Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Everyone,

I am in Europe and I know that US VCs rarely invest here.  However some may partner with a European VC for a funding round but this is rare. The US VC industry is miles ahead of anywhere else in the world. You may have to move your operations to the US in order to get US funding.

However, you might be able to find a Business Angel in your country. I think you would be better off looking for local investment. 

 

It sounds like you’ve been bootstrapping your media company for a while and accomplished a lot with what I assume were rather modest financial resources.

Since overall investment activity in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere is on an all-time low, I’m not sure if your situation would be any different if you were located in one of the VC key focus areas. Most funds simply stay clear of new investments at this point because (i) established funds are either fully invested and have been unable to exit from previous investments due to the economic downturn, or (ii) the launch of new funds has been postponed due to the jitters in the capital markets.

Aside from these general trends, I think you will need to look locally for any potential investors. The VC landscape may not be as fully developed in the Mid East, but this doesn’t necessarily translate into a disadvantage for potential portfolio companies. Look outside the traditional VC landscape and research large institutional investors such as insurance companies, investment funds, banks, etc. According to the 2008 Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report, the Mid East accounts for almost 12% of the global High-Net-Worth population, which is significantly higher than that in North America (9.2%).

To get your creative juices following, you can download our free white paper “How to reach High-Net-Worth Individuals with your Private Placement/Regulation D Offering” at
http://insights.fastventures.com/is-bin/guides/htg10302208/index.php

The document is laid out for the U.S., but I’m sure you can use it as a roadmap for communicating with potential investors in the Mid East as well.

One more thing, you mentioned in your post that you received a few awards and recognition for your work. Try to make this work for you. Contact publishers of special interest periodicals and newspapers to see if they want to report about you and your company. Early-stage investors tend to follow this kind of news and may well contact you.

I hope this helps.



Mark



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Jackson Steiner
http://www.JacksonSteiner.com

Advanced Document Design for entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and the financial services industry.
http://www.Publications.FastVentures.com