| Richard worked as a mechanic for one of the biggest | | | | sustain or keep it growing. While there are banks that |
| car manufacturers in Detroit. Given the employee's 20 | | | | can help do this, it is easier to deal with private |
| years of experience, this person has moved from | | | | individuals since the interest rates are not that high |
| one section of the plant to another making some | | | | and these supporters become strategic partners. |
| people think that Richard can possibly assemble a car | | | | Who are the people to tap when it comes to |
| single-handedly. | | | | venture capital funding? Given Richard was engineer |
| Unfortunately, the poor sales performance in the | | | | who worked on cars, it wasn't hard to talk to one of |
| past few months of the company has forced | | | | the former bosses and other people who also love |
| management to make a big sacrifice. This will involve | | | | automobiles. |
| slashing 20,000 jobs from the workforce and Richard | | | | Richard first wrote a proposal with the location of |
| was on the list. | | | | the site, projected start up capital and sales that will |
| Rather than wait for the pink slip to come in, Richard | | | | happen in the succeeding months and years. Since |
| opted for early retirement. With the money saved, | | | | these investors saw the potential of the business, it |
| this individual can start a business, which was | | | | wasn't long before the additional money needed was |
| something always inside this person's head. | | | | given. |
| The plan was to open a shop that restored old | | | | After three months of renovating the old building, the |
| automobiles as well as serviced existing ones. Though | | | | shop was already operating and the customers |
| it was a fact that there are a lot of entrepreneurs | | | | started to come in. Servicing cars was easy in fact, |
| that do this, the research Richard did showed that | | | | people who worked at the plant would drop by and |
| there were not that many of these in the | | | | have the automobiles done there. It took longer to |
| neighborhood. | | | | restore old cars since the parts were hard to find. |
| Richard had a fat check coming in, as part of the | | | | Within a year, more than half of the amount that |
| retirement benefits but the startup capital was not | | | | was borrowed from the partners was already paid. |
| enough so this person decided to get venture capital | | | | As long as the service given is maintained, it was |
| funding. | | | | possible for Richard to pay everyone off and |
| Venture capital funding is when a startup business or | | | | perhaps even expand the business. |
| an existing one needs funds from outside people to | | | | |