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Entrepreneur FAQ
What is the Central Investment Network? The Central Investment Network is an online platform designed to connect entrepreneurs (looking for growth or start-up capital) and angel investors (looking for investment opportunities). The Central Investment Network is unique in that it offers a local, national and global platform with partner networks across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. The Central Investment Network is continually growing, developing and updating its extensive database of angel investors. What is an Angel Investor? Originally, the term "angel" was coined to refer to the people who financed Broadway plays when all else failed. Today this term has become common within the investment community to refer to a high net-worth individual that invests their own personal funds in various businesses. In the US, it is estimated that there are well over 200,000 potential angel investors that annually invest approximately $3 billion in US businesses and currently own over $12 billion in existing equity. This represents roughly 7% of what the banks are investing. Statistics also show that this figure trumps that of venture capital lending. The US labor market and productivity centre estimates that angel investments have financed approximately twice as many firms as any other form of external equity investment, including institutional venture capital.
Who is a typical Angel Investor? Angel investors are often retired entrepreneurs or executives, who may be interested in angel investing for reasons that go beyond pure monetary return. These include wanting to keep abreast of current developments in a particular business arena, mentoring another generation of entrepreneurs, and making use of their experience and networks on a less-than-full-time basis. Thus, in addition to funds, angel investors can often provide valuable management advice and important contacts. What is the difference between an Angel Investor and a Venture Capital firm? Angels make their own decisions as opposed to a board or group of people making a decision for investors that have pooled money together. Angels tend to be more involved in the businesses that they invest in and provide assistance in ways that venture capital firms do not. Angels typically do not own as large a stake in the company as a venture capital firm would. Another benefit of being an angel investor is the reception of certain tax incentives from investing in US controlled small businesses. How much does it cost? More information can be found on Our Rates Page. Why isn’t it free of charge? Many people have asked us why we charge entrepreneurs for the service. Firstly we are running a commercial enterprise and don’t get any public funding, so we need to cover our admin and promotion costs, pay staff to check your submission and pay for the upkeep of the website. Secondly we are providing a valuable service to the entrepreneurs who need the much needed to support to get their ideas in front of investors. To set up a serious business with outside funding you do need to be prepared to spend some money. The fee is very low compared to other companies in the industry who will often charge around 5% of the amount you wish to borrow. Do I have to pay for every contact? No, the Express, Express Plus and Global Express Plus packages all give you to access to the contact details of ALL the investors who wish to contact you. Your proposal remains active for 90 days and all investor contacts are included in this period. You do not need to pay for each contact. Why don’t you take a success fee instead? If you think of Angel Investment Network as the funding equivalent of an online dating agency it makes more sense. You wouldn’t expect a dating agency to only get paid if and when you marry the partner you found on their site. They wouldn’t be able to find you or know you were getting married without employing a private detective! Likewise we can’t hope to individually track everyone who enters their idea over the internet. Often all we have is an email address for you. Plus we have no control over how good your idea is and therefore your likelihood of finding an Angel. There may be a few Angel groups who don’t charge upfront, but they heavily screen incoming ideas and reject about 90% of them, which means most people are left without a chance of connecting with Angels. How do I know if my proposal has been received? You will know that your proposal has been received if it appears in the "active proposals" list of your member's area. If no proposal appears in your member's area then you will need to re-submit your proposal. Always write your proposal in a word processing program and cut and paste to avoid the page timing out.
Why isn’t my proposal appearing in the list of recent proposals? If you have just submitted your proposal, it is probably because we haven’t approved it yet. We have to read and activate each proposal before it is released to the investors. Alternatively it may be because you have just edited your proposal, which means that it is removed from the system until we reapprove it. Does my company have to be established? No, we accept projects at every stage of development – from ideas to start-up companies to mature businesses. Even if your project is still an idea, it could still be of interest to the investors. They might even have the relevant knowhow and expertise to get the ball rolling. Is there a maximum/minimum investment? No, our investors are interested in projects ranging from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars. Are the contact requests automated? No, all the contact requests you receive are from investors who have read your investment proposal and decided they want to discuss your project in more detail. Who are the Angel Investors on this website? The investors on our website have been compiled from databases of angel investors, company directors and private investment groups. They also include individual investors who have registered in the hope of finding investment opportunities. Our database is continually expanding with new investors looking to invest in companies like yours. How much information should I include in my proposal? If you are worried about confidentiality we would advise you not to give away too many details in your proposal. Try and write enough to get the investors interested in your project without revealing the key ideas. In the "Useful Documents" page of our "Get Investor Ready" section, you will find a free NDA document, which you can get all the potential investors to sign before presenting your idea in full. How is my privacy protected? The site was developed using proprietary database management tools and a secure server is used to assure that no one sees your business or personal information. Your information is not offered to any third party for any purposes and is guaranteed to be kept confidential and private. Why should I use this service? As an entrepreneur, you are already aware of the growing resistance of banks in the US to finance small business. It is virtually impossible to obtain financing without having secured assets, providing personal guarantees etc. Angel investors are the logical source to provide financing to small businesses. With $1 billion invested annually in the US and growing all the time, the main obstacle is locating and presenting your idea to this large group of investors. The Central Investment Network allows an entrepreneur to:
a) Find a source of capital.
b) Find an experienced investor that can provide guidance and support.
c) Make it all come together in a fast and efficient way. How will I attract the attention of potential investors? When dealing with an angel investor, at the very least your proposal should address the following:
- How much money do you need?
- Why do you need it?
- When do you need it?
- What are you willing to give up to get it?
- When and how can you pay it back?
Investors need your answers to these questions before they will even consider helping you. They are not looking for "pipe dreams" or unprofessional sounding proposals. They expect a reasonably sound business plan as well as an understanding from entrepreneurs that an investor is not going to just blindly hand over significant sums of money with no strings attached whatsoever. They may be angels but there are limits to what they are prepared to do. How can I pay if I don't have a credit card? If you are unable to or feel uncomfortable using a credit card, you can pay by PayPal, MoneyBookers or bank transfer. Why am I being asked to pay again? You have to pay the Express, Express Plus or Global Express Plus Fee for every proposal you submit. Due Diligence Please be aware that after the initial match has been made it is the entrepreneur's responsibility to carry out diligence on the investor. Please inform us of any suspicious behaviour. I have other questions. Who do I contact? Contact us by email: admin@centralinvestmentnetwork.com
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Latest Investors
United States > Illinois
$10,000 to $50,000
August 28, 2010
Seasoned Angel Investor and Investment Banker
Worked for a boutique investment banking firm
Co-Founder of Enovative Kontrols Group- successfully raised $600,000
for the company and have successfully guided the company to
profitability and sales growth of 30% 5-yr CAGR
Successful sold and raised financing for 20 deals while working as an
investment banker
United States > Florida
$25,000 to $150,000
August 28, 2010
15 year intenational business experience, Willing to involve in the project
operation as advisor.
United States > California
$25,000 to $150,000
August 28, 2010
I am currently living outside the US but am interested to move to
California.
I have a Bachelors in Computer Science and an MBA degree from the
US
and currently run a manufacturing setup of garments in Pakistan. I
would be interested in investing in a field in which I have an
understanding of the business. I would also like to be involved in the
business modalities.
I am a fairly trusting person and would appreciate a reciprocal basis
of trust and partnership. Also i would be interested in working with
someone who themselves have some investment of their own in the
business.
I would appreciate a good and secure business opportunity with mutual
benefit.
United States > Colorado
$25,000 to $150,000
August 12, 2010
Individual investor forming an investment group
Over 25 years in domestic and international business.
Experience in mobile phones, real estate and travel industries.
2 MS Degrees.
Would consider investment with a hands-on or advisory role
United States > Massachusetts
$10,000 to $100,000
August 11, 2010
Married, 56 yrs old located in Boston ma. Currently , president of a few
real estate development and management companies but previously
owned and ran an importing/manufacturing company which sold to the
big box retailers throughout the USA.
I am an individual investor who would be willing to advise and possibly
be hands on with the right deal.
United States > Minnesota
$1,000,000 to $10,000,000
August 4, 2010
I am a consultant, that acts as a conduit between entrepreneur and VC.
My partner and I have close connections with over 250+ VC's They
have grown accustomed to the quality deal flow we have been bringing
to them, over the past 15 years. Actual deals number 46, size of
fundings we have facilitated are between $1MM, and $50MM.
United States > Utah
$50,000 to $500,000
July 22, 2010
I'm 50 years old, married, and live in Orem, Utah. For several years I've
been participating in hard money loans in amounts ranging from $1 to $15
million to real estate developers. My participation levels have been from
$50,000 to $500,000. I'm only interested in 1st positions at better than
50% LTV.
United States > Florida
$5,000,000 to $25,000,000
July 2, 2010
Capital Corp Merchant Banking is part of a Group that was formed 25
years ago to meet the growing needs of Companies / Clients and
Promoters looking for Funding and Professional Assistance in a diversity
of Projects.
Capital Corp Merchant Bankings has developed close working
relationships with groups of Professionals: Specialists in Finance,
Commercial Risk Insurance and Re-Insurance, International Accounting
Firms and Laws Firms as well as the largest Valuation Firm in the world,
American Appraisal Associates.
United Kingdom > essex
$50,000 to $10,000,000
June 24, 2010
I am a Business Consultant for Capital Access Network. We are the
leading provider of funding for small to medium sized business.
United States > California
$0 to $1,500,000
June 23, 2010
Experienced investor, based in Southern California, seeking investments
throughout the U.S. Professional/investor experience - various industries
including banking, consulting, tech and media; Education - MBA; Other
value-adds - various industry contacts, experience; Anticipated
involvement - advisory; Status - individual investor.
United States > California
$0 to $5,000,000
June 23, 2010
Based in California; background in consulting, healthcare and finance;
individual investor; anticipated involvement is advisory.
United States > Pennsylvania
$10,000 to $100,000
June 13, 2010
I represent a corporation with successful retail/ wholesale business
in USA . Principals exploring investment opportunities to invest extra
capital not needed in the present business operation.
United States > Maryland
$250,000 to $5,000,000
May 27, 2010
Creative tech strategist, designer, writer, and
marketing exec. w/over 20 yrs. exp. in education, business + consumer
products, health, electronic games, + non-profit sectors and investing.
I love a challenge and create tech design, marketing + development
firm. Projects include: game design for largest digital game company;
creative + writing for Fortune 100 software business; social strategy
for ATM vendor; creative + writing for a green manufacturer; product
design, development, + mktg. for educ. startup; tech advisory + planning
for several tech startups.
Ex.startups design, develop, and sell Rich Internet Apps + innovative
tech products + services.
What I look for:
Creativity:
Few great companies achieve their success solely on the original
vision. I look to invest in scrappy teams driven to create value; teams
whose "planning saviness" provides added upside as well as a hedge
on downside.
United States > Colorado
$0 to $10,000
May 18, 2010
Personal Information:
Age: 37
Marital Status: Married
Location: Denver, CO
Profession: CPA
Education: Masters Tax
Canada > Calgary
$1,000,000,000 to $1,000,000,000
May 5, 2010
Calgary AB based investor with background in telecomms, IT,
CPG and Oil and gas.
I'm a US CPA and a Cornell MBA. I have served on the board of
directors of a US listed mining company, with exploration
properties in east Africa. I'm looking for viable investments
seeking seed funding. I tend to be hands on and am also able
to
lend credible prior experience to your project in an advisory
capacity.
United States > Utah
$1 to $500,000
May 4, 2010
I am a Professional Engineer with an MBA. I have experience in
managing and creating systems and tools for businesses to excel in
revenue and profit growth. I am a successful investor in the stock
market. I have various international contacts to help companies that are
looking to go international.
I am an individual investor looking for companies that are past the
seeding stage, have revenue and that are looking to get to the next
stage in their business and need help in getting there.
I am flexible in the amount of involvement that is required in the
business.
United States Minor Outlying Islands > Texas
$5,000 to $150,000
May 1, 2010
We are organizing in May 2010 as a small Accredited Investor group of
attorneys and physicians, located in Dallas, Texas. Expected
investment capital per year is $1-2 million. Although our focus will be
80% commercial real estate and going concerns, we will actively seek
entrepreneurs who have a valuable idea or product in the start-up
phase.
United States > Arkansas
$25,000 to $1,000,000
April 29, 2010
I am a married active investor. Laser-focused on Real Estate start-ups and
growing companies (rehab, purchase and fix & flip). I am a hands-on,
results-focused executive with 20+ years of diverse experience
designing/executing leading-edge business development, marketing, and
investment strategies to drive achievement of corporate business growth
objectives. Dynamic in orchestration of multimillion-dollar business start-up,
turnaround, and growth ventures.
United States > Texas
$5,500,000 to $7,000,000
April 20, 2010
Executive w/ top 5 financial firm in the United States.
United States > Georgia
$10,000 to $200,000
April 20, 2010
34 year old, married, live in Atlanta.
Have started and sold 2 businesses. One was an outdoor clothing
company and another was a transport company. I currently own a health
care/mental health company which has been my primary focus. I am the
business director for the company.
Anticipated involvement - advisory or silent.
I am an individual registered investor.
I am seeking to invest in small companies with good growth potential
and great management.
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