Oh my, this is always a fun topic, isn’t it? Of course you want to know how to find investors for your SaaS, otherwise you’re not likely to get it off the ground. You can try the garage developer gig and for some, it still works. For most, though, this never ends well. You need professional developers, testers, web hosting and deliver, marketing and so much more.
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone:
Without investors to support you through the various, unforeseen needs, and the equally unforeseen problems, the moment you hit an impassible problem, you’re stuck with no hope of moving forward effectively. Oh no.
How to Find Investors:
Well, all you can do is go where the investors are, and be ready to appeal to them with real content, real publications and real information. So, the thing to think about is, where are you likely to find investors?
Kickstarter:
Kickstarter has proved to be a huge boost to people trying to get investors for darn near anything. Indie game developers get their launches from here, product inventors and service designers also get a big windfall from this as well.
Basically, it works by proposing a plan that’s already figured out if not mostly developed. Investors then contribute money, and are rewarded by pledged returns when goals are met and a company is successful.
This also means once all deals are complete, you’re not shackled to those investors for the long haul. They got what they wanted and you got what you needed and everyone’s happy in the end.
Small Steps:
Also, try developing a smaller SaaS project first, such as an extension or plug in for a popular SaaS design, or design a mobile app, template or something else that can be done more easily and inexpensively, but also provides you with a chance to show off your competence, ingenuity and creativity at the same time.
This requires patience, but all things worth doing require patience anyhow, right? Salesforce plugins are a good place to start for this, as would Flash, Facebook or WordPress plugins, Firefox or Chrome plugins and other similar smaller things.
Conferences and Trade Shows
This is tricky, because traveling is expensive, and these are a bit of a task to actually attend and establish a presence at, but there really is no better way to find investors than going where all the investors, established developers and designers meet in the first place.
Have demos ready, have white papers written and printed, have content folders that talk them through the problems, the concerns and how it plans to solve them with elegance.
Special Mention:
Of note is the freemium or donationware concept if you have enough for a small, less graceful initial launch, which attracts investors.
Conclusion:
When it comes to how to find investors, there’s no genius strategy to make this easier. It’s all in knowing to go where to be to be heard by the investors, and in knowing the materials you better have ready if you want to impress them. It’s both very complicated and remarkably simple at the same time. Hooray for paradoxes!
