Where to get advice

[NT]

Hi folks

What newsgroup (or elsewhere) would you recommend to get advice on some business questions? They relate to a startup.

NT

[mike]

If this represents your ability to form a question, you should rethink the startup.

Book some time with a venture capitalist. They know lots about the business of startups.

If you expect advice from newsgroups like this, it would be good to ask an actual question.

Some of the info you get will be good info. Too bad you won't be able to differentiate it from all the crap that goes flying by.

[Tim Jackson]

As you seem to be in the UK, for business start-up aspects try

cross-posted to alt.inventors, which suggests that you may be developing an invention. It may be possible to give further pointers if you could give some idea of what stage you are at and what field it is in.

(But if you might want to file a patent application, then please don't give any details of the actual invention itself. In the UK and most other countries, making the details public would render any future patent application invalid.)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Happy to answer them here.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Never used one or met one till I had SOLD my business. Waste of space.

Best man was my accountant.

Bank useless.

[Shaun]

You want advise, how about this one; Don't eat yellow snow!

There, some advise, but not related to business.

Ok How about this: Don't eat yellow snow near your business!

Happy new year!

Shaun

[John Rumm]

Depends on the questions... existing business owners will be able to handle some. A good accountant can be very useful for others etc. Can you be a bit more specific?

[Dennis]

Let me guess mike - you're a failed wannabe? How sad.

[Dennis]

I second this. I'm not sure about your part of the planet but AFAIK most state / local governments have business development centres with free advice.

[Brian Gaff]

Well, to be honest, if its a simple sole trader thing, then any accountant could help you out, anything major especially if its going to mean borrowing money, talk to a venture capitalist. I'd also throw in, never borrow money from a high street bank.. grin. Brian

[mike]

Ok, what's your guess of the percentage of startups that fail? What's your guess at the signal to noise ratio of groups like these?

[The Natural Philosopher]

my EXPERIENCE is about 70% for ones that start with external funding.

Of the rest less than one in ten make serious money.

MOST self-funded companies at least stagger into some form of profitability within a couple of years. I'd say about 30% are simply ill advised and should never have been started. They are usually vanity projects by their owners.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Most VCs wont touch you until you have at lest proven the market, or the feasibility.

THEY want to come in with a much lower risk profile.

Typically you use VC money to expand a business or to develop a market for a product that demonstrably works.

However once you approach a VC you sign your company away.

THEY will cover the losses and take the lions share of the share capital. They are greedy heard hearted ruthless bastards.

They will risk just enough to see if your idea works, then when it does and you need MORE money, they will take the rest of it away from you..you will be welcome of course to stay and run it on a salary..

..until it floats, you get your 5 million, they get their 500 million, and you get the sack.

That's how they get their capital.

[Weatherlawyer]

They certainly knw the business people in the area and their profit and loss data.

I can't imagine anyone more suitable to give advice based on what he knows about who he knows without implicating anyone.

But a lot of them will still want to you to start up so they can grab what you can spare whether you win or lose.

So I'd suggest 2 or 3 accountants.

[Dennis]

Failure rate is around 2 of 3 after a year. If anything the post was improving the SNR, hardly deserving of your ridicule.

[zaax]

Local chamber of commerce.

[NT]

Thanks folks, maybe this is a good place to start. I'm trying to assess the value of an annual payment for life, ie how many times the annual payment is it worth. The annual payment is linked to property value, and I'd be the one being paid to quit accepting the payment. I cant decide what multiplier would best apply, and its not a sit round and haggle situation, I need to come up with a realistic valuation.

Pointers welcome!

NT

[Nick Odell]

I think this may be an actuarial question as much as anything else. The answer will differ between a strapping, young 24 year old marathon runner and wheelchair-riding 96-year-old and that's apart from any shaking of the chicken entrails to predict the future of the property market. In the absence of any uk.insurance.actuarial that I can find, try uk.finance. uk.legal.moderated is a good one too because you can field any contractual implications etc etc.

Nick

[NT]

Very true. OK, lets say from limited data I estimate remaining life expectancy of the person owing this payment, and for sake of example lets say its 30 years. I still can't decide what its worth to have it as a lump sum paid off now.

NT

[Nick Odell]

That's where the chicken entrails come in.

Nick