Angel Investing, Entrepreneurship & Learning

Well, it officially came out this morning on Techcrunch that FundingUniverse has acquired the social media analytics company TwitJump.  As part of the deal, Alex Lawrence, a local serial entrepreneur, will be joining the FundingUniverse team as a board member and Chief Evangelist.

We’re super excited about this announcement as this technology is one small piece to our ever-growing strategy to help small business owners.  Over the 2 years, we have really expanded our vision from the original idea to help entrepreneurs connect to angel investors.  That is still at the very core of what we do, it’s just that now we can do so much more.  We’ve taken a broader focus to small business funding and have added over 400 banks across the US to our platform.  We can now help business owners navigate their way to obtain SBA loans, unsecured lines of credit, business credit cards, equipment loans, alternative loans, and equity investments.  This alone has made a huge impact on our ability to increase the number of companies getting funded.

We’ve also expanded our product line as to help business owners grow their business.  For example, it many cases, business owners need to lay a stronger foundation before approaching a bank to get a business loan.  This may include getting a website, writing a more solid business plan, and/or improving their marketing & sales strategy.  We can now identify the needs of the business owner and then figure out efficient ways to offer them what they need.  By so doing, this improves the business owner’s chance to succeed.  A by-product of that is an increased chance of getting approved for a business loan.

That’s where TwitJump comes into play.  We are excited about the opportunity to really help up and coming companies increase their social media strategies to increase their customer base.  Unlike anything theretofore, social media has evened the played field to allow small businesses to play on the same level as large companies.  If used correctly, we feel strongly that small businesses can use social media strategies to attract new customers and increase sales.  We have already seen many case studies from clients (chiropractors, restaurants, tech companies, etc.) that are proving out our assumptions.

You’ve also heard that we are expanding across the US.  We have already hired reps in Arizona and Colorado, with the hopes to get 3 more reps hired within the next couple of months.  It’s an exciting time right now at FundingUniverse and I’m enjoying the ride!

223 Comments(4)http://brockblake.com/2010/02/11/fundinguniverse-acquires-twitjump/FundingUniverse+acquires+TwitJump%212010-02-11+14%3A33%3A25Brock+Blake

FundingUniverse is on a tear.  I will be posting periodically with various positions we will be hiring for.  Feel free to email me – bblake AT fundinguniverse DOT COM.  We offer a really cool place to work, great benefits, a stable and successful company, with a fun group of nice people to be around.  Sounds decent enough, eh?

Here are some of the details:

Senior PHP Developer
PAY:  $55,000 – $75,000 DOE

Description:

Lead a team of developers building an exciting new site from the ground up.  Plan, track, and develop along with the team during sprints.

Experience:

• 3 years minimum PHP 5 experience
• OOP expertise
• Experience with PHP frameworks (Kohana, Code Igniter, Cake)
• MYSQL, with experience planning and deploying databases
• Solid UI skills
• HTML/CSS/Jquery experience
• Experience prototyping and planning large consumer web apps
• Rapid development (SCRUM) experience preferred

Bachelor’s in computer science, information systems or other technical degree a plus.

222 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2010/01/25/now-hiring-please-comment-email-andor-forward%e2%80%a6/Now+Hiring%21+Please+Comment%2C+Email+and%2For+Forward%E2%80%A62010-01-25+16%3A12%3A20Brock+Blake

Great things are happening on the FundingUniverse front.  It’s been a while since I’ve provided an update so I figured that I would talk about some of the exciting things that are happening lately.

1. Great team. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, so much of a company’s success depends on the quality of talent that you can attract.  Thus far, we have a tremendous team in place and I’m excited about the results.  When you have talented individuals around you (we added a new addition within the last couple of months — see here) that surpass expectations on a regular basis, it motivates you to be at your best — that is happening right now with our team and it’s exciting to be a part of it.
2. Expanding product line. Over the past year, we have really rounded out our offering in order to be almost a full-service business solution for our customers.  What I’m most excited about is that we are constantly adding new funding resources to our model to help out more and more business owners.  Recently, we’ve landed a partnership deal with an aggressive SBA lender and now more than 70% of the clients that we send their way are getting approved for a business loan.  Instead of just helping on the angel/VC side of things, we can help a lot more entrepreneurs in a variety of ways.
3. Opening up new markets. Over the past few months, we’ve been pushing hard to open up new markets in Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ; and Portland/Seattle.  We’ve got great partners in each of the region (including Amazon, GangPlank, NOW advisors, Jive Communications, SEO.com, Newswire, etc.) and it’s allowing us to do some fun things at our CrowdPitch & Speedpitch events in those regions.  Not only have we announced that all of our events will be FREE from now on (for everyone in attendance), we are also giving away a $15-$20k prize package for the winner of each event!  This has attracted the attention of ABC phoenix and others.

Need your help: We are hoping to have 8-12 offices open throughout the US by the end of 2010 — if you live in an area outside of the above mentioned markets and are interested in being our local market rep (or know anyone that might be interested), please let me know!  We are always looking for good talent.

221 Comments(3)http://brockblake.com/2009/12/11/fundinguniverse-expanding-across-the-u-s/FundingUniverse+expanding+across+the+U.S.2009-12-11+19%3A57%3A57Brock+Blake

For those of you that know me well, know that I’m a die-hard BYU fan.  It would be a very rare occasion for our family to miss a BYU football game.  You should also know that the BYU/Utah rivalry is one of the most heated rivalries in the country and dominates almost every conversation in the state of Utah no matter where the setting (work, school, church, etc.).

So this year, I decided to start the fun on Monday morning by bringing BYU football sugar cookies for everyone in the office.  Afterward, I sent out an email to the entire company announcing that it was “BYU week.”  Here are a few things that followed:

• On Tuesday, our admin brought in UofU cookies and gave them to all of the employees
• Our CTO, Trent Miskin, played a nice joke and replaced our company logo (on our website) with the BYU logo.  The funny thing is that only those within our office network could see the logo.  Most people didn’t know this and were shocked that we would change our FundingUniverse logo with the BYU logo for ALL to see!
• Then, the other developers swapped the BYU logo with the UofU logo AND made it so everyone’s computer background was changed to a UofU picture.
• Finally, on Wednesday afternoon (the day before Thanksgiving), my admin planned a fake meeting for me out of the office so that Alex (my partner) and the rest of the FundingUniverse team could do this:

Believe me… I was shocked! I couldn’t believe that they painted my office! That being said, I seriously thought it was hilarious and wasn’t upset for a second. Since then, everyone was asking how I would get him back. I had quite a few ideas on what to do, but I figured that the scoreboard was good enough. Since BYU won 26-23, here was my response:

At the end of the week, it was just all good and fun and I can’t wait until next year.  All I know is that between now and then… BYU has all the bragging rights!  GO COUGARS!

(Don’t you think Alex looks great in that BYU shirt?!!)

219 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2009/12/05/a-little-bit-of-rivalry-fun-at-the-office/A+little+bit+of+rivalry+fun+at+the+office%212009-12-05+20%3A07%3A53Brock+Blake

I have always known this, but it has become 100% apparent that so much of success is dependent on the quality of talent that you have leading the ship.  Talent is an interesting thing to define:  talent isn’t experience, talent isn’t age, talent isn’t about the same skill set (all CEOs, etc.).  To me, the best team consists of a strong combination of the following characteristics:

• A strong combination of experience (people that have “been there, done that”) and energy (those that don’t care how it’s been done before — they push limits and find solutions).  Interesting enough, I wrote a blog post about this some time back.
• A combination of people that have VERY different skill sets.  This is key.  Each member of the management team should have very different things that interest them.  The more diverse the skill set, the more you appreciate each other.  In addition, it allows each to really focus on the areas that allow them to succeed.
• A team that is ultra-driven (as opposed to those that are just there for a 8-5 job).  When one member of the team decides to take his/her contributions to the next level (i.e. performance is high), this automatically will motivate the team around him/her to step up their game.  This only happens when the team is very driven.
• A team that is full of problem solvers.  This characteristic may be the most important attribute that sets the “A” players from the “B” players.  When someone is a problem solver, they don’t get stuck on hiccups/challenges.  They don’t come to management to ask how to solve each problem.  After being assigned a task, they won’t stop until they figure out a solution.  I love problem-solvers.

There’s no question why investors always say that they’d rather invest in an “A” management team with a “B” idea than a “B” management team with an “A” idea.  “A” teams will figure out how to make the “B” idea a success while “B” teams will figure out how to make the “A” idea a failure.

What other attributes have you seen in great teams that I am missing?

217 Comments(3)http://brockblake.com/2009/10/21/its-all-about-talent/It%27s+all+about+talent2009-10-21+13%3A49%3A02Brock+Blake

Yesterday, we had another committee meeting to discuss the details of the upcoming UtahStudent25 awards gala.  If you haven’t heard about this awards program, you’re missing out.  Led by BYU Professor of Entrepreneurship/Angel Investor/good friend John Richards, the idea is to recognize the state’s student entrepreneurs.

Utah Student 25 is an awards program that recognizes the top student-founded businesses in Utah, encouraging growth and interaction with Utah’s renowned entrepreneurial community.

The goal of the Utah Student 25 is to encourage growth and entrepreneurial activities in the state. We help student entrepreneurs get the recognition they need to thrive, as well as provide them with resources to contribute to Utah’s economy and their communities. Winners receive recognition, significant exposure, and opportunities to interact and mingle with successful Utah leaders, including entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capitalists.

I’m excited to be a part of the committee and am especially excited for the awards gala that will be held on November 5th at the Grand America Hotel.  If you are interested in attending, you can go here to register.

216 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2009/10/20/utahstudent25-awards-gala-november-5th/UtahStudent25+Awards+Gala--+November+5th2009-10-20+13%3A37%3A32Brock+Blake

I’m in the Portland Airport writing from my new iPhone (which I love). We are just leaving town after hosting a LivePitch event here in conjunction with PortlandTen, NedSpace, Stoel Rives, and Lunch2.0. We had around 125 people in attendance and saw 5 pretty awesome companies pitch.

I love these events. I love seeing the passion of the entrepreneur in action. I love to see the vulture and variety that is so apparent in various cities throughout the US. I was especially excited today because we announced to the group that we are looking to expand permanantly into the NW and hire someone up here — and we had a lit of interest.

We are also looking to go to other markets also: Colorado, Arizona, and SoCal to name a few. If you or someone you know is interested, let me know.

Each person that we recruit in the local market will be focused on 3 things: community development (angels, entrepreneurs, universities, business organizations, etc), events, and attracting new revenues. Let’s be honest, it’s my dream job!

After leaving events like this, i’m reminded how much the business community needs them. We need to move quicker to spread them out to our already-existing custers throughout the US. Here we come!

215 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2009/08/26/coming-to-an-area-near-you/Coming+to+an+area+near+you2009-08-27+00%3A04%3A59Brock+Blake

The organizing committee of the Utah Angel Investor of the Year has announced the top 15 finalists.  Here is the list:

• Alan Hall
• Craig Earnshaw
• David Carter
• Gary Williams
• Hal Widlansky
• JD Gardner
• John Richards
• Kent Thomas
• Kyle Love
• Mark Madsen
• Martin Frey
• Nobu Mutaguchi
• Robert Kunz
• Scott Frazier
• Warren Osborn

If you are in Utah, the event is next Tuesday — make sure you register!

• Tuesday June 23rd
• 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
• Hilton Alpine Room, 255 S. West Temple, SLC, UT
• $25/seat, $200/table (includes lunch)
• www.investoroftheyear.org

213 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2009/06/18/top-15-finalists-for-angel-investor-of-the-year-announced/Top+15+Finalists+for+Angel+Investor+of+the+Year+Announced2009-06-19+03%3A47%3A57Brock+Blake

I mentioned a few weeks back that we were conducting some in-depth research on Angel Investing.  Well, on Tuesday, we shared some more information with the world as the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum asked us to speak on the “State of Angel Investing in Utah.”

Here are a few highlights of the presentation:

• 60 active angel investors surveyed
• The economy significantly affected angel investing as of November 2008
• Average number of angels/deal = 4.26
• 72% of investments had a pre-money valuation between $750k and $3M
• 85% of angel investments were less than $1M
• 55% of investments were in software/technology/SaaS deals
• 65% of investments were some type of preferred equity

Intrigued? Feel free to download the “State of Angel Investing in Utah” via PDF.  Please make appropriate attributions. 

DISCLAIMER:  This data is still very early in the process.  We are still collecting data and I am definitely not a statitician.

208 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2009/06/17/current-state-of-angel-investing/Current+State+of+Angel+Investing2009-06-18+05%3A03%3A25Brock+Blake

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working with the local community to put together the first-ever Angel Investor of the Year Award here in Utah.  We’ve partnered with several entrepreneurial-minded organizations to put it on and, thus far, it’s been a great process.  Nominations were open for about 6 weeks and it was amazing to see the variety of nominations that were submitted.  From the most well-known angel to the “under the radar” individual — we received them all.

After receiving nominations, our organizing committee interviewed each of the nominees to find out responses to questions like:

• Tell us about how you got into angel investing?
• Tell us about your portfolio companies and investment history.
• What are your motivations for angel investing?
• etc.

As you can imagine, they have been some fascinating interviews!  Anyway, the committee has met and narrowed down the list to a group of finalists — which should be announced tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Oh yeah… one more thing.  For those of you in Utah, the can’t-miss award luncheon will be next Tuesday (June 23rd) at the Hilton in downtown SLC.   Click here to register.

206 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2009/06/17/angel-investor-of-the-year-utah/Angel+Investor+of+the+Year+--+Utah2009-06-18+04%3A49%3A48Brock+Blake

At FundingUniverse, we are in the process of doing an intense research study on the current Utah angel investment market.  We are partnering with the heads of each of the angel groups to gather the information.  Here is a quick teaser on more information to come:

• 93 Utah investors surveyed
• 49 investors said that they are still actively investing (52.69%)
• 2 investors said that they were syndicating deals, but not leading any new ones (2.15%)
• 21 investors said they are no longer investing (22.58%)
• 21 investors said that they are not making any investments outside their current portfolio (22.58%)

I have spoken to several people about this survey and have received drastically different responses.  One of the questions that I have is:  given the current state of the economy, are those statistics more optimistic or less optimistic that you had expected?

204 Comments(6)http://brockblake.com/2009/04/08/the-angel-investor-survey-says/The+angel+investor+survey+says...2009-04-08+17%3A00%3A25Brock+Blake

I received a google alert today that linked to this article mentioning that the Tech Coast Angels (the largest angel group in the world) funded BikeStation.  The press release boasts their first “triple bottom line investment benefiting people, producing profit and saving the planet.”

First of all, with the economy and all, I’m stoked to see any press releases hitting the wire of companies receiving angel investments.  However, I was very surprised to see TCA making an investment in what seems to be a high-end bike shop/storage station.  Don’t get me wrong — I love the concept, but it doesn’t fit into the typical angel investment mold.  Some of the questions that I have:  how large is the market?  What’s their sustainable competitive advantage?  Will they really be able to return 10x the investment?  How long will the station be relevant?  Hey, it could just be a nice PR play.

I think that it is brilliant PR by Bikestation to push such a strong green message — it’s such a hot trend right now that even NBA bball players are wearing their green initiative t-shirts.  In fact, I heard from an executive several weeks ago who told me that they tried raising investment capital for about 6 months without any luck whatsoever.  Almost hopeless and ready to give up, they decided to go back to the drawing board and re-brand the company to be green.  2 months later, they again hit the funding trail and the reception was completely different and — you guessed it — they raised a few million.

I may not completely understand the investment, but I give props to the team at Bikestation and wish them the best of luck.

202 Comments(2)http://brockblake.com/2009/04/07/interesting-investment/Interesting+Investment2009-04-08+01%3A56%3A34Brock+Blake

So…as you can tell by my last post, I’ve been looking into getting an iPhone.  The only problem with getting an iPhone is the requirement to switch to AT&T/Cingular.  I’ve been on T-Mobile for years and have been happy with the quality of service and the affordable rate plans (you can’t beat 1500 minutes for $39/month).

So… the question I know have is… have you (or anybody you know) unlocked an iPhone to use on the T-Mobile network?  If so, could you please tell me the risks of doing that?  Or even better… convince me why I shouldn’t?

Thanks for your help in advance!

200 Comments(6)http://brockblake.com/2009/01/01/have-you-unlocked-an-iphone-3g/Have+you+unlocked+an+iPhone+3g%3F2009-01-02+05%3A11%3A22Brock+Blake

A few months back, I realized that I was coming up to the end of my contract with T-mobile.  I have been a loyal T-Mobile customer for nearly 10 years.  (A good friend of mine and I won cell phones after winning a flag football tournament.  At the time, T-mobile was VoiceStream and has since converted to T-mobile.  Anyway…)

When I found out that my contract was coming to an end, I was debating whether to switch to At&t so that I could get the iPhone or stay on T-mobile and get Google’s new phone — the G1 (I’ve had the Blackberry Pearl for several years).  I decided that it would be worth it to wait for the release of the G1 to see what kind of reviews the phone gets compared to the iPhone.

When the phone was finally released, I was really surprised disappointed.  The phone has received mixed reviews (by experts and normal users) and pales in comparison to Apple’s sleek & sexy iPhone.  Personally, I haven’t ever heard anyone speak highly or recommend getting a G1 — the release was almost anticlimactic.  After looking at both carefully, the bulkiness of the G1 put me over the edge and I’ve decided to pick up an iPhone.

At the end of the day, I guess that I’m disappointed with Google’s first attempt at a phone.  Google does so many things well (email, calendaring, search, photos, groups, etc.) and I am an avid user of most of their applications.  Because I love their user experiences and their easy-to-use software programs, I had high/unmet expectations for the phone.

That being said, the functionality of the G1 appears to be fairly impressive… maybe Google ought to hire a few creative designers from Apple?!

196 Comments(5)http://brockblake.com/2008/12/29/disappointed-with-the-g1/Disappointed+with+the+G12008-12-30+04%3A58%3A32Brock+Blake

For those of you that haven’t heard, next week Utah will join hundreds of countries across the globe to celebrate entrepreneurship!  It’s Global Entrepreneurship Week around the world and we (FundingUniverse) have joined forces with Grow Utah Ventures, USTAR, Zions Bank, etc. to host a state-wide summit at the South Town Expo.  It should be an action-packed day with speakers and panels on many entrepreneurial topics including:

• Steps to Funding
• The Art of Negotiation
• Young CEO’s
• Managing a Small Business
• Internet Marketing
• Valuation
• Term sheets
• and more…

For more information and to register, go to www.gewutah.com.

In addition to the Summit, we’re hosting another LivePitch event for entrepreneurs, service providers, angels, students etc. and this time we’ll be venturing up north to Logan!

194 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2008/11/13/entreprenuer-angel-summit-in-utah/Entreprenuer+%26+Angel+Summit+in+Utah2008-11-14+03%3A26%3A58Brock+Blake

One of the things that has been on my mind since I attended the Gnomedex 8.0 conference was how social media can positively and negatively affect the FundingUniverse brand.  Now, I realize that “social media” is a very popular buzz word these days — everyone (& their dog) is talking about social media and I’m trying to decide if the buzz is justified or if this is a fad similar to podcasts and other new media.

Some of you might be asking… what is Social Media?  I’m no social media expert, but I’m referring to the following platforms:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Company Blog
• iPhone & Facebook Applications

193 Comments(1)http://brockblake.com/2008/09/04/how-does-social-media-effect-fundinguniverse/How+does+Social+Media+affect+FundingUniverse%3F2008-09-05+04%3A21%3A53Brock+Blake

While reading through my daily google alerts, I came across an article that grabbed my attention.  The article is about the Northwest-based venture capital firm Monster Venture Partners and Rob Monster’s thoughts on the early-stage venture capital market.  The quote that stood out to me was:

“To keep up the current pace of investment and incubation, and capitalize on current low valuations and low operating costs for funding startups, now is a good time to raise an early stage fund,” says Monster. “In 24 months, many of the companies we back today will be ripe for harvest.”

I agree that now is a great time to raise an early-stage venture capital fund.  However, when I say “early-stage,” I’m not saying investments of $3-$5M, I’m saying investments of $750k-$3M.  Here are a few reasons why:

1. It is widely known that there is a funding gap above the traditional angel investment ($300-$750k) and below the traditional VC investment ($3M+).
2. Most of the current VCs can’t play in that space because their investment fund is just too large.  For example, if they have a $100M fund, it wouldn’t make sense to do 100 investments at $1M each because it would just be too hard for them to manage all of those portfolio companies.
3. Most of the current VCs move up the food chain (into the larger investments) bc their management fee (salary amount) is usually getting a management fee of a certain percentage of the fund size.  So, if their fund size is $100M and their mgt. fee is 2%, then they have $2M for salaries, office space, etc.  But, if their fund size is $200M, then they have $4M for salaries, office space, etc!  Make sense?
4. As Rob has mentioned, with the advancements of technology, it doesn’t require as much capital to start and grow a company as it used it.
5. And finally, there are A LOT of very good opportunities in that investment stage.

I realize that there are a few aspects that detract from investing early-stage — one of them being the fact that the deals are, well, early-stage.  That often means that the deals are higher-risk because the company has yet to attract significant traction and/or revenue.  That being said, I think that the market is under-served and the opportunity is large.

Who’s ready to raise an early-stage fund with me? 

192 Comments(2)http://brockblake.com/2008/08/29/early-stage-venture-capital-market/Early-Stage+Venture+Capital+Market2008-08-30+02%3A56%3A13Brock+Blake

It’s been fun to watch the Paul Allen story unfold.  If you didn’t know, Paul is one of the co-founders of FundingUniverse and the brain child behind the original website.  He is also a board member that I respect & trust.

A few years back, Paul was the founder of Provo Labs — a technology incubator in Utah County.  While they had a talented team and a lot of good ideas, ultimately the program didn’t turn out the way they were hoping because they were too scattered with an admitted lack of focus.

As a result of that experience, Paul got back on track and focused his attention on his area of expertise:  internet marketing, families, and geneology and started the World Vital Records/FamilyLink property.   Periodically, I’ve been able to get updates from Paul and I can tell that they are just rocking!  The company is growing quickly and he has attracted a lot of attention.

I was especially encouraged when I saw an article last week that had his facebook app We’re Related on the Top 25 Facebook App list as #33.

Congrats, Paul.  Keep up the good work (and don’t forget about FundingUniverse) during the process!

190 Comments(1)http://brockblake.com/2008/08/27/props-to-paul-allen-the-lesser/Props+to+Paul+Allen+%28the+lesser%292008-08-28+02%3A35%3A19Brock+Blake

Thanks to Chris & Ponzi Pirillo, Trent and I are here in Seattle attending the Gnomedex 8.0 Conference… and I have to say that I am impressed.  I’ve attended a lot of conferences and this one blows most of them out of the water.  I really like how they approach topics and do their best to include the audience into the show.

So far, we’ve talked about:

• www.ma.gnolia.com
• icanhascheezburger, the owners of the FAIL blog (and others)
• Search life meets real life — talking about how our “online” identities/world mix with our real-life identities/world
• Meet Generation Y:  16 yr. old Mark Bao (who has already sold 3 facebook apps) is interviewed by Francine Hardaway (60+ yr. old evangelist)
• Using Social Media for Good Causes
• I’ve also conducted a few interviews (for a new hire that we are looking to make here in the NW) during my breaks — and they have gone well too

Good times.  Fun conference.  I love Seattle — gorgeous town (and I can’t wait to bring my wife back in a few weeks).

189 Comments(0)http://brockblake.com/2008/08/22/very-impressed-with-gnomedex/Very+Impressed+with+Gnomedex2008-08-22+22%3A33%3A01Brock+Blake

There are a couple of resources from Paul Graham of Y Combinator that I have come across recently that I think are very beneficial for those entrepreneurs trying to raise investment capital.  Here they are in no particular order:

1. Paul has recently posted an entry called, “A Fundraising Survival Guide.“  Here are a few key highlights:  a)  fundraising is hard — very hard.  b)  It takes investors a long time to make a decision because of the combination between investing a lot of money and the fact that they are often dealing with topics in which they are not experts.  c)  No matter what, you need to keep the company moving forward.  This works best when there are 3 founders — 2 to keep the company going and 1 to focus on fundraising.  d)  Strive to get to “ramen profitable” as soon as possible — which means that you are making just enough money to eat ramen noodles.  That way, you’re not desparate for an investor’s money.  e) Odds are against you.  According to one VC, only 1 out of 800 deals will receive an investment from their firm.  f) Figure out why investors are rejecting you and improve your pitch.  g)  Key factors in an investor’s opinion about you are the opinions of all the other investors about you.  And finally… h) raising money is hard!
2. Y Combinator to Offer Standard Funding Legal Docs: According to Techcrunch, it appears that the Y combinator (in partnership with the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati) will have links to some standard legal docs for an early-stage (first round) of funding.  Believe me, the legal expenses for a small round can really cost the start-up a lot of money and so I think that this is a great idea.

Thanks to Paul & the Y Combinator team for the resources.

188 Comments(1)http://brockblake.com/2008/08/18/great-resources-on-fundraising/Great+Resources+on+Fundraising2008-08-19+04%3A02%3A27Brock+Blake