BC Start-Up: Raising the seed money

From the moment we wake up on Friday morning at 7 a.m., there isn't a minute to waste. This Friday, as with almost all Fridays, we will make five investor presentations - in rapid-fire succession.

We won't take breaks because there isn't any time for them. The minute an idea pops into an individual's head and he or she chooses to follow through, it's a never-ending race to launch.

Adrenaline pumping, I throw on some slacks and a crinkled shirt I wore last week, shovel some food in, and race over to Miles' house to pick him up. Dressed in similar attire, business casual with a dash of disorganized, Miles darts to the car with the Mapquest directions folded in his back pocket and we are on our way to presentation No. 1. The ride there is a non-stop discussion of personality analysis: Who is the person? What is his relationship to us? I tell Miles this particular guy tends to be very impatient in the mornings, and we should spare him all details that are not essential. Miles tells me that given his profession, we should focus on concept and steer clear of the financials. In sales we have learned quickly that a well thought-out, strategic approach to a meeting is almost as important as the content.

After an hour and a half of building rapport, presenting, fielding questions, and introducing our start-up, Textworks, it's time to drop the line: "Well, we hope that we have piqued your interest today, but in order to get this service to the market, we need a quick infusion of capital to get V1 in the air. As you know, we are in our friends-and-family round of financing to raise a minimum of $100,000, and, as entrepreneurs, we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't ask you if you would like to invest. We are selling 8 percent of the company, at a $2.5 million valuation with a minimum investment of $10,000. Would you like to invest in Textworks?" That constitutes our Fridays and Saturdays.

Even as I write about this right now I can't believe how far we have come. The one thing about being a college entrepreneur is you are young, fresh, and full of ideas, but given your lack of experience you are always at a disadvantage. But, that's almost what makes this so fun and invigorating. We're always a little bit hungry, always on our toes. Nonetheless, in nine weeks we have made over 25 presentations to potential investors, raised $90,000 in seed financing with another 30 to 50 on the way, retained a lawyer for 2 percent of the company, and continue to present to venture capital firms, some of whom sat on the panel of the Boston College Venture Competition where we took second place. (I highly recommend the BCVC as a starting point if you are interested in entrepreneurship).

We have learned valuable lessons throughout this process:

(1) Fund-raising is a difficult process and will take a lot longer than you think;

(2) Even though some people will become very excited and say they will give you the money, never count on having that money until it is actually in the bank;

(3) Some people will be very helpful and introduce you to connections, but other seemingly helpful people are of no use;

(4) If someone doesn't invest, always try and get another contact out of them;

(5) No appointment is wasted because you will always learn something or figure out that a part of your business plan needs more attention;

(6) Networking is just as important as raising the money;

(7) Don't give up if the first 15 people don't give you money. Instead, you should be happy because you are getting closer;

(8) Sure, there will be some downtime, but to launch a company is to change the way one lives.

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