A fledgling Folsom company wants entrepreneurs to get serious with their courtship of deep-pocket investors.
Going beyond online matchmaking, Start-up TV Network on Monday rolled out Fundability.com with the promise of connecting entrepreneurs to the $50 billion private equity marketplace and helping speed up the plodding deal-making process.
"It's a real quick, efficient way to get information out to potential investors," said Steve Nilan, company chief executive officer and cofounder. The goal, he said, "is to get deals funded faster."
A year in the works, Fundability evolved from Start-Up TV, a MySpace-like networking site for angel investors. Fundability uses interactive media, including Web video, to present a snapshot of a company.
Entrepreneurs, who pay $49.99 a month to join the network, can have company snapshots sent to investors. Accredited investors can use the basic service for free. Investors also can have pre-screened ventures sent to them and syndicate deals through a special network.
Fundability offers a secure site for investors to view a company's confidential documents.
"We take the investor perspective of what is really needed to get a deal (completed)," said Nilan, a longtime consultant to early-stage companies and a venture partner with Velocity Venture Capital in Folsom.
J.D. Stack, chief executive of the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance, said Fundability will give investors another prospecting tool to sort through the clutter of would-be deals.
"Venture capital investors receive lots and lots of requests for funding. They oftentimes get swamped," Stack said. "I'd heard some say they get a 1,000 business plans a year."
During the testing period, Fundability had 100 subscribers, including Jadoo Power Inc. and Marquis Wind Power Inc., which raised a combined $5 million using the site.
Nilan declined to detail financial projections, saying only: "We're projecting pretty rapid growth. We think it is a pretty lucrative business."
Call The Bee's Gilbert Chan, (916) 321-1045.
