Few things as exciting as starting a business

Amongst all the exiting developments, projects and business deals from last year, one of the highlights for me was the successful start up of a community for entrepreneurs and investors where business ideas get funded. Together with my business partner, we have long dreamt of contributing to business funding to support entrepreneurs in South Africa. Finally we were able to launch Investors Network and today the business is going from strength to strength. During the process of doing this though, I realised just how much I love setting something up.

Amongst the many experiences I recall from setting up the business, what really stands out for me is the realization of the challenges that entrepreneurs face when starting a business in South Africa. The difficulties with telecommunication, the struggle with the banks, the many bits of paper work and the fact that almost everything takes much longer than first anticipated. But most of all the day we first opened the doors is what stands out most. Few things in the business world beats that feeling.

Starting a business is one of the best feelings you can experience (along with jumping out of an aeroplane – but that is for another day!) You realise that entrepreneurs don’t do these things just for money but for the sheer thrill. I have met many would be entrepreneurs seeking investment from me in the last few years. I do get turned off immediately if I suspect the only desire driving the team is money. It simply is not enough to keep you going.

I also remembered a quote from an entrepreneur that I had worked with on a project a few years ago. She said that you do not have a business until you have a customer. The events of last week brought that to life for me. Many of us come up with great business ideas and some of us may do something with this idea (like form a company) but very few take the critical step of turning that idea into a business. That is truly the scary bit – but it is about emotions rather than money.

Investors will not invest in a business that cannot prove strong customer demand. Sometimes all you need is a letter of intent or pre-orders and you have transformed your idea into a business.

My advice in this blog is to all of those of you who have a great idea but have not done something with it….

Go for it – make it happen. I promise you that even if you crash and burn – the thrill of having gone for it will give you a smile that will last for eternity. To misquote Dickens “Better to have loved and failed, than not to have loved at all”

All the best, and as always, I am happy to help

Funding Resources for Entrepreneurs

When starting a business its interesting how steep the learning curve is around areas that you may not have considered before. Funding of course is one of those areas which, especially as a new or first time entrepreneur you may not have spend much time thinking about before.

Ive recently come across some extremely useful articles and funding resources on the Investors Network website, some of which you can find bellow.

Types of Business Funding for Entrepreneurs
How to Get Business Funding
How to prepare a small business for investment
Tips on getting business funding
Options for Funding a small business

And many more.. Happy reading

How to get business funding: On Investment Network

There is a great article on the Investment Network Blog this week, so if you are looking for business funding or know someone who is, here is the link.

How to Get Business Funding | investorsnetwork.co.za: "How to Get Business Funding"

Increasing demand for business funding in South Africa

The recent trend regarding the strong demand for business funding in South Africa showed few signs of losing pace according to a recent research study conducted by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The IDC who is the government body responsible for amongst other issues for injecting venture capital into viable new businesses ideas in South Africa.

The good news is that with the demand for business funding increasing, research suggest that the availability of business funding is following suit.

Christo Fourie, head of venture capital special business unit (SBU) at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), said prior to the formation of the SBU in April last year, the IDC conducted research to determine likely activity levels.

“The unit was formed to fill a funding gap and its mandate is to provide funding to businesses in their seed and start-up phases of development. We will fund the development of new and innovative technologies in any industry and not just the typical areas such as information and communications technology,” Fourie said.

However, since the IDC became active in the venture capital arena several new entrants have come into the field.

“There is a lot more interest in investing in new companies. However, there is still room for more players and we welcome additional competition because there is only so much that one team can do,” Fourie said.

It seems that venture capital firms are keen to invest in the right ideas. Business owners often make the mistake of thinking that funding is difficult to come by, when in actual fact there is plenty of funding to go round, provided that you have a viable business idea, clearly outlined in a succinct business plan.

In a recent visit to a business funding and venture capital conference in London I was astonished at the levels of funding actually available. In conversations with a range of venture funders it became clear that venture capital firms need to invest money in new ideas for their business models to work. These companies are often frustrated by the number of investable business plans they receive, especially at higher levels of funding required.

Acquiring funding for your business does not have to be the large obstacle entrepreneurs make it out to be and help is now at hand with aquiring the right venture capital firm for you through SA Business Plans venture capital research service. The real challenges lies in the next phase of your business when putting the strategies laid out in your business plan into place and being flexible and innovative enough to turn the idea into profit and to grow the business to fulfill your vision.

Remember that it may often be worth it to ask for guidance or support, and may find that obstacles are there to be overcome especially with the right support.

Enablis and FNB launches R50mil Business Plan Competition

This year Enablis and FNB has once again joined forces to support new entrepreneurs with an exiting R50mil business plan competition. You need to hurry as the competition closes on the 30th of August 2008.

This year, the competition is bigger, with R 50-million in potential funding allocated for entrepreneurs, R 30-million more than last year. FNB, Seda, Microsoft, the Free State Development Corporation, the Sunday Times, Spier Earth Capital, Revlon, PostNet, Khula and other valuable sponsors and partners have joined Enablis to make it the biggest business plan competition ever run not only in South Africa, but on the African continent.

With 50-million in potential funding for entrepreneurs, there will be 30 winners selected from ten competition categories. This years categories include manufacturing, construction, agriculture, tourism, transport & logistics, IT, media, marketing & communication, “green” business, personal services and business & professional services.

A new and exciting category in the competition is the green/eco business category. R 10-million is allocated by Spier Earth Capital for the launch or expansion of environment related goods and services that can address key South African energy, water and pollution needs commercially. Spier Earth Capital is a new initiative of the Spier Trust.

The Free State Development Corporation has also allocated R 20-million in funding to promote entrepreneurs in the Free State start and expand their businesses. Entrepreneurs in the Free State have the opportunity to enter a provincial leg of the competition.

Previous winners’ businesses, ranging from fleet management software to food processing, have been funded with millions of rands as a result of the competition. A new innovation this year is that all entrants will be able to check their business plan score and the judges’ comments on the website after the competition has closed.

The competition will select 30 winners from 100 finalists, who will be chosen from entrants throughout South Africa. The finalists will present their business ideas to a panel of judges in Johannesburg made up of experienced South African and international entrepreneurs. Winners will also receive laptops, cell phones, software, business training and membership of the Enablis entrepreneur network.

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