Comments on: Fear the Recession? Get an Angel & go global. http://gigaom.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global-2/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:50:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Look east, young founders! « FoundRead http://gigaom.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global-2/#comment-183627 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:12:18 +0000 http://foundread.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global/#comment-183627 [...] We’ve written recently about how domestic and global economic trends make it important for today’s entrepreneurs to take a global view with their startups. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should be investing your precious cash in setting up long-distance operations in other countries—which can be costly in ways other than labor; it can tax your strategic and managerial attention at a time when focus is of critical importance. (Noted angel investor Guy Kawasaki pointed this out to me, recently.) [...]

]]> By: Adam http://gigaom.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global-2/#comment-183631 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:58:45 +0000 http://foundread.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global/#comment-183631 Thanks for that insight and you’re right, the article was referring to “going global” with the business, not necessarily with your investment. My bad.

]]> By: ak http://gigaom.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global-2/#comment-183630 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:54:01 +0000 http://foundread.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global/#comment-183630 What does a strike on Iran mean to the US economy? Is the spiraling price of a gold a foreshadow of future instability? -

Perhaps some froth will be let out of the market in coming months – but the US is still the far and away leader in innovation on the web, good post on going global – some deeper detail an insight on real strategies for hooking up with global investors would be a great next post.

]]> By: park3 http://gigaom.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global-2/#comment-183629 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:13:24 +0000 http://foundread.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global/#comment-183629 I don’t think the original post referred to overseas angels. I read it to say that VC money is hard to come by in smaller increments, but a solid (domestic) angel and a global strategy can help avoid the twin perils of too-fast expansion and single-market focus.

Still, I can speak to question #2, at least in legal terms.

Securities laws allow for foreign investors relatively simply. Foreign investors generally fall under what is called Regulation S within the federal securities law regime (as opposed to Regulation D for domestic investors). A slightly different investor questionnaire covers the important issues there, but the basic principles (understanding of the investment, sufficient means to withstand loss of investment and knowledge that liquidity may be a long way off) still apply.

(Also note that this works best for C corporations. S corps can’t have non-US taxpaying shareholders and LLCs can create major accounting headaches when overseas owners are involved)

That said, professional investors may worry about foreign shareholders because it can be difficult to adequately diligence the investors. Who are they and where does their money come from?

A friend just told me a true story about a company that found an investor in a former Eastern-bloc country who wanted to invest, but only wanted to pay in cash! This was someone to avoid for sure.

As in the US, there are reputable and disreputable sources of investment capital. The challenge is figuring out which is which when you don’t speak the local language.

]]> By: Adam http://gigaom.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global-2/#comment-183628 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:02:42 +0000 http://foundread.com/2007/10/30/fear-the-future-recession-get-an-angel-go-global/#comment-183628 I agree that we need to look overseas for investment; in fact, in my case, we are targeting the international market before the domestic market.

Two questions:
1. How do I find these international investors? What angel groups exist beyond the US?
2. What complexities do I introduce into my venture by having foreign based investors?

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