How do I get my Start-Up in front of an Angel or VC?

Hello all,

A close friend and I have been working on a pretty unique application for the iPhone and Android that revolves around taxi services in urban cities. We have put some capital into the project to get the ball rolling, specifically around application development and minor marketing. However, we are looking for additional sources of funding, preferably through an Angel or VC. Besides through a network, are there other avenues that can be taken to get the idea across? We have presentation materials on hand that we are happy to send around.

Thanks for any help!

8 Comments
 

one way to get a vc or angel's attention is to directly contact them, although i know the success rates are very low. Another way could be to get into a major tech publication such as techcrunch. If you aren't able to get any funding, you could try to bootleg it with your own cash. Since its an iphone app, i would suggest you try and bootleg it because iphone apps don't usually attain the high valuations vcs and angels are trying to achieve.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

We are looking to raise something in the low 100s range that will be used toward app development and primarily marketing the product.

I haven't heard of Angel.co, but it looks like a great resource. Haven't tried kickstarter yet, will take a look today.

 

Have you tried applying to a tech incubator/accelerator? You get mentoring, access to a huge network of engineers/marketers/finance people/lawyers/other entrepreneurs, and these connections will easily put you in front of VCs, major publications, etc.

Y Combinator (http://ycombinator.com/), TechStars (http://www.techstars.com/), and 500 Startups (http://500.co/) are probably the most well-known ones (in that order). All of these programs operate in only certain geographic locations (i.e. if accepted to Y Combinator you have to move to the Bay Area). There are many other programs. Most programs invest for a slice of equity. The more well-known programs also have the perk of having VCs that guarantee an offer of a 6-figure convertible note investment.

As you can imagine, these programs are very competitive to get into.

 
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