Saturday, January 11, 2020

Money for a Startup - Win Equity and Prizes

Have you dreamed of being on Shark Tank? Now is your chance to be a shark.


Help founders succeed and receive equity and prizes in return at Money for a Startup


Here is how it works:
- Watch founders pitch their business ideas
- Offer your insights, advice, and assistance
- Receive Equity Points every time you complete a challenge correctly or help our founders
- Get enough Equity Points and redeem them for equity and/or prizes
- The more you participate, the more you can win

Register today at http://moneyforastartup.com 




Are you looking for investors for your business, contact us today, funding@omegaaccelerator.com.  


Would you like to invest in early-stage businesses before they go to market? Email info@OmegaAccelerator.com


Sources
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rencarlton 
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RenCarlton
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxQWgUDlPJo0IHCIa6SzrQ
https://omegaaccelerator.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheOmegaAccelerator/
https://www.instagram.com/omega.funding/
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/funding-session-with-ren-carlton.html

Disclaimer:  This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service.  We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice.  Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties.  All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

All offers will be contingent upon passing our due diligence process.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Is Writing a Business Plan a Waste of Time? - Acquiring Business Funding and Writing a 1-Page Executive Summary for Angel Investors

“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
Mark Twain

Information is everywhere. It is no longer an advantage. Almost anyone can learn anything with a few minutes and a decent Wifi connection. This makes entrepreneurship and funding your business very different than it was 10 years ago. Information used to be a competitive advantage, now it is just a starting point.

These days, entrepreneurship is all about execution.


Is Writing a Business Plan a Waste of Time?


Business plans are mostly obsolete when raising capital from angel investors. We see thousands of deals a year. We are scanning your materials, trying to find something that meets our preferences. It’s not personal, there is just not enough hours in a day to digest all of the details. The time you spend writing a business plan can be spent on creating, testing, pivoting, selling, etc. The best way to succeed in business is to be in business.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail,” has been replaced by “If you aren’t embarrassed by the first version of your business, you launched too late.”

But execution requires resources and funding... 


Raising Capital without a Business Plan


The 1-Page Executive Summary has replaced the business plan in our 140-character-or-less world. It hits all of the major areas of a business. It demonstrates a business' potential, while leaving enough flexibility for possible changes and pivots. Although there are many formats, I find this one to be compelling:

1. The Grab: You should lead with the most compelling statement of why you have a really big idea. This sentence (or two) sets the tone for the rest of the executive summary. Usually, this is a concise statement of the unique solution you have developed to a big problem. It should be direct and specific, not abstract and conceptual. If you can drop some impressive names in the first paragraph you should—world-class advisors, companies you are already working with, a brand name founding investor. Don’t expect an investor to discover that you have two Nobel laureates on your advisory board six paragraphs later. He or she may never get that far.

2. The Problem: You need to make it clear that there is a big, important problem (current or emerging) that you are going to solve. In this context you are establishing your Value Proposition—there is enormous pain out there, and you are going to increase revenues, reduce costs, increase speed, expand reach, eliminate inefficiency, increase effectiveness, whatever. Don’t confuse your statement of the problem with the size of the opportunity (see below).

3. The Solution: What specifically are you offering to whom? Software, hardware, service, a combination? Use commonly used terms to state concretely what you have, or what you do, that solves the problem you’ve identified. Avoid acronyms and don’t try to use this opportunity to create and trademark a bunch of terms that won’t mean anything to most people. You might need to clarify where you fit in the value chain or distribution channels—who do you work with in the ecosystem of your sector, and why will they be eager to work with you. If you have customers and revenues, make it clear. If not, tell the investor when you will.

4. The Opportunity: Spend a few more sentences providing the basic market segmentation, size, growth and dynamics—how many people or companies, how many dollars, how fast the growth, and what is driving the segment. You will be better off targeting a meaningful percentage of a well-defined, growing market than claiming a microscopic percentage of a huge, mature market. Don’t claim you are addressing the $24 billion widget market, when you are really addressing the $85 million market for specialized arc-widgets used in the emerging wocket sector.

5. Your Competitive Advantage: No matter what you might think, you have competition. At a minimum, you compete with the current way of doing business. Most likely, there is a near competitor, or a direct competitor that is about to emerge (are you sufficiently paranoid yet??). So, understand what your real, sustainable competitive advantage is, and state it clearly. Do not try to convince investors that your only competitive asset is your “first mover advantage.” Here is where you can articulate your unique benefits and advantages. Believe it or not, in most cases, you should be able to make this point in one or two sentences.

6. The Model: How specifically are you going to generate revenues, and from whom? Why is your model leverageable and scaleable? Why will it be capital efficient? What are the critical metrics on which you will be evaluated—customers, licenses, units, revenues, margin? Whatever it is, what impressive levels will you reach within three to five years?

7. The Team: Why is your team uniquely qualified to win? Don’t tell us you have 48 combined years of expertise in widget development; tell us your CTO was the lead widget developer for Intel, and she was on the original IEEE standards committee for arc-widgets. Don’t just regurgitate a shortened form of each founder’s resume; explain why the background of each team member fits. If you can, state the names of brand name companies your team has worked for. Don’t drop a name if it’s an unknown name, and don’t drop a name if you aren’t happy to give the contact as a reference at a later date.

8. The Promise ($$): When you are pitching to investors, your fundamental promise is that you are going to make them a boatload of money. The only way you can do that is if you can achieve a level of success that far exceeds the capital. What is your path to profitability and positive cash-flow? When will you get there? When will your investors start enjoying a financial return on their investment?


One more thing. 1-Page Executive Summaries need to be one page!

This is a good starting point for every funding campaign. It helps you clarify your thoughts and communicate your vision. If it cannot be explained in one-page, you should work on it more before you start pitching investors.


Are you looking for investors for your business, contact us today, funding@omegaaccelerator.com.  


Are you interested in angel investing and helping us fund early-stage businesses? Email info@OmegaAccelerator.com. 




Disclaimer:  This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service.  We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice.  Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties.  All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

All offers will be contingent upon passing our due diligence process.





Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Shark Tank Style Business Event - Find up to $5 Million of Funding from Angel Investors at the Money for a Startup event in Troy, Michigan with host Ren Carlton

Pitch your business idea to angel investors!  


Location
100 W Big Beaver Rd, Suite 100
Troy, MI 48084

Time
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
5:00 PM-8:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time

Agenda
5:00 - Registration Opens
5:30 - 8:00 - Pitches


Watch entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to our Angels

Registration is Free - But You Must RSVP - Reserve Your Spot Today to Pitch or Host


Unable to attend out event?  We also accept video pitches.  Click here to learn how to send us your pitch video.


Are you interested in angel investing and helping us fund early-stage businesses? Email info@OmegaAccelerator.com to learn how you can help us host the event. 


Instructions for Pitching at our Event

-Email your information to funding@omegaaccelerator.com at least a week before the event.
-The subject of your email needs to be “MFAS - Pre-Registration - Live Pitch Event - [YOUR NAME]" to avoid our spam filters.
-Your email must include your name, business name, phone number, business idea, and the date of the event you will attend.
-When you pre-register, you are welcome to send us supporting information about your business with your pre-registration email, e.g. website, social media links, videos, slide deck, business plan, projections, 1-page executive summary.
-We also accept video pitches, Click here to learn how to send us your pitch video

Meet our Hosts

Ren Carlton

Ren Carlton has spent his career starting, growing, selling, and funding businesses. After graduating from Oakland University, Ren earned his CPA license and served as the CFO of a Tier 1 manufacturing company. His passion for business led him to leave his CFO position to pursue several entrepreneurial opportunities. Ren now actively funds, launches, grows, and sells businesses. One of his key business priorities is to encourage and help entrepreneurs pursue bold, fearless goals. Along the way, Ren hosted an award-winning business reality network radio show and wrote Profitpreneurship: Creating a Business that Produces Outstanding Financial Results.



Haroon Bhatti MBA/MSF


Haroon’s reputation for business success has been earned the old-fashioned way: through hard work, recognizable results, and performance that consistently gives his clients a competitive advantage. Haroon specializes in Brokerage and Valuations for Mainstreet and Lower Middle Market companies. His company’s consulting division helps entrepreneurs develop exit strategies and get their businesses set up to be saleable so they can get the highest value in the market. He owns two successful companies of his own in the Automotive Industry. Additionally, he holds a Masters of Business Administration and also a Masters of Science in Finance.




Aurore Henze, ND


Aurore is the founder of Health-Media Star, which creates unique branding platforms for healthcare companies. Services include copy-writing, journalistic SEO, major news network PR, internet shows, podcasting, video creation, website development, networking opportunities and social media (design and build). Aurore also speaks on a variety of topics: Easy Wellness Tips to Increase Immunity, Overcoming Addiction, Sensible Weight loss, Look Young and Feel Young: Anti-Aging. Aurore attended Clayton College of Natural Health and received a Bachelors of Science / Doctorate of Natural Health. Aurore studied Eastern Medicine, Nutrition, body mind. biology, structural therapy, wellness, alternative therapies, and pain relief.





Format

Founders that are invited to pitch at our event will have about a minute to setup. After delivering their 45 second pitch, we will ask clarifying questions. Then we will discuss the opportunity privately. After our discussion, we will invite the founder back and we may:
-Offer to invest
-Make strategic introduction(s)
-Offer to help find funding


Are you interested in marketing to our participants, audience, and network of over 20,000 funding sources and entrepreneurs?  Email Info@omegaaccelerator.com for details



Sources



Disclaimer:  This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service.  We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice.  Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties.  All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

All offers will be contingent upon passing our due diligence process.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Why Don’t More People Make Angel Investments?

Just in case you have not heard the news, almost anyone can be an angel investor. See What Qualifications are Required to be an Angel Investor for further details. We also explored Why Angel Investors Fund Startups in another article.

What inspires people to become angel investors? I will examine some key reasons below.   


They are Looking for an Extraordinary Return on Investment (ROI)

According to Techcrunch.com, Angel Investors can expect to earn a gross multiple of 2.5X their investment in about four years. That is a 250% ROI. Investors that are comfortable with the risks of angel investing may be able to enjoy this type of return.

They Want to Become a Mentor

They relish in the idea of being a mentor to the younger generation of startups. If you have the income and you want to make this type of impact, maybe start making angel investments.

They are Business-Minded Entrepreneurs Who Want to Network

If you’ve made it far enough in your professional career to have the time and money to consider investing, then you are probably already pretty good at networking. angel investors take this to the next level. You can gain unique opportunities to network with people from a totally different perspective. When you are at a networking event, people will find you to pitch ideas.

They Care About Innovation

High-tech angels often care just as much about ROI as they do about introducing high-tech and innovative solutions into the world. These investors might even care more about the mission or impact of a company. If you want to make a difference in the world of medical tech, fintech, or any other industry that has the potential to make a huge impact, then you should consider making angel investments.

They are Looking for Something New

Angel investing is an easy way to give you access to the world of entrepreneurship. This often includes access to new ideas, events, and opportunities. Boredom was one of the reasons I quit my job as a CFO to become a full-time entrepreneur. I have not been bored a day since that decision!


But only 8% of the people that can make angel investments actually do it according to angelcapitalassociation.org. Why?


We have identified several challenges associated with angel investing, including:

-How do I select angel investments to evaluate?
-How can I screen angel investments that interest me?
-How do I monitor my angel investments?
-How can I help my angel investments succeed?
-How do I value an angel investment?
-When will we receive returns on this investment?
-When can I do if the founders you funded wants to quit?
-When can I do if the business fails?

We will address these concerns in future posts. Ultimately you will need to decide whether the benefits of being an angel investor outweigh the risks.


Are you interested in investing in startups today, but are struggling with some of the concerns listed above?  Learn how we can help, email info@OmegaAccelerator.com.



Are you looking for angel investors or accredited investors for your business? Contact us today, funding@omegaaccelerator.com 



Sources:
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/12/why-dont-more-people-make-angel.html
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/what-qualifications-are-required-to-be.html
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/why-angel-investors-fund-startups18.html
www.angelcapitalassociation.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rencarlton 
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RenCarlton
https://www.facebook.com/TheOmegaAccelerator/
https://www.instagram.com/omega.funding/
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/funding-session-with-ren-carlton.html


Disclaimer:  This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service.  We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice.  Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties.  All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

How to find Accredited Investors and Angel Investors

Experts estimate that there are close to 4 million Angel Investors in the U.S. Angel Investors are everywhere.  Friends, family, networking connections, and coworkers are all potential Angel Investors.  Since Angel Investors need to have the money available to invest in your business, you probably want to target people with a high net worth.  There are also a number of portals that may be able to help you find investors, e.g. Gust, Angels List.

Working with a placement agent or meeting someone through a warm introduction have been the most effective tactics for me. I have also met investors through networking events, social media, and golf. Below is some additional information about Angel Investors.

Entrepreneurs Become Angels 

More than half of angels (54.8 percent) have experience as entrepreneurs and often advise the startups they invest in, informally or as board members. Angel investors with entrepreneurial experience write bigger checks, with an average of $39,000 vs. $28,000 for angels without entrepreneurial experience. They also have more companies in their angel portfolios and see better returns.

More Women are Becoming Angels 

Women comprise 22 percent of angel investors in the study – and that number is growing. Among respondents who began investing since 2015, 30 percent are women. In comparison, studies have shown 5 to 8 percent of U.S venture capitalists are women.

Women Invest Differently than Men

51 percent of women respondents consider gender of business founders to be important when making investment decisions (compared to 6 percent of men). “This indicates that women are seeking to support women entrepreneurs,” says lead researcher Laura Huang. Another gender difference: twice as many women as men reported they strongly consider social impact of a startup when making investment decisions (33 percent for women vs. 16 percent for men). Both men and women angels agree that the quality of the founding team is the most important consideration when investing.

Eyes-Open Risk Takers

Angels said an average of 11 percent of their portfolio yielded a positive return. “That number is consistent with other studies that have shown 5 to 10 percent of angel investments yield a positive return for angels,” says Huang. “A deeper dive shows that where startups have been sold or gone public, 39 percent yielded positive returns for the angel investor.”


Do you need help finding an angel investor or accredited investor for your business? Contact us today, funding@omegaaccelerator.com 



Are you interested in working with a placement agent to find the business that is right for you?  Email us today to learn how we can help, info@OmegaAccelerator.com.



Sources:
https://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/faqs/
https://www.genglobal.org/united-states-gban/new-research-individual-angels-provides-insights-startup-ecosystem
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rencarlton 
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RenCarlton
https://www.facebook.com/TheOmegaAccelerator/
https://www.instagram.com/omega.funding/
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/funding-session-with-ren-carlton.html


Disclaimer:  This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service.  We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice.  Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties.  All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

X7 - What Do You Do? Answering This Question When Raising Money for Your Business Startup – Writing the Perfect Tagline

How do you answer the question what do you do when raising money for your business startup - tagline

One of the toughest things to answer when you own your own business is "What do you do?" 

In a previous post, I warned Remember, when someone asks you the question “what do you the fire hose? When someone asks you the question  Sips of water... It is a big mistake to try winging this. You need to have a script and a plan. The solution is having a tagline. This isn't an elevator pitch, but if it is well executed, it will lead to you giving elevator pitch.

What is a Tagline?

A Tagline describe the company in 50 characters or less. Simple English, no marketing jargon. It should provide a compelling sense of what we are doing and make people want to ask "How are you going to do that?"

If and when they ask this question, you have permission to go into your elevator pitch. If not, stop. They may ask again later. Maybe not during this exchange, but maybe another day, week, month, etc. Maybe a phone call. Maybe an email. Maybe never. This is critical. You don't want to be annoying. People don't invest in annoying.

If they don't ask you for more information, you are done. They may not be the right target. Your tagline may just need work.

Sips of water.

This is why a tagline is so important. It needs to spark interest. Your tagline should focus on a pain point of your customer, not necessarily the solution you are providing. The tagline needs to focus on something people will want.

Examples


It’s Amazing What Soup Can Do! - Campbell Soup
Simplifying home and life - Costco
Everything’s $1 - Dollar Tree
We bring good things to life - General Electric
Fuel Your Fire - Monster Beverage
Accelerating Financial Freedom Through Angel Investing - Omega Accelerator

Notice the difference between our tagline, Accelerating Financial Freedom Through Angel Investing, versus those of the billion-dollar companies listed. Our tagline needs to be more specific until we are a billion dollar company. This is simply due to the budgetary constraints of our marketing budget relative to the others.



Are you looking for funding for an idea or business, send us your stuff and we will take a look, Funding@OmegaSeedFund.com

Are you interested in investing time or money into any of our businesses, info@omegaseedfund.com

Are you interested in promoting your product or service to our audience, contact Opportunities@OmegaSeedFund.com


Disclaimer: This is only for informational and discussion purposes. This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service. We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice. 



Sources and Links
https://kopywritingkourse.com/company-slogans/
https://copywritingcourse.com/how-to-create-a-great-tagline/

Live Pitch Event - Ferndale, Michigan - Money for a Startup - Find up to $5 Million of Funding from Angel Investors - Ren Carlton

Pitch your business ideas directly to angel investors!  Ren Carlton will host the event.

Location

Incubizo
1938 Burdette
Ferndale, MI 48220

Date and Time

Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 1:00 PM-4:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time

Schedule 

1:00 - Registration Opens
1:30 - 4:00 Pitches

This is an invitation-only event.  If you would like to pitch your business, please send us your 45 second pitch video as soon as possible. Click here for instructions.



Meet our Hosts

Ren Carlton

Ren Carlton has spent his career starting, growing, selling, and funding businesses. After graduating from Oakland University, Ren earned his CPA license and served as the CFO of a Tier 1 manufacturing company. His passion for business led him to leave his CFO position to pursue several entrepreneurial opportunities. Ren now actively funds, launches, grows, and sells businesses. One of his key business priorities is to encourage and help entrepreneurs pursue bold, fearless goals. Along the way, Ren hosted an award-winning business reality network radio show and wrote Profitpreneurship: Creating a Business that Produces Outstanding Financial Results.



Haroon Bhatti MBA/MSF

Haroon’s reputation for business success has been earned the old-fashioned way: through hard work, recognizable results, and performance that consistently gives his clients a competitive advantage. Haroon specializes in Brokerage and Valuations for Mainstreet and Lower Middle Market companies. His company’s consulting division helps entrepreneurs develop exit strategies and get their businesses set up to be saleable so they can get the highest value in the market. He also owns two successful companies of his own in the Automotive Industry. Additionally, he holds a Masters of Business Administration and also a Masters of Science in Finance.




Aurore Henze, ND

Aurore is the founder of Health-Media Star, which create unique branding platforms healthcare companies. Services include copy-writing, journalistic SEO, major news network PR, internet show, podcast, video, website development, networking opportunities and social media (design and build). Aurore also speaks on a variety of topics: Easy Wellness Tips to Increase Immunity, Overcoming Addiction, Sensible Weight loss, Look Young and Feel Young: Anti-Aging. Aurore attended Clayton College of Natural Health and received a Bachelors of Science / Doctorate of Natural Health. Aurore studied Eastern Medicine, Nutrition, body mind. biology, structural therapy, wellness, alternative therapies, and pain relief.





Send us your video today for a chance to find up to $5 Million of Funding from Angel Investors, funding@omegaaccelerator.com.



Format

Founders that are invited to pitch at our event will have about a minute to setup. After delivering their 45 second pitch, we will ask clarifying questions. Then we will discuss the opportunity privately. After our discussion we will invite the founder back and we may:
-Offer to invest
-Make strategic introduction(s)
-Offer to help find funding
-Other?


If you are unable to attend our live pitch event, we will review your video and follow the process remotely.


Pre-Registration - Reserve Your Spot Early to Receive Preferential Treatment

-Email us Ideas@moneyforastartup.com
-We ask that you use the following email subject line to avoid our spam filters, “MFAS - Pre-Registration - Live Pitch Event - [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]" to avoid our spam filters.
-Click here for more information about how to send us a winning pitch video



Are you an investor or entrepreneur interested in helping us host a live pitch event?  Click here for more information.


Are you interested in marketing to our participants, audience, and network of over 20,000 funding sources and entrepreneurs?  Email Info@omegaaccelerator.com for details. 



Sources
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rencarlton 
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/RenCarlton
https://www.facebook.com/TheOmegaAccelerator/
https://www.instagram.com/omega.funding/
https://rencarlton.blogspot.com/2019/09/funding-session-with-ren-carlton.html



Disclaimer:  This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service.  We are not offering any legal, investment, tax, or medical advice.  Please consult the appropriate professional before doing anything you learn from the content posted on any of our digital properties.  All stories are based on true events, but are altered to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

All offers will be contingent upon passing our due diligence process.