago, and now have an irrational phobia about the term.
"When I grow up, I want to be a weirdo"
Take a look, at the selfdescription of the poster! About Him
"I made a website, where's my fucking money???"
I've just started [link]a company[/link] and I'd like some free exposure from a heavily trafficked Web site. What question should I asked on Ask Slashdot to generate this exposure?
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I support spreading santorum
Where have all the VCs gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the VCs gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the VCs gone?
Dotcoms fleeced them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where Have All the Venture Capitalists Gone?
Non-extradition countries?
Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
No real plan. No unique concept. No market differentiation. No pressing need being met. No users clamoring for you to open. No revenue streams. No team to make it happen. No real business background. No exit strategy.
If I were a VC I would bill you for wasting my time. There are plenty of VCs out there dying to invest their money as it has a shelf life that is coming due, but no one is stepping up with a good idea. And yours is not a good idea. A good idea had a $5-20 Billion market. A good idea can capture at least 5% of that market. A good idea fills a void in the market. A good idea has high switching costs for the end user, is hard to duplicate, is expensive to get into, has large margins, has the ability to block competitors through things like patents, leverages an already installed base, and makes you wet your pants it is so good. If you don't believe in your idea to invest your own money, money you may not have, put together a team, do the research, etc. - then why would a VC invest?
I, for one, can't believe this got posted. Oh, wait, yes I can. Perhaps my next submission will be an Ask Slashdot: "How much will you pay for this turd."
As for the something different, I'm hundred per cent behind you on that one. If you don't have a product differentiator, you are dead - there is only so much market and somebody bigger always has economies of scale.
See my journal, I write things there
Okay, somehow a larval pointy-haired-boss seems to have gotten in. Don't panic, it just *looks* scary. It won't actually hurt you. A decontamination team will be along shortly. Go about your business, citizens.
The VCs are out there, but you're not in their market anymore. Before the bubble, VCs didn't invest "seed capital", which is what you're looking for. After the bubble, VCs again don't do seed money, they're looking for companies that need "mezzanine financing" - companies with paying customers, good cash flow, and preferably a profitable quarter or two behind them. Companies that need money to grow instead of money to get started.
Before the VCs squeezed them out of the market, there were "angel investors" - individuals who knew their specific industries very well, had made their own money previously and were willing to take a flyer on a new company in their industry. Angels typically require much less documentation etc. to invest.
Your site, although competent, seems thrown together in a rush. The color scheme is drab and the text is nigh-unreadable for your target audience (these are not designers you're catering to). That just won't cut it. And that's just your site (all you have to show for the time being).
As for the copywriting: It's just unprofessional. You have neither a "corporate" reassuring voice (something desirable in this context) nor a friendly, personal one. It's just a mix and match of faux seriousness and half hearted attempts at humor. Needs tightening.
From what I see, I wouldn't bet much on the business plan. Then, there's what everybody else here is saying: You don't have a unique product. No market differentiator, no apparent viable business model, no real professional experience (no, "tried and failed" doesn't cut it when requesting capital for a business providing services for the area in which you failed).
I'm sorry, but I think the problem with your proposal is that it's not good enough. Good luck improving it.
Overcaffeinated. Angry geeks.
That is the first question you have have to answer. How are you going to make money with this site?
What are you selling? How much will you charge? How many people will buy?
Those are your questions when you have good answers then you will be of interest to VCs not before.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
First, the website that currently exists is not the business idea. It is the first step in my business plan. VCs have not been exposed to any of the true idea yet. The non-disclosure form was just finished by my attorney yesterday. I agree, the website is poorly designed, but I am just working on getting it running before developing it farther.
Second, my about page on artlu.net. A) yes, it is stupid and childish. B) I have not updated it in nearly 4 years. C) If you are judging me by that page, I have nothing to say. I took it offline, but im sure you can google or internet history it.
Third, I am working on the privacy policy as well - I don't remember which post mentioned that, so thank you.
Finally, I appreciate all of the constructive comments and the emails I have received of interest. They are definitely leading me to change a few things in the Business plan.
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artlu.net
Looks like his free ad on Slashdot is doing pretty well
Perhaps if your site and idea didn't look like a PERFECT way to pump and dump stocks you would get more VC interest.
Your site looks like a SEC investigation waiting to happen.
Lots of people run blogs/forums types of websites on the cheap. You don't need VC money to run that sort of thing.
Honestly, I think you'd be in danger of blowing any VC funding on more day-trading "experience" and this time it would all be documented in your blog. Not a good thing, from a legal defense perspective.
Well, I'm not a VC, and every computer project I've worked on has been self-funded. I don't think I would touch a project with VCs involved.
When I buy a stock this is what I ask:
1) how do they make money?
2) how do they make MORE money each year?
3) how will they be making more money 50 years from now?
I'm having trouble coming up with answers for your site. Plus the whole day-trader angle bothers me.. is that the same philosophy you use when running a business? Maybe you will be able to sucker some VC, but you don't seem to offer anything. In the previous post you mentioned non-disclosure agreements, so maybe you have something really cool in the works.
I believe 75% of day traders underperform the market. I.e. if you deposited/withdrew the same money into a hypothetical bank account as you did your trading account, the interest rate this bank account would need to give you the same results is lower than the average return of the market.
That's some pretty expensive entertainment that day-traders engage in!
The best thing is to grow your business on your own. If it's a good business, you'll have money to grow slowly and you'll have good numbers to show the investors when the time come.
The dotcom days are over my friend.
A cursory reading of the site shows that somebody *really* needs to learn more about effective copywriting. Even if the idea had some merit (it doesn't), the website does a piss poor job of presenting the case. It sure doesn't inspire *me* to want to use the service!
If I were a Venture Capitalist, and somebody came to me looking for VC with something as poorly thought out as this, his ass would hit the middle of the parking lot by at least the second bounce.
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Do not buy a stock for a minute that you wouldn't hold for a lifetime. Or, as Warren Buffet said......
It's pretty shameful to use Warren Buffet's name in this context. You know what else Warren Buffet said? He said that sometimes he wishes the short-term tax rate was 100%, so people would be forced to hold stocks for at least a year.
If you find a stock that you want to hold for ten years, then HOLD IT FOR TEN YEARS!!! That means the stock has good management, good products, and a solid history. Why on earth would day-trade it?
Take a profit if you have one. Don't be greedy, if your trade made $0.01 and it covers your commissions then take your profit.
Don't forget to take taxes into account! And don't forget the thousands of professional traders who will get their orders in before yours.
Me personally I prefer the compounding effect of buy-and-hold. It's pretty satisfying to see a lot you paid $20,000 for hovering around $40,000 after a few good years.
Don't reflect on your mistakes during a trading day.
Yeah, reflect on your JOB, your kids, your personal hygiene...
Don't think about anything but technicals.
You mean technical analysis? Predicting the future based on the "shape" of the stock price graph? *rolls eyes*
Don't trade on news stocks until it appears the stock has leveled for the day/week.
Don't forget to take into account the news that hasn't been announced yet! Oh wait, that's in the future, can't see into the future, sorry.
If you have a loser in your early morning trades, you can attempt to hedge and still produce a profit even if that profit is $0.01.
If you are a day-trader, you've lost already. More than half of day-traders routinely underperform the market. They do worst than picking stocks at RANDOM!
Day trade based on the market. Is today going to be a continuous up day? Is this going to be a continuous down day? Is today a see-saw day?
Uhm, how the heck do you know what today is "going" to be? If everybody knew that today is going to be an "up" day, then it would become a "down" day because they would buy in the morning and sell in the afternoon. Funny how that works!
Realize that in order to succeed you will lose - a lot.
Delete "in order to succeed" and you will be exactly right!
I lost $11,000 when I started out, but I think of that money as an education.
How much are you making now?
Something unique I've learned is that if you have a trade (just one), and it lost a little
Sometimes a roulette wheel is a winner, sometimes it isn't. By going out to lunch the market is still random in the short term, but at least you're not worrying about it!
Day traders get locked into low profit margins, but their trading ideas become refined perfectly. Thus, their entry points make for great day/week long stock trades
Wait until you get into the 10-15 year trades, that's some REAL money! :-)
It is *impossible* to guess..
Have fun, and DONT TRADE OPTIONS!
Oh come on, trading options is much more fun than stocks! You haven't lived until you've written a naked call and lost your shirt!
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hope there are no hard feelings, but honestly, if you want to have VC's invest in your company, your reputation will be of great importance. You need to give an impression of professionalism.
Private pages have the inherent design feature of allowing people pre-judgement. That is the whole idea behind online publishing: presenting oneself to the public.
You approaching slashdot was a great testrun, regarding what I have just said.
I think you got a lot of great feedback. The unsupportive being even of greater value. Now it is up to you.
taking your privat site down, was an excellent move. Try to improve it, than just giving up on it. Use what has been said in this thread.
Your personal site could be your door opener. Display that you are a highly acitve person, by showing what you have done. Pointing to your athletic achievements is not a bad idea, but try to turning it into a modest advertisment of your qualities (endurance, motivation, dedication, resiliance,......).
Just thought I should also utter something more productive. Though I stand to my previous post!
AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!
I couldn't hit XMMS's stop button fast enough!
many of the visionary companies today did NOT start off with a "great idea". rather, they stumbled around in the beginning stages by concentrating on the company structure. by going through failures, they got a sense of what worked and didnt work for them.
;) i havent taken any classes on this sort of thing or even finished this book yet... so take whatever i said with some salt in hand.
actually, they still concentrate on the company itself. "clock-building", as it's referred to, may be more important than a "great idea".
NOTE: high school student
Try the National Venture Capital Association or the Western Association of Venture Capitalists. Both make their membership directories available.
Stupid people will be persecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Just priceless. Someone, please get a cluestick quickly and help this poor chap.
I really would like to now what the business part is he is talking about.
I feel so sig.
into Hershey's Venture Capitalists n' Creme!
Unless he's changed the link, that is.
Tahya al-Moqawama al-Iraqiya!
American pigs will pay... soon!