Angel investors and venture capital
Many dream of receiving millions of dollars because they have been backed by angel investors or venture capitalists.
This takes an excellent business plan which shows the potential to earn millions of dollars, lots of networking,
and a willingness to give up control of the business to let "the professionals" grow your business. Angel investors and
venture capitalists don't want to waste their time on small opportunities, so your business must be geared to grow to be a
market leader in a short period of time.
Angel investors and venture capitalists also want a clear exit strategy, so your business needs to be designed so it can
go public or be sold to another company within 2 to 3 years.
Angels and venture capitalists invest in their areas of expertise and
focus on a particular stage of the business (seed capital, early stage, etc.). Networking to find the right fit is essential.
Some corporations can also act as angel investors if your product or service is adding significantly to their business. However many times
they want full control, so they buy your company rather than investing in it.
Read this BEFORE you start looking for an angel:
Businessfinance.com has this free venture capital workbook
Raising Equity Learning Center
You can also find information and view videos about the equity market, creating a pitch and doing a deal at the
Raising Equity Learning Center. Click here for more information
Videos and templates from the Wisconsin Angel Network
The Wisconsin Angel Network has developed videos and a presentation template to help people get venture funding.
The National Venture Capital Association provides sample documents for a venture capital agreement. These documents try to fair, eliminating bias or hidden legal traps that might benefit the experienced venture capitalist. You should compare any documents that you have with this "best practices" agreement. Click here to go to the Model Venture Capital Financing Documents
Heartland Angels
Heartland Angels is based in Skokie, Illinois. It is a private equity network that brings together accredited investors with early stage start-up companies and real estate opportunities.
Click here for more information.
Hyde Park Angels
Hyde Park Angels is an organization that provides a forum for entrepreneurial-minded members to invest in seed and early stage businesses, primarily located in the Midwest.
Click here for more information.
i2a: early stage venture capital fund investing in Illinois
i2a is is a venture capital company that makes investments up to $1 million in Illinois technology, consumer products, and new media companies.
Click here for more information.
Ceres Venture Fund - early stage venture capital fund investing in Illinois
Ceres Venture Fund is a venture capital company investing in early stage health care, information technology, and business service companies in the Midwest.
Click here for more information.
Illinois Ventures - early stage venture capital fund investing in Illinois
Illinois Ventures is a venture capital company interested in information technologies, physical sciences, life sciences and clean technology.
Click here for more information.
Angel Investors of Chicago
The Angel Investors of Chicago is an alliance of highly experienced developers and investors dedicated to providing capital to early and mid-stage entrepreneurial companies.
Click here for more information.
Invest Illinois Venture Fund
Invest Illinois Venture Fund is operated by the State of Illinois. The fund makes investments in Illinois-based, investment grade businesses with high growth opportunities.
It supplements other investment funds, so you must have an outside lead investor before applying to this fund.
Click here for more information.