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Raise Capital With Private Investors

If you have launched your own startup, your first biggest challenge is to raise capital. Fortunately, you choose from a lot of options to raise the funds your business needs. Among all the sources, crowdfunding is one of the best ones as it helps redefine how startups can get off the ground. In this article, we are going to help you know the benefits of raising capital with private investors through a crowdfunding platform. Read on to find out more.

Benefits of raising capital with private investors

1. Funding is not equity-based

First of all, crowdfunding is not necessarily equity-based. Although startups have the liberty to use the equity in order to catch the attention of potential investors, It’s not required to give up ownership to collect capital.

The good news is that some platforms allow their members to apply a reward-oriented approach in order to raise capital. For instance, if your business deals in a specific product, make sure you hand over a few units to your prospective investors before you roll it out for the ultimate users.

2. Attracting potential investors is easy

With crowdfunding, you can attract a lot of potential investors without putting in a lot of effort. Although you can try for angel investors, keep in mind that this process can cost you a lot of time. The reason is that you will have to pitch your small business concept several times.

On the other hand, if you use a crowdfunding platform, you will have to post your business pitch in only one place. And this page will be ready by hundreds of investors from across the globe.

These platforms have a lot of useful features that may help startups collect funds from investors. So, attracting potential investors and raising capital will be much easier using crowdfunding platforms.

3. Higher visibility

Crowdfunding can help you make your startup more visible. Since marketing may consume a large chunk of your budget, it makes sense to use a crowdfunding platform instead. For potential investors, it’s easy to fund a crowdfunding campaign.
And these activities can help boost the visibility of your brand. Plus, you can also attract investors for your next funding rounds.

The Bottom Line

If you want to raise funds for your startup, crowdfunding can be the best choice. All you need to do is become part of a crowdfunding platform and you will be able to tap into the pool of potential investors. And this will help you kick start your business and make it a success in the industry.

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Business Loan Rates and Small Business Growth

Americans know that friendly business loan rates and small business growth are essential to the growth of the economy, and new business owners have many avenues for creating a successful start-up. Recent investigations by the Small Business Administration, which offers SBA loans to small businesses around the country, suggests that small businesses account for over half of all the sales made in the United States each year. Even more importantly, small businesses provide employment for over half the jobs in the country, as well as a significant number of all new jobs created in the country since the 1970s.When a bank determines what business loan rates it will offer a client, one of the primary characteristics investigated is the history of the borrower. For new business owners or anyone looking to create a start-up, getting a great rate on commercial real estate loans is often dependent upon business history, which might not exist for some new business owners. In such cases, the only way to get low rates or even get a loan in the first place is when the business owner puts up his or her own collateral or uses his or her credit history to secure the loan.This reliance upon an individual’s credit for new business loans is why it’s important to have all of one’s financial “ducks” in a row before applying for an SBA loan or any loan connected with a new business. Business loan rates fluctuate just like the economy, and one of the primary indications of whether a bank will loan an individual money is whether the business will be able to survive the expected fluctuations of the economy. A few months or even a few quarters of poor sales shouldn’t mean a new business needs to shut its doors. Some type of emergency reserve, collateral, or savings is an essential buffer for any business.Sometimes it’s best to think of commercial real estate loans in the same way a borrower might approach a traditional mortgage. Securing a low mortgage rate means coming to the table with great credit. The same might be said for commercial loans. Business loan rates that are low are awarded when an applicant or business has good credit. However, new business owners must also consider a variety of other issues that will come under investigation by the bank such as cash flow and the industry in which a business will operate. Due to these additional factors, a borrower might need to go beyond a standard mortgage rate calculator to one with additional variables.It might seem like an impossible feat to convince a bank of the creditworthiness of an individual who has never owned a business before; however, some options exist for ensuring a new application is granted the lowest possible business loan rates. For example, a new business owner may provide past examples of business success, even if the owner wasn’t at the head of a company during those successes. Perhaps a business owner once worked in the financial department of his or her last company and was able to save the company thousands of dollars with innovative ideas.According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses occupy somewhere between 20 to 34 billion square feet of commercial space in the United States. Keeping that number on an upward trend is essential for America, and small business loans, as well as commercial real estate loans, help keep the country growing in a post-recession environment. Business owners who make smart decisions about credit and arrive at a bank with the best possible application will ensure the business opens its doors with the best possible financial future. Entrepreneurs should investigate business loan rates and help make sure the economy continues to grow through new small businesses and valuable jobs.

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Unitary Patent System

Until now, the long awaited Unitary Patent System, along with the proposed centralised European patent litigation system seemed like something of a distant reality. However, a number of recent developments have seen the System take one step closer to being brought into effect, and it is hoped that the first unitary patent will be registered in 2014.The Unitary Patent System and the European Unitary (EU) Patent:Part of the proposed system is the introduction of the European unitary (EU) patent. The proposed EU patent is closely related to, but different from the European patent, which is granted under the European Patent Convention. European patents, once granted, become a bundle of nationally enforceable patents, in the states designated by the applicant.At present, European patents (once granted) require validating in each EPO member state for which the patent proprietor seeks patent protection. Validation requires payment of the associated fees, and can require a full translation of the patent specification into the national, official language. Accordingly, validation can be costly, coupled with the need to appoint a national representative to act on applicant’s behalf. Further costs arise annually with renewal fees being payable in each member state in which the patent is validated.It is proposed that the new EU patent will, once granted and at the proprietor’s request, become a European patent having unitary effect. The application and examination procedure will be identical to that of European patents, until such time that the patent is granted. However, it will be during the post-grant phase that the process will differ, with the proprietor being presented with the opportunity to opt for a European unitary patent with unitary protection (in all member states participating in the system), instead of the usual European patent with individual territorial protection. The new process would also provide for the patent proprietor to combine both schemes, i.e. to request a European patent in a selection of member states party to the European Patent Convention and not of the unitary patent system (at the time of writing, of the 27 EU countries, only Italy and Spain are not party to the unitary patent system), and a unitary patent in those states party to the unitary patent system, thus providing the proprietor with much flexibility.The EU patent, if introduced, will provide proprietors with the benefit of a simplified validation procedure, as well as fewer translation and renewal requirements. It is further hoped that the new system will help in making patent protection more accessible, particularly to SMEs, and in making Europe more attractive to inventors, both those within Europe and across the world. The EU patent is awaited with much anticipation, as it has been since it was first discussed way back in the 1970s…The Centralised European Patent Litigation System (Unitary Patents Court):A second aspect of the proposed system is the introduction of a centralised European patent litigation system. The centralised system is intended to provide a mechanism by which patent proprietors will have greater legal certainty, particularly in relation to infringement and revocation proceedings concerning European patents (and the new European unitary patent). It is also hoped that a centralised system will significantly reduce patent litigation costs, eliminating the need to conduct litigation in each member state of interest (and under the current system, where the patent has been validated). And yet given the major advantages such a system would bring, it is the introduction of the centralised European patent litigation system that has stalled the introduction of the unitary patent system as a whole.The reasons for the delay are numerous, not least due to a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that the introduction of the European Unified Patent Court (a substantial part of the proposed system) would be incompatible with the European Union.The proposed Regulation on the creation of the unitary patent system may change as a result of this judgement, with the European Council (which represents the governments of the Member States of the European Union) suggesting a number of alterations in a recent statement, published on the 29 June 2012. The European Council recommended the deletion of three provisions, Articles 6 to 8 of the Regulation, which define the acts which constitute infringement of a unitary patent. Deletion of these Articles is thought to remove the possibility of the Unified Patent Court making referrals on substantive patent law to the CJEU. If these recommendations are adopted, the result will likely be that the CJEU will have no jurisdiction in UPC cases. Whether the CJEU adopts this is yet to be seen.The plans were further stalled on the issue of the location of a central divisional court. However a recent development appears to suggest that progress in respect of the introduction of a Unified Patent Court is gradually taking place. In its statement of 29 June 2012, the European Council also reported that the Unified Patent Court is to be headquartered in Paris. It further reported that the central court will be supported by two specialist courts residing in London (for pharmaceutical related cases) and Munich (for mechanical engineering cases). It has been suggested that the Unified Patent Court, if introduced, will have the jurisdiction to hear issues relating to European Patents granted under the European Patent Convention and also those patents granted under the new unitary right.The final decision now rests with the European Parliament, which in combination with the European Council forms part of the two-part legislative framework of the European Union. This too has been delayed, largely due to the recent announcement of the European Council, as set out above.The European Parliament was due to vote on the unitary system on the 4 July 2012, however, the vote was postponed while the European Parliament decides whether the CJEU can be excluded from the unitary system. It is not yet known when the European Parliament will vote on the introduction of the system. Until then, the launch of a unitary patent system hangs in the balance pending the approval of the European Parliament.

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