How to Secure Funding for Your Startup

Did the holidays take their toll on your waist line? Maybe so but that’s the wrong kind of bootcamp. This is a boot camp charged with teaching you how to secure funding for your startup. This boot camp for entrepreneurs is conducted by Maverick Angels, an angel investing network who not only funds startups but is also committed to providing education that will help new ideas get off the ground.

This is an all day event and costs the business owner $495. During the day, presentations are given from industry experts including Maverick Angels investors, as well as lunch with tax, patent, and small business attorneys for a Q&A session and later pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs in search of funding. During this time, those in the boot camp will ask questions of the presenter to help further refine their presentation.

But this one day boot camp is only the first step. Once this day is over, The Deal Line Up is next. One week later boot camp attendees are invited to present their idea to the Maverick team. They get 10 minutes to pitch their idea and then a 10 minute Q&A from the Maverick team. From here, the Maverick team decides if they are ready for the next step. A “yes” means they can move on, a “maybe” means that they have further refinement to make, and a “no” vote marks the end of the process for that entrepreneur.

If they are selected to move on, the entrepreneur gets to present their idea to the Maverick Angels Arena, a group of 60-75 angel investors. Although it costs $1,000 to present, this presents the opportunity to pitch to all of these potential funding sources in one room. The work involved in securing time with this many angels would take far more than $1,000 worth of time and resources so this opportunity is worth far more than $1,000.

The idea, according to Maverick Angels, is that one of the angels would follow the entrepreneurs out the door and ask for more information. If this happens, Maverick helps the entrepreneur assemble all of the documents needed for the due diligence process.

Even if the entire process doesn’t end with funding, the education gained is invaluable. Lessons as simple as Maverick’s 12 slide presentation process is learned. In it, the value of the last slide is stressed because this slide will remain on the screen during the Q&A process.

Although this boot camp takes place in California, aspiring business owners can often find a variety of educational events in their region. Knowledge such as this is definitely worth traveling for. Research events in your area or contact Maverick Investors to find out when the next boot camp takes place.