Company profile for investment and cooperation purposes

Angel Investors/Seed Capitalists

Angel investors are usually wealthy individuals who use part of their assets to support smaller companies at various stages of development. In return, they secure shares in the company or percentages of the profits. The difference with venture capital companies is that angel investors do not draw their invested capital from an investment fund, but use their private assets. For this reason, there are also angel investors who provide smaller sums or whose support is provided over a longer period than is the case with corporate investors.

Venture Capitalists

A venture capitalist (VC) is an investor who provides capital to promising start-ups. This category mostly includes financial institutions, especially investment banks, and wealthy investors. The investment is often associated with a certain risk for the investor. VCs therefore safeguard themselves by reserving a certain say in company decisions in return for their financial support. VCs mostly focus on growing companies in earlier stages, as this is where the profits and also the opportunities for participation are greatest. In addition to financial support, many VCs also offer experience, so VCs can be particularly interesting for new entrepreneurs.

Peer-to-Peer Lenders

Peer-to-peer lending, also called social or crowd lending, is borrowed capital from individuals or associations for small and micro entrepreneurs. Peer-to-peer lending is done through individuals or specialized firms. Ways of solicitation can be through professional intermediaries, such as Prosper Marketplace. The advantage is that intermediate players, such as banks, are not involved. This results in lower costs for the recipient of the money than is often the case with banks, and financiers can speculate on higher profits than, for example, bank interest rates.

Incubators

Business incubators are organizations that support start-up companies and individual entrepreneurs with knowledge, training and venture capital financing. The support offered by incubators may also include office space, legal advice, networks, or personnel training, for example. Venture capital firms often act as incubators, as do academic institutions or nonprofit corporations. Many early-stage entrepreneurs lack important resources and know-how to make it through the start-up phase to become a profitable company, both of which they can acquire through targeted support in an incubator program. Generally, incubators do not take business equity.

Accelerators

Startup accelerators, also called seed accelerators, are private or public programs in which experienced mentors and trainers guide young entrepreneurs over a limited period of time. Usually, an accelerator program ends in a pitch event (Demo Day). After that, a company must strike out on its own, using the knowledge gained during the program and the resources available. Typically, access to an accelerator program is through an open application process, but due to the benefits, applying startups face tremendous competition.

Corporate Investors

A corporate investor is a registered business that invests in another business, typically a smaller business or startup. Corporate investors benefit from an ownership stake in the funded company. In some cases, this can lead to complete acquisition by the investing company, for example, if the investing company uses products or services from the smaller company and therefore wants to incorporate it for the long term. In other cases, a corporate investor is only concerned with maximizing profits by selectively investing available cash reserves. The purchase of shares is an example of such a corporate investment.

Institutional Investors

Credit institutions, insurance companies, asset management companies, associations, foundations, state organizations, international organizations, municipalities, etc. Ensure you are familiar with and meet the requirements of institutional investors. Often you have to apply for funding programs.

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