The Michigan Pre-Seed Fund can effectively double the impact of friends and family investments. Dennis Carmichael recounts how he first began to develop ERT systems and the role of different forms of early stage financing including the Pre-Seed Fund in bootstrapping his business.
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We've covered the importance of putting in your own money and getting friends and family funding in the early stages of financing your innovation. Getting funding is all about networking, and your closest associates (i.e., your family) are the most likely to give initially.
In this segment, Dennis Carmichael, President of ERT Systems, describes how he got the concept started. He was giving a talk at Automation Alley on RFID tracking for industrial operations and connected with former fire chief John Ellis. Highlights are:
- The first financing game from him and John. They needed to fund a prototype proof of concept.
- They started commercial sales early, both for cash flow and proof of concept.
- Their next investment came from friends and family. They were able to double this via a matching equity investment from the Michigan Pre-Seed fund.
- They are currently seeking an additional $1 MM investment to finance rapid sales expansion.
In future segments, we will have more to say about the Michigan Pre-Seed fund and the structure of venture capital and angel investing in Michigan.
Additional Links:
- Oregon startups points to good resources on bootstrapping your business or growing your business from internal cash flow and personal investment.
- This about.com article provides links to resources on how to structure friends and family financing.