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By Sanjeev Kumar
Founding Attorney

You have a great idea and you want to start a business, or you have a thriving business and are looking to expand. Either way, you need money.  Most new companies get the funds they need to get off the ground though venture capital.  Venture capital is an investment in a new business or start-up that involves a significant amount of risk. Although you should speak to a qualified business law attorney before attempting to obtain venture capital, if you think it is the right option you should have everything in order before starting your quest for an investor or investors.  In this tough economy only the businesses with an organized approach with get the funding they need.

In order to obtain venture capital you must have a solid business plan.  Investors want to fund businesses that are going to be successful and a well thought out business plan is the first step towards that goal.  Your plan should be as detailed as possible and include an overview of the business and the industry it will operate in.  You should contemplate and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of the business as well as any obstacles that it may face.  Most importantly, you must include financial information.  Investors want to know how your business performed in the past (if it did) and what the finances might look like in the future.  A business law attorney can help you put together a comprehensive business plan that includes all of the necessary elements.

After you have a business plan in place, you can start your search for funds.  You should take advantage of the internet and all of the social and professional networking opportunities it has to offer in order to connect with and possibly hook an investor.  You might also want to look into crowd funding.  Crowd funding refers to raising money to start a business using small amounts from a large number of people.  There are websites devoted to just this process which you can easily exploit.

Finally, don’t be afraid to go right to the source.  Venture capitalists know best what other venture capitalists want in an investment.  Talk to anyone that will see you and present them with your business plan.  Then ask for and listen to their advice.

If you are in need of advice with regard to venture capital, call Austin, Texas business law attorney Sanjeev Kumar at (512)323-6060 for a consultation today.

About the Author
Sanjeev Kumar is the founder and principal at the Kumar Law Firm, which provides a wide range of legal services to entrepreneurs and business owners in the area of business & corporate law and intellectual property along with related areas of interest to clients such as business succession planning, wealth preservation through estate planning, and alternate dispute resolution.