The Investor Connection

Like any small business, time is required for growth. "So far [we have] a few hundred investors and 55 entrepreneurs," says Singer, but the site already gets between 23,000 and 32,000 hits a day.

"We have received numerous emails from investors and entrepreneurs who are excited that they have connected with each other," Singer adds.

A New Way to Network

Running a small business often requires you to explore multiple options, so another site helpful for making the investor-entrepreneur connection is Go BIG Network. Founded a year ago, the company already has 50,000 start-ups and more than 2,000 investors online.

There is obviously a demand for its services from a wide range of companies including software, real estate and entertainment.

Connections on the site are subscription-based: About $30 a month entitles you (whether entrepreneur or investor) to make up to three contacts a day, and $50 a month or $150 a year gives you the opportunity to make up to 20 contacts a day, says Tyler Ransburgh, marketing manager at Go BIG Network.

There is no option of video or text, which are useful to give potential investors an inside feel for your business. However, it is free to create a posting and free for investors and entrepreneurs to respond to each other after the initial contact is made.

Investors can search by factors such as industry, funding amount or location.

How long does the process usually take? "The average time to get funded is from one month to eight months, depending on how large the agreement is," Ransburgh says.

Go BIG Network wants to continue helping small-business owners beyond finding capital, though. "We want to be a portal for small business and help them with every step of their process," Ransburgh continues. A new feature called "projects" will help entrepreneurs find someone who has specific skills they might lack, such as Web site designing.

The site also has forums through which small-business owners can build a network to get priceless advice. There's nothing like accessing the collective experience of other entrepreneurs who have been in a similar position.

So what's the success rate? "The problem [with finding this out] is that when people get funding they usually go off-site and we don't hear back from them," says Ransburgh.

If you're thinking of starting your small business and you have stamina and a good work ethic, don't let lack of money be an excuse for why you're not following your dreams. Put your business out there, and catch the lucrative eye of investors.

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