Boom! Is Russia’s Business Angel Market Ready to Explode?

Dogged by corruption and instability, Russia was once regarded as a difficult place to do business, but there are signs that times and attitudes may be about to change for the business angel market within the boundaries of this former Communist superpower.

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Getting a Good Deal from Business Angels

Much is written about how to attract business angels to invest in your business, but where is the advice for entrepreneurs on how to negotiate a good deal?

A visit to my local electrical store the other day got me thinking about how satisfying it can be to get a good deal, but also how difficult it can be to avoid some of the pitfalls while negotiating it.

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Renting office space for growth businessess – the options

Whether you’ve already got a business up and running or are planning on starting one up in the near future, then office space is always an issue that you’ll need to deal with.

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Business Angels Blooming

Retail outlets are closing up shop in the UK. UK banks are struggling to make sense of early stage or high risk investments – as they always have, and this is happening across the world.

At the same time Regional Development agencies are being closed and dismantled in the UK and the ‘free to present’ opportunities for entrepreneurs to meet business angels are due to be shut or ‘transferred’ in the next few months.

So, in this grim climate, can it really be said that the business angel investment sector is blooming?

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Angels Den Founder Bill Morrow on ‘Crowdfunding’

Crowdfunding, a model that raises funding for start-ups by harnessing the power of the Internet investor crowd has grown from similar models that already exist in the US, but Crowdcube is the first website of its kind to be launched with UK businesses in mind – will it provide all the answers for entrepreneurs who need investment?

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A Budget for Business Angels and some (but not all) Entrepreneurs…

There were some joyous early reactions to today’s budget particularly on the lunchtime news when Dragon’s Den’s Deborah Meadon among others got excited by the Chancellor’s tax windfall for VCs and how she could now take more risks with early stage companies… but exactly how much risk will business angels and VCs now take?

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Will it be a Budget for Business Angels or Entrepreneurs?

The government are hoping to close up any loopholes that allow wealthy investors to take advantage of tax breaks while also launching the most pro-growth Budget for a generation – can they pull it off?

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Business Angels and Startups Going Global!

The entire landscape of early stage funding is in a state of flux – new innovations in funding models are emerging to threaten the traditional status quo  and the world has become a smaller place for those adventurous entrepreneurs willing to take a risk internationally.

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The Metrics of Fundraising from Business Angels

One way or another, right or wrong, there will probably be a cost to you to gain access to the angel investment you seek for your business – or as someone once said to me, “It costs money to get money.”

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Inflation – Should Business Angels and Entrepreneurs Worry?

The short answer is yes and no it’s really down to how well prepared they are. Here’s why inflation can be both good and bad news for entrepreneurs and angel investors…

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3 (Very Different) Approaches to Angel Investing

Even though only 3% of businesses actually consider equity funding from business angels in the UK, three  different models of funding have emerged to try and bridge the gap between start-up entrepreneurs and business angels.

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Angel Investing – Nurturing Start-Ups

This should be an exciting time, you’ve waded through all those investment proposals and found a business that feels right, one that you believe has the potential to give you a profitable exit in 3 years. So what next? Will you be a ‘guardian angel’ or a hands- off angel investor?

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Enterprise Investment Scheme Under Threat

The Office of Tax Simplification will be reviewing all tax reliefs and allowances ahead of this year’s budget. The Enterprise Investment Scheme will be one of those tax reliefs under the microscope – but as investment through the scheme has slumped, the real question is, will it be missed?

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Don’t Make an Angel Investment before…

Okay, you’ve hunted down the best business proposals, you’ve sorted through the angel networks and found a good supply of deals… now, your network wants you to investment, the entrepreneurs appear credible – and hungry … do you press the button and write the cheque?

Or… do you continue with your due diligence?

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2011 – Year of the Business Angel?

2011 will be the year of the business angel as all the Business Angel as all the latent angel investors who didn’t bother risking it in 2010 decide this will be the year to jump in and live dangerously.

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Early Stage Funding – Why your First Shot is your Best Shot!

Investors talk and investors remember.

It is quite common for me to send out an executive summary to an investor or investment group only for them to say something like, “Yes, I know of this company. Are they still looking? We took a look at this last year and told them to come back once they have a little more traction. Have they got any sales yet/did they get the product out?”

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Early Stage Funding – The Rules of Attracting it

How many frogs can you kiss in 6 months? Fundraising is not for the fainthearted!

Anyone who has ever tried and been successful in courting angel investment will know only too well that the process of attracting investment into your company can be slow, time consuming and energy sapping.

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3 Questions every Business Angel must ask – and every Entrepreneur needs to Answer

There are three questions that every business angel (or Venture Capitalist, for that matter) will ask, and hence, these are the three questions that every entrepreneur and investment proposal needs to answer. That is, assuming the entreprenuer wants to get funding.

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5 Things to Keep Business Angels Awake at Night

“I’m not investing in that, I’m out!” If only it was that that simple. TV makes the process of selecting and getting involved in start-up business investment seem easy. The reality for business angels is somewhat murkier.

With this in mind let’s take a look at 5 things likely to keep business angels awake at night…

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The Secret Philosophy of Angel Investing

Can having a grasp of ancient philosophy lead to more successful outcomes for business angels?

The usefulness of studying philosophy at university came up in a conversation I had recently. What is its relevance in today’s world? Can ancient Greek philosophers like Plato teach us anything about how to conduct ourselves in an environment so far removed from Greece thousands of years ago?

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