BioLumix: Investing Your Own Money First

Your interview about BioLumix was very informative. Noted was your expertise in the field of microbiology which would allay investors’ fears because you have reduced the technical risks by making your own prototypes. The fact that you invested much of your own money shows that you have confidence in the products and that you are willing to go all out to make it work. This is very inspiring for those that are experienced within a field and want to strike out on their own. Using “angel” investors to finance your businesses seems to be a good fit for the company. It was mentioned that some of the investors on the old company are investors with BioLumix. This is great because it shows that your management team is effective unlike nearly 80% of other companies financed by angels. Noted too was your ability to keep control of the direction that the company is moving with the angel financiers, they have limited control. While viewing your website I was wondering if you had the opportunity to look into alternative sources of financing your venture. Since the products are geared around the safety of products for human consumption in the food, beverage, cosmetic and toiletry, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical industries perhaps there are sources for government financing. The U.S. Department of Agricultures’ Rural Business-Cooperative Service maybe a source as BioLumix creates jobs in manufacturing and testing. Your company also seems that it would more than qualify as a research and development company. This standing could be used to seek funds from the Small Business Innovation Research Program. Grants are available through this program from federal agencies to provide capital without taking on a lot of debt. Another positive point in your interview is that of an exit strategy to sell the company in five years. Most likely having to switch jobs often affected your ability to cope so well with change. I think that it is very prudent to have a strategy in place both for managing as well as the stakeholders in the company. By being up front about the goal of the company it gives creditability to you and builds confidence in the investors that when you are ready for the next venture they will be willing to invest. (USDA) http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/ (SBIR) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm Thanks for the inspiration Denise Dublin-Green

Wow, I all I can say is that they both seem extremely organized and knowledgeable of their business and the product. One think I see from doing research on entrepreneurs is the businesses know how that goes behind start up companies. I like how the Eden’s were able to put up their money first, this was very smart. This way they didn’t have anyone else to pay back or pay interest to. They were also able to send their money on the technical part of the business. I also enjoyed how they were so confident in their angel investors. They really appreciate all the help they have received and were not scared to give up some ownership of their company to succeed in the overall picture. I would also like to point out that when they were looking for a company to buy they found one with a great reputation that had been around for over 100 years. I am sure this made it easier for them to continue on with their ventures. I think that their company is a prime example of what it takes to have a successful business. Jennifer Ahlers