   Need tips for finding a game investor
  I'm looking for $55k to develop an online game. I've talked to investors, and I can provide very hard evidence that their investment will be returned very quickly, but a lot of them are very ignorant of the gaming market, so I'm having a hard time getting a lot of interest.I can throw out a lot of great figures when it comes to comparable products, as well as the success I've had with my own, but as I said, it's difficult when most investors I talk to are oblivious to what going on with online gaming. They understand boxed retail, but explaining how microtransactions work seems to be a problem.Obviously everyone has a scheme when it comes to getting in investor, so a lot of my talk might just seem like the kind of crap they hear from everyone, so anyone have a tip or trick to get my point across? Or does anyone know of an investor who might want to hear a proposal like this?I really don't want to go through all those angel investor networks where they want you to pay $200 just to be able to email anyone interested in your business plan.   
  You state the investment will be returned quickly. If you are absolutely sure about this or more precisely: It is absolutely assured this is he case, why not take a loan? Either officially or... well, you know the "grey" sector I guess. If it gets returned quickly it shouldn't be a big deal, but this of course requires you to be correct, 200%, otherwise you expose yourself to great risk. If you have proper assets a loan can reach that quantity but of course am not sure about your wealth so can't be sure of that. Optionally if you have friends, collegues and family to convince together the loan can be large enough. The advantage of a loan in opposition with an investor could be that you can keep a much greater amount of profit for yourself. Well just a thought but hope it helps, and let me call your attention to the risks of such a solution before considering it.   ;Quote:Original post by ItSnowedInTexas1. I'm looking for $55k to develop an online game. 2. I've talked to investors, ... but a lot of them are very ignorant of the gaming market3. I can throw out a lot of great figures when it comes to comparable products, as well as the success I've had with my own1. Why? Why do you want to make one game? Surely you have a broader business plan than that?2. Two possibilities: a) You should find knowledgeable investors; b) Your business plan and your Powerpoints need a massive rewrite.3. So you have some experience making games and making money from them, then? I hope that information is provided very clearly in your business plan and your Powerpoints.;Quote:Original post by ItSnowedInTexasI'm looking for $55k to develop an online game. I've talked to investors, and I can provide very hard evidence that their investment will be returned very quickly...Tip: don't say that anywhere in your business plan - any sane investor will run a mile because they know that if it was in fact true you wouldn't need them. If you could actually prove it then you would be able to get a bank loan on vastly more favourable terms. Anyone can produce great numbers for projects in the game industry but for every success there are hundreds of failures.Also any half sane investor would do research into the games industry and find out that it is notoriously risky (unless you are id software or Bioware) and that your chances of success are slim. Given that you are claiming otherwise they will think you don't know what you are talking about.Next, you will need to do more than return their investment. You will need to demonstrate that they can make a 300-500% return on their investment within a few years - otherwise it isn't worth their while making the investment.Quote:....but a lot of them are very ignorant of the gaming market, so I'm having a hard time getting a lot of interest. then your sales pitch is poor. You need to improve it or hire someone who can do it for you.Lastly, as Tom points out, you are very unlikely to find an investor interested in putting money into just one game. The majority invest in businesses. That means you need a business plan that shows what you will do after this game and after the next.[Edited by - Obscure on April 19, 2010 12:46:15 AM];  cynthi - that article refers to another type of "gaming" which really should be referred to as "online gambling".  There are 50 different state laws in the US regulating everything from lotteries, sweepstakes and contests of skill.  As gambling is strictly regulated in land based casinos, I am suprised so many people have such a hard time believing that online gambling is also heavily regulated.  The argument that poker is a game of skill rather than a game of chance has been put forward by a lot of MIT quant types discussing the degree of skill necessary to out smart your opponents through betting rather than just random card distribution.  I think much of their analysis is discredited in regulators eyes by the anectodal evidence to the contrary especially when you watch tapes of Greg Moneymaker pushing all in on the infitismal chance of hitting the river card.  That wasn't smart, it was lucky.  And sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.  Back to investing.  55K sounds fairly low in my experience to get an online game up and running (unless it is exceedingly simple).  That would barely cover 1 month of development for 1 small team (4-5 people at 10K man-month), but I digress.   The SBA has some programs to cover start up costs and you may find a local bank willing to work with you to obtain an SBA loan (however the process is similar to finding an investor).  As for approaching angels, it always helps to show them how much skin you are contributing to the product.  This way they know you are not just taking their money without any personal risk on the success or failure of the project.  Good luck!   ;  If they are "oblivious" to online gaming, it is because they are not properly informed about it. Simple as that. Show them real examples of games, apps, whatever, that has made money through the online sector.The other key point is persuasion. You are pretty much trying to sell an investor a product (which cost more than a car, and will not get paid off right away). You need to put a lot of work into your presentation about how your going to make money, who are you selling to, how fast of a return will you make. Realistically you can't just say "Hey I know people will buy this". You just CAN'T. You need to show proof, demographics, proven statistics, anything. Also, it would be a wise idea to have a backup plan in you don't sell. To put it all in short, don't worry about the game idea, worry about selling and marketing.   ;Quote:Original post by mezner09Show them real examples of games, apps, whatever, that has made money through the online sector.You need to put a lot of work into your presentation about how your going to make money, who are you selling to, how fast of a return will you make. You need to show proof, demographics, proven statistics, anything.In other words, "write a good business plan.";  Guys, could you please advise me of REAL investor name?We have business plan (a kind of) and successful game development experience. Right now the goal is to implement online game using our developed accelerators. But we need some money just as a payment to enter to market.So it will be cool if someone is interested in partnership/investment or could just give me an advise how to search for such people.We are small dev team from xUSSR and don't have contacts on EU and US markets.;  http://www.demo.com/ETA: http://angelsoft.net/-cb[Edited by - cbenoi1 on May 7, 2010 9:32:53 AM];Quote:Original post by kdog77cynthi - that article refers to another type of "gaming" which really should be referred to as "online gambling".  There are 50 different state laws in the US regulating everything from lotteries, sweepstakes and contests of skill.  As gambling is strictly regulated in land based casinos, I am suprised so many people have such a hard time believing that online gambling is also heavily regulated.  The argument that poker is a game of skill rather than a game of chance has been put forward by a lot of MIT quant types discussing the degree of skill necessary to out smart your opponents through betting rather than just random card distribution.  I think much of their analysis is discredited in regulators eyes by the anectodal evidence to the contrary especially when you watch tapes of Greg Moneymaker pushing all in on the infitismal chance of hitting the river card.  That wasn't smart, it was lucky.  And sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.  It is always better to be lucky then good - that does not only apply to online games but as well to everything else. sorry if I did not match the conversation topic wise but obviously what I was talking about let you talk about this topic in more detail ...[Edited by - cynthi on May 18, 2010 2:09:05 AM]