8 Tips On How Much Money To Ask For From Investors (2024)

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Startups ask me “How much money should I ask for?” The simple answer is the absolute minimum amount you need to make your plan work. Some entrepreneurs try to start with a huge number, hoping they can negotiate and close on a smaller one, while others understate their requirements, in hopes of getting their foot in the door with an investor.

Neither of these strategies is a good one, as both are likely to damage your credibility with potential investors, even before they look hard at your plan. Here are the parameters you should use in sizing your request, and be able to explain in justifying your request to investors:

  1. Consider implied ownership cost. If your company is early stage and has a valuation under $1M, don’t ask for a $5M investment. The investor would be buying your company five times over, and he doesn’t want it. If your valuation is around $1M, you can validly ask for $200K-$300K, and offer 20%-30% of your company in exchange.

  2. Type of investor. Angel investment groups usually won’t consider a request over $1M, while venture capitalists won’t look at anything under $2M. Amounts of $100K or less, are usually relegated to “friends and family.” Approaching any one of these groups with a funding request outside their range is a waste of your time and theirs.

  3. Company stage. If your company is still in the “idea” stage, you have no valuation, so size your investment request on the basis of “goodwill” that you have with your rich uncle, and your business track record. Angels might be interested during “early stage” if you have a prototype, but VCs won’t bite until you have a product, customers, and revenue.

  4. Calculate what you need, and add a buffer. Do your financial model first with the volume, cost, and pricing parameters you want. See where your cashflow bottoms out. If it bottoms out at minus $400K, add a 25% buffer, and ask for $500K funding. The request size must tie into your financials to be credible.

  5. Investment terms. The most common case is an equity investment, but there are many terms that can impact what request size is credible. I’m talking about things like anti-dilution clauses, preferred versus common stock, valuation tied to later round, warrants, and bridge loan options. More restrictive terms reduce the credible investment amount.

  6. Single or staged delivery. In many cases, a single investment request may be scheduled for delivery in stages, or tranches (often misspelled as traunchs or traunches), based on milestone achievement. Obviously, this reduces investor risk and allows a larger commitment, since they can limit their loss if you fail to meet key objectives.

  7. Use of funds. Investors expect to see a “use of funds” list, and they expect the uses to apply only to your core mission. In other words, don’t tell investors that you intend to buy a fancy office building or executive cars with your funding. Even executive salaries should be minimal at this stage.

  8. Projected return on investment. Most entrepreneurs skip this step, but it helps your credibility to include it. Estimate a return on investment (ROI) by projecting company valuation at exit, to show the investor who has 20% what he will get back for that initial investment. He’s looking for a 10x return, since he assumes only one in ten survive.

Obviously, determining the proper size of your investment request is a non-trivial exercise, but it’s one of the most critical factors for investors in making a decision to invest or not to invest in your company. You need to get it defensibly right the first time, because changing your request under pressure definitely will kill your credibility.

The days are gone, if they ever existed, when you could present an idea and a vision, and have investors throw money at you. Now you have to do your homework. Get busy, and have fun.

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Marty Zwilling

Read more posts on Startup Professionals Musings »

Read the original article on Startup Professionals Musings. Copyright 2013.

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8 Tips On How Much Money To Ask For From Investors (2024)

FAQs

How much money should I ask for from investors? ›

If your company is early stage and has a valuation under $1M, don't ask for a $5M investment. The investor would be buying your company five times over, and he doesn't want it. If your valuation is around $1M, you can validly ask for $200K–$300K, and offer 20–30% of your company in exchange.

What is the 10% investor rule? ›

A: If you're buying individual stocks — and don't know about the 10% rule — you're asking for trouble. It's the one rough adage investors who survive bear markets know about. The rule is very simple. If you own an individual stock that falls 10% or more from what you paid, you sell.

How to ask for money from an investor? ›

Talk about the problems your company solves in the marketplace. Provide a detailed picture of your revenue model and how your business will make money. Show them a demo! You should also show evidence of your growth potential and any expected milestones.

How do I know how much to ask for an investment? ›

The most important factor to consider is how much money you need to reach your financial goals. If you're seeking funding to start a business, you'll need to factor in the cost of inventory, overhead, marketing, and other expenses. Another important factor to consider is the stage of your business.

What is the 20 investor rule? ›

In summary, a disclosure document is not required when: an offer is a personal offer, and if: offers or invitations have been made to fewer than 20 persons in the previous 12 months, and. the new offer will not result in more than $2 million being raised in that 12 months (see sections 708(1)–(7));

What is the 1% rule for investors? ›

For a potential investment to pass the 1% rule, its monthly rent must equal at least 1% of the purchase price. If you want to buy an investment property, the 1% rule can be a helpful tool for finding the right property to achieve your investment goals.

What is the 8% rule in investing? ›

As Morningstar noted, Ramsey recommended that retirees invest all of their assets in equities and then withdraw 8% a year of the portfolio's starting value, with each year's expenditures adjusted for inflation. For example, if you have a $500,000 starting portfolio, you would withdraw $40,000 in Year 1.

What is the 70% investor rule? ›

Basically, the rule says real estate investors should pay no more than 70% of a property's after-repair value (ARV) minus the cost of the repairs necessary to renovate the home. The ARV of a property is the amount a home could sell for after flippers renovate it.

How to ask for funding from an investor? ›

Your pitch should be clear, concise, and persuasive. It should also be tailored to each individual investor. Investors are going to want to know your numbers, so it's important that you're prepared to share this information. This includes your sales projections, financial statements, and any other relevant data.

What is a fair percentage for an investor? ›

A fair percentage for an investor will depend on a variety of factors, including the type of investment, the level of risk, and the expected return. For equity investments, a fair percentage for an investor is typically between 10% and 25%.

How much ownership should an investor get? ›

There are, however, a number of words of wisdom to take on board and pitfalls for a business to avoid when taking their first big step. A lot of advisors would argue that for those starting out, the general guiding principle is that you should think about giving away somewhere between 10-20% of equity.

What is a good percentage to offer an investor? ›

How Much Share to Give an Investor? An investor will generally require stock in your firm to stay with you until you sell it. However, you may not want to give up a portion of your business. Many advisors suggest that those just starting out should consider giving somewhere between 10 and 20% of ownership.

How much should investors get back? ›

Most investors would view an average annual rate of return of 10% or more as a good ROI for long-term investments in the stock market. However, keep in mind that this is an average. Some years will deliver lower returns -- perhaps even negative returns. Other years will generate significantly higher returns.

How much do investors usually take? ›

As such, 15-20% equity is usually a good number to offer an investor, depending on how much money they inject into the business.

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