Deciding How Much Capital to Raise

The first question which arises in the context of capital-raising is how much money should be sought. The company's ability to attract future investments is always uncertain, due to the volatility of the capital market, as well as the uncertain success of the company on its own merits. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, it is recommended the firm will raise capital, so that at any point, it has sufficient cash for at least 12 months. However, the amount of any potential investment is obviously always limited, as explained in the previous chapter, by the amount of money which investors are willing to risk at that stage of the financing process, and by the measure of dilution of the holdings which the existing shareholders are prepared to accept. The minimum amount which should be raised in each round is that which will enable the company to reach its next milestone, thus enabling additional rounds as well as the necessary time frame required to make such subsequent investment rounds (which could last many months). When making these calculations, the most pessimistic cash burn rate scenario should be used. A large round of investment enables the company to reach the market faster, to join a large number of investors who can contribute added value to the company and to pull through hard times. In that respect, a public offering is not necessarily the last capital raised before investment realization. Entrepreneurs should keep in mind that companies which are traded on NASDAQ were also afflicted with cash crises after the changes which became apparent in the market from the second quarter of 2000; their ability to raise cash on the stock markets was infringed, while their business plans called for ever-increasing cash investments (for a discussion of business planning and forecasting of expenses, see Chapter 3).



From Concept to Wall Street(c) A Complete Guide to Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital
From Concept to Wall Street: A Complete Guide to Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital
ISBN: 0130348031
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 131

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