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Someone wants to invest in my startup. Now what?
I work as a network engineer but have been working on a project for the better part of this year. I showed the demo to my employers, with whom I am very close, and they loved it enough that they want to invest. We agreed on a number for what my partner and I need to operate for about 6 months, they told me a percentage of the business they want... but now what?
I haven't formed my business entity yet and that is first priority, from what I've read. I know there innumerable blogs and articles written about starting a startup, but can anyone give me any tips that I might not pickup quickly on my own or anything I might overlook?
- wehadfun 13y agoNo tips but but did you employers know about this before you demoed it?
- newtothis 13y agoI told the one guy shortly after I started working on it, just casually, along the lines of, "Hey man, I started working on this thing and I think it could be really cool." There's still no public demo up (or I'd have linked it) but I showed him my dev build as it started coming together.
- waivej 13y agoFind a collection of experts you can turn to that are on your side: accountant, lawyer, web designer, insurance, business coach/advisor. You want your ducks in a row in these areas from the start even if you just have conversations and people picked out. Understand the danger of early stage investment. It can shelter you from market realities. It can also enable something big that you own very little of. My 6 month project turned into 12 years... It will take longer than you expect. The sooner you release something the better. Once you have people paying for something, it gets real and exciting.
- sharemywin 13y agocheckout stuff on lean startups. you'll need a term sheet.