There are several things you need to know before starting a challenging journey called “Find an Investor”.
All investors do the same job, but they are not the same
Not all investors are equal — you should target the right ones, those who are interested in investing in SaaS.
Try to collect as much information as possible
Take your time and do as much research as possible to know your potential investor better.
Find the best way to contact an investor
You should know how to create a message that will convert and make investors say “Yes” to a meeting or signing a deal with you.
Venture capital vs Angel investment
Angel investors are usually rich people, who provide startups at an early stage with private financial resources. They are ready to invest in risky businesses and usually get about-5-15% of its equity.
Maksym Babych, an expert in SaaS products, notes that angel investors can even mentor your project. Being involved in your business, they can provide you not only with financing, but with a professional advice and help.
Venture capitalists can allocate up to tens of millions of dollars. They usually cooperate with startups with high growth potential. VCs ensure the idea is viable and the team is skilled enough to build a product. Thus, their investments are less risky. Venture capitalists usually get 20-30% of company’s equity.
How to find potential SaaS investors?
There are several useful platforms you can use to get an access to large databases of potential SaaS angel investors.
AngelList
This American website is a place for startups and angel investors to meet. You list your company and provide details, investors in their turn share information about themselves: investments, experience, industry, etc. You should filter your potential partners by region because investors residing in Europe will be more interested in working with local businesses.
Angel investment network
It’s another place to connect with investors. The platform allows to create an account, add your pitch and show it to potential investors. It also lets you find out the area of investor’s expertise, his or her location and amount he/she is ready to offer.
Gust.com
This is another network with 80,000 investment professionals. You sign in with your startup, receive recommendations, and apply for SaaS investment opportunities with your profile.
YCombinator
This platform allows startups of any stage to submit an application and find investment. They have two rounds or batches per year and can fund startups from all over the world.
Offline sources! Meet them at a conference
Of course, tech conferences abroad are rather expensive, but such events can bring much value to your business. Just imagine how many people attend them having just one goal in mind — to expand their network. It is as simple as it could possible be — such conferences are attended by potential investors, who are interested in finding a groundbreaking idea.
Here are some of the tech conferences you can attend:
SaaStock
SaaStock is organized in Europe, North America, Latin America and Australia. Being attended by more than 4,000 SaaS founders, executives and investors, the conference’s main focus is SaaS growth opportunities and trends.
Web summit
This conference is organized in the capital of Portugal — Lisbon. Web summit joins together over 70,000 participants from many different industries.
SaaStr
SaaStr is organized in Europe and USA and is attended by 15,000 people.
LTV conference
This conference is organized in North America. There you can find angel investors, VC and private equity firm representatives.
Bio
Maksym Babych, serial entrepreneur and SaaS professional. Founder and CEO SpdLoad
