Roger's brother, Henry has also been working on a new venture. He has invested $20,000 and six months of sweat equity to date in developing the concept. While he believes the idea has the same growth and profit potential as Roger's company, he knows that outside investors will require more detailed research and proof of his business model before putting up the $800,000-900,000 required to launch the company.
To take the company to an appropriate stage for serious outside financing, he seeks to raise $100,000 from outside investors. If he is right, the company will then have a prototype product, contacts with key customers and a well thought out business plan. If he is wrong, while it is possible that the business idea could be reformulated and salvaged, it is likely that the money will be lost and he will move on to a new project.
How should Henry approach the fund raising process for this seed stage project? What type of investors should he try to recruit? What problems will he have in raising money?
How should Henry value the company at this point? Should he seek to raise debt or equity? What deal terms are reasonable?