New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Question

One of my Board members referred me to your site because we are currently raising funds.  We are a little out of the direct investment league for NVL as far as I can tell.  To date, we have raised almost $3MM of friends and family and we are seeking $5MM more to monetize the community we have built.  Our Company is an online community with 45,000 members world-wide.  I would be pleased to hear if we are in or out of your ballpark and how we might work together.  Also, could you please comment on the current venture capital environment.  I am told that this is a very difficult time to raise venture capital.

Answer

While our direct investment amounts are small per deal ($100k and less), we offer capital raising services for companies that need over $1 million in capital.  We've raised as much as $75 million for a single venture, but most of the raises have been in the $2 million to $10 million range.  We are happy to discuss our services with you to see how we can assist you.

In terms of the current venture capital environment, it is true that the venture capital industry is currently in a downtrend in terms of investments and more importantly, in terms of trying to take their current portfolio companies public to gain liquidity in their investments.  However, there are still some very hot investment sectors including lead generation and social networking, both of which you appear to have as part of your business model.  I therefore think you could gain some attention from venture investors.  The trick is to approach the right funds at the right time in their fund life with the right message.