Entrepreneurs get networked up to and across each other

May 13th, 2010

Got a great business idea but no money to finance it? It’s the age old problem faced by would-be entrepreneurs. But a new generation of online funding platforms is taking the pain out of raising capital to get new ventures off the ground.

Writes the BBC in Cash-strapped entrepreneurs get creative. GrowVC is mentioned, founded in February by Jouko Ahvenainen and Valto Loikkanen, describes itself as the first global crowdfunding tool for web and mobile start-ups. Through the site, start-ups can secure initial funding ranging from $10,000 to $1m. The site has 2,500 registered users in 108 countries worldwide. Some 25% of Grow VC users are in the US, 11% in the UK and 7% in India.TechCrunch called it the Kiva of startups (more here). The total capital raised through the site so far is $12.8m.

And there is a real need for this as the reality is that orthodox VC funding delivers poor deal flow, based on local/personal networks with lack of proper information and tools. The next Silicon Valley is not a location, it is a platform and community online, where together entrepreneurs, Business Angels and Institutional Investors are connected up to and across each other. It’s got other good stuff going for it as well: a transparent global market place and the tools to find companies, make investments and manage investments. and even has open API’s allowing others to develop applications and services, therefore, open to develop new funding and business models. Its grassroots and looks to set a precedent for future funding models.

The BBC report also reports

Along with professional investors, a growing number of ordinary people with an interest in investing have been logging on to Grow VC.Petra Soderling heard about Grow VC on Twitter and is making the minimum Grow VC investment of $20 a month. For me it’s about investing and hoping to see a profit but also about using a small amount of money to help small companies.

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