Type in your search bar ‘Find investors online’ and you will get about 330 million results. Seems incredible, doesn’t it? Is obtaining contacts for financing really that easy? Unfortunately, no. A bit more like a needle in a haystack! When you look a bit closer, most of them are articles about ‘how to’ find investors online, rather than the actual lists of investors. Talk of pros and cons, different kinds and where to look are all taking up valuable places on the list.
Trolling through the results is very time consuming. So much to sift through and distract, wasting hours of your day because you know you will end up reading many of the reports. Unfortunately, a lot are just written by people getting paid for the amount of keywords included, rather than the value of the content! Finding investors online takes a lot of patience and perseverance. Seemingly perfect references are mostly leads that require further investigation. Which often sends you off on a wild goose chase and finishes in a dead end.
GDPR
Of course, none of the articles direct you straight to the investor. Especially now with the General Data Protection Regulation rules (GDPR). This means it’s even harder to get the required information. You’ve probably heard the term already. It’s part of a European Union law that governs the collecting and processing of personal information. A recent law, only in existence for 3 years, but affects so many parts of life that most people have heard of it. GDPR is about protecting our personal data and requiring our permission to use it. As a result, more people are cagey about divulging information. A few GDPR databases are cropping up but no decent directories are free to peruse. But then why would they be? Information is power and power is always linked to money.
Investor Databases
Ascertaining which one is right to join is also a conundrum. You often can’t see exactly what you’re getting until you’ve signed up and paid your money. Sometimes misleading you into believing they are right for your new business venture. You’ve spent ages perfecting your pitch but it can end up in the spam box with the thousand other entrepreneurs that used the same details!
Many investor databases available online have other drawbacks. Segregated marginally by grouping into what type of investor, but still broad in terms of market interest. It’s true investors don’t like to put all their eggs in one basket, and diversification minimises risks. Spreading finances across many different industries makes a lot of sense but is hard to manage portfolios. For this reason, we advise approaching investors already in your field. Though sometimes it’s not wise to proposition an investor who already has a large chunk of capital staked in your direct competition!
Luckily, the huge population of UK consumers means there are many angles to each market available. Having fingers in lots of pies balances out the returns for investors. Knowing who to target is half the battle towards successfully achieving your funding.
Location, location, location
Lastly, the location comes into play. The world wide web of the Internet brings everything closer. However, many investors keep interests within their own country and international approaches for investment are often another waste of your time. Investing abroad is a very risky business. Fluctuating exchange rates on currencies can drastically affect the value of money invested. There are rules and regulations and always more costs involved with managing overseas investments. All in all, it’s best to stay within the UK shores as you will have more chance of appealing to the right investors.
So where could you find investors online?
We can help! Looking to approach investors online? Then we’re glad to say you’ve come to the right place. At Drop, our Investor Accelerator provides you with the necessary tools to reach out and connect with potential investors across channels including LinkedIn. We know it can be tricky to know if you’re on track so fear not – a dedicated campaign manager will be with you every step of the way.
Guiding you on:
-Mapping out your investor network
-Campaign Strategy
-Investor Psychology
-LinkedIn Templates
-Email Templates