We work with thousands of funding sources, representing every continent except Antarctica, and the feedback from them is similar worldwide that almost all Startup Companies seeking funding are a waste of time, keep reading to find out why, and learn from this so you become a better applicant who receives funding.
Almost all entrepreneurs from startup companies enter the funding process woefully ignorant and then they blacklist themselves from ever receiving funding by broadcasting their ignorance throughout the internet instead of learning what they should be doing if they are interested in receiving funding. Funding sources call this the “I am stupid and I am right” mind set. Then, other ignorant people add comments, it becomes the blind leading the blind, and all of you blacklist yourselves because funding sources see these comments during a due diligence process then decline your projects for investment because they have no desire to be business partners with the ignorant and unprofessional, I see this frequently.
Numerous funding sources fund projects worldwide within any industry that is legal within any country, for startup and existing companies, daily. Many of them have changed their corporate philosophy and now refuse to fund ALL startup companies because there is a phrase used in the funding industry called “time wasters” for applicants who are ignorant, deaf, dumb & blind, who enter the funding process unprepared, do not listen to direct feedback from brokers & funding sources about what to do to receive funding, and then when their projects are declined, they blame everyone but themselves and go back onto the internet and waste everyone else’s time, which infuriates the funding industry. As a result, investors talk to each other and as professional courtesy, they warn each other about “time wasters” so other investors do not waste their time, the applicants become blacklisted by the funding industry.
If you have been on the internet for more than thirty days and no funding source has spoken to you, asked you to sign a contract, and started the due diligence process to verify the accuracy and honesty of you, your company, and all submitted paperwork, GET OFF THE INTERNET, analyze the mistakes you have made, and STOP WASTING EVERYONE’S TIME. Investors are typically parts of many investor groups and when an applicant is declined, or found out to be a liar, unprofessional, or a time waster, that information is shared with other investors as professional courtesy and you become blacklisted, one of the reasons less than 1 % of all startup companies EVER receive funding. Investors also know how long you have been seeking funding and know that if you have been seeking longer than thirty days that you have made numerous mistakes and are difficult to work with which is why no funding source has started the due diligence process to potentially fund your project.
Too many Applicants think the process consists of announcing you need money and waiting for someone to hand it to you, no questions asked. This is not charity; you are expected to be able to explain how an investor will have a profitable investment, and how an investor will be repaid for any debt you incur. If your proposal is to only repay a percentage of future profits, stop wasting everyone’s time on the internet. Existing companies will be asked to provide audited financial statements, startup companies will be asked for notarized bank statements to verify assets.
All applicants will be asked to provide cash and noncash collateral, if you expect an investor to provide 100 % investment and assume 100 % of the financial risk, stop wasting everyone’s time on the internet. If you are a Startup Company who thinks an investor will give you money in exchange for equity only when your company does not have established revenue and profit stop wasting everyone’s time on the internet. Do not seek funding until your company is legally registered, you have a completed business plan & completed draw down schedule for the exact amount of cash you are seeking, otherwise investors will gauge that you are not ready to receive funding.
Also, go to a bank, and apply for a loan first before going onto the internet, and learn the process. You will need to pay fees, you will need to legally be a company, have all financial statements, budgets, business plans, corporate biographies, etc. ready before applying. There is a reason entrepreneurs are on the internet seeking funding, banks have already declined them for funding because they are deemed high risk investments. Any applicant who claims to be a no risk or low risk investment on the internet is seen as naïve and a liar by investors, and you will not be taken seriously.
Furthermore, investors do VERY THOROUGH due diligence before deciding whether to invest in a project, and ALL applicants go through due diligence at their own expense because some applicants lie and submit fraudulent applications that become declined. If you ever have made ignorant or negative comments on the internet, PLEASE DO NOT APPLY because you will be declined for funding. Investors have ZERO INTEREST in being business partners with anyone who is ignorant or unprofessional and they will find your internet comments during the due diligence process, so please think very carefully before you make internet comments, they will come back to haunt you, I see it occur frequently.
Applicants who think that companies are fraudulent because they charge due diligence or any other fee are ignorant and time wasters, funding sources know that many applicants are liars who submit fraudulent applications and they will not spend their own money to perform due diligence only to find out the applicant is a liar, fraud and time waster. Also funding sources hire attorneys to create contracts, accountants to verify financial statements, budgets, and other financial documents, and industry consultants who are experts in your industry to help verify if a project is an intelligent investment, these consultants charge thousands of dollars for their time, and funding sources pass those costs to the applicant because they are tired of eating that cost only to find out the applicant was a liar, fraud and time waster.
Learn from this advice because I have direct feedback from funding sources that some have left the industry because they are tired of wasting their time with the numerous liars, frauds and time wasters applying for funding, and many have switched corporate philosophy and no longer fund startup companies because of the ignorance, lack of professionalism, and rampant unprepared volume of applicants who waste everyone’s time and then broadcast their ignorance throughout the internet after their projects are declined for funding, or after they are caught lying during the due diligence process.
Ask anyone who funds projects for a living to verify that less than 1 % of ALL startup companies ever receive funding, and that almost all applications from startup entrepreneurs are a waste of time because of ignorance and a lack of preparation. Learn from this and be prepared before you seek funding. You make ONE first impression; make it a first impression that is not wasting everyone’s time.
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