Inside Entrepreneurship: Startup cash is out there; learn how to find it

"I can’t raise money for my business!"

This is a line I read and hear from disheartened entrepreneurs every day.

When I ask, "Why do you think you can’t raise money?" I invariably get an earful of frustration and contempt. Cash-starved entrepreneurs and business owners complain that "they won’t return my calls, read my plan or give me enough time to really explain my business." I also learn quite quickly that "they" is code for a small sampling of big name venture funds such as Kleiner Perkins that are an unlikely fit for most proposed ventures in the first place.

Fortunately, mega- venture funds are not the only watering hole for ambitious entrepreneurs. There are other venture funds and there are other viable, perhaps more flexible sources of financing.

By SUSAN SCHRETER
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Full Story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/277554_schreter14.html