Part of our strategy at Fubra is to invest a portion of our cash in business start-ups. In this post, I'm going to give you a few inside "secrets" as to our thinking when companies approach us for funding. If, after reading this, you think we sound like a good match then you should get in touch.
What we look for in an investment opportunity...
- An amazing unique product.
- Backed by a team of competent, motivated and hard working people who can deliver.
- The ability to build your product yourself. For web sites, this means you need a developer in your team as an equity partner. We're not interested in ideas that someone else has to build, as costs will quickly escalate and we may as well do it ourselves.
What we can provide...
- Cash.
- Marketing assistance - We have a network of well over 100 websites, 6 million visitors per month and 3 million subscribers - so plenty of scope for cross promotion. We can advise on all aspects of online marketing e.g. PPC and SEO.
- PR assistance - We have an in-house PR team and press contacts database. Our sites regularly feature in the mainstream press; printed, radio and TV.
- Development assistance. We have Linux, PHP, MySQL and JavaScript gurus who can assist with complicated bits of coding.
- Data mining - We have web spider experts who can help analyse and extract data from around the web.
- Hosting - We have racks in several data centres, including our own 14 rack private DC at our head office in Aldershot. We have also developed a hosting cloud infrastructure to help scale web applications to meet demand and this would be available to you.
- First line customer support - When your product takes off, we can integrate it into our support system and provide first line customer service.
- Office space - We have a 4000 sq ft office in Aldershot, which has a few rooms to spare.
- Mentoring and advice - Fubra has been around since 2000 so we know a thing or two about building web businesses. We would make this knowledge available to you as needed.
What we ask for, from an investment...
- A Realistic Valuation - You shouldn't be looking to get rich from the investment round itself. The cash is there to help the business succeed, and that's the point where you will be financially rewarded. How is your business worth half a million pounds with no sales or customers?
- Thrift! - You should keep your overheads as low as possible for as long as possible. Do you really need to hire a PR agency? If you're product is that good it should sell itself. Can you justify paying yourself a "market" salary? If you are paid a full market salary, what risk are you taking to justify your equity stake?
- Hard work and delivering on promises.
It could be argued that now is a better time than ever to start up a business. While established firms are more focused on cutting costs than delivering new products, start ups can seize the opportunities they miss.