Frequently Asked Questions

What is the The Venture Alliance?

The Venture Alliance (TVA) is a group of venture capital firms, corporations, best of class consultants and the largest US angel investor group. They have banded together in order to minimize costs and streamline the tedious process of evaluating early stage and Pre IPO companies. The “glue” that holds the alliance together is a proprietary application process that each member group agrees to use in the pre screening of companies.

This process allows for an equal playing field for all applicants seeking funding and at the same time exposes the applicant to not just one but many investor groups or strategic partners looking for opportunities. Please review the application process:

Click here to learn about the process

You can contact TVA by phone, email, or instant messenger.  TVA’s toll free number is 877-887-2020.  All general inquires regarding TVA should be directed to support@tvausa.com. 

Why is there an application fee?

We take the funding process seriously and we hope that you do as well. Besides, your application is much more than just an application for funding. The process is designed to provide:

a). Specific feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your idea (as judged by a legitimate funding source);

b). Introductions to quality resources who can help you accelerate the progress of your company;

c). At the proper time, multiple connections to the RIGHT funding sources.

Every company that comes to TVA is assigned to a qualified analyst who carefully reviews every aspect of the company’s business proposition. The entrepreneur is then provided with a TVA Score Report, a 10-15 page customized report containing an analysis of your perceived value proposition complete with specific suggestions as to how you can improve your prospects for funding.

Moreover, the Score Report takes time and effort to prepare and the application fee is used to defray those costs.

How long will it take to get a response?

You will get your TVA Score Report within 14 days of the submission of your completed application. This does not mean your company will be funded within 14 days, however, you will know where your company fits along the TVA fundability curve.

Who are the capital partners and what types of companies do we fund?

Specific names and locations of the TVA funding partners cannot be listed as this defeats the objective of having all entrepreneurs funnel their ideas through TVA. As part of their mutual commitment to the process, all TVA Alliance members agree to use TVA as their sole source of screening deals.

The members of TVA include the following investment areas: Information Technology, BioTech, Healthcare, Medical Devices, Consumer Goods, and Disruptive Technologies. If the Alliance encounters an attractive investment opportunity, the Alliance will seek out additional sources of capital to join the Alliance.

In addition, the members of TVA represent all types of pre-IPO funding imaginable from seed funding and the initial VC rounds, to mezzanine, even various kinds of public transition strategies.

What happens if TVA determines I am not ready for funding?

There are really only three possible responses you can get on your SCORE report. Obviously, the most popular is that we believe that you are ready for funding NOW. The least popular response is that we don’t believe your idea will EVER be ready for funding. In that case, we hope that our honest assessment will be appreciated. The most misunderstood answer is when we tell an entrepreneur that they “NEED WORK” or that they “HAVE POTENTIAL.” This simply means that TVA believes that the entrepreneur needs to spend more time polishing certain parts of their value proposition BEFORE presenting them to any serious investors.

What most entrepreneurs fail to appreciate is that they really only have one chance to make a good first impression with a potential investor. The benefit TVA offers is that they will act as a neutral interface allowing an entrepreneur to stumble on their first impression without harming their ability to raise capital. When TVA tells an entrepreneur they are not ready YET, the entrepreneur should be encouraged. Basically, it means there is still hope IF they will do the things spelled out in their SCORE report.

Why Does TVA use consultants? What will they cost and do I have to use them?

TVA offers “best-of-class” consultants to their entrepreneurial clients because TVA wants to give each client the maximum opportunity to get funded. Most entrepreneurs are blind to the things that are keeping them from making a definitive impression with an investor. The problem with the system, until now, has been that NO ONE would tell the entrepreneur what they needed to do to fix their presentation and, ultimately, impress an investor. TVA believes that the solution to this problem is to get the entrepreneur connected with the best resources that can help them fix issues that were specifically targeted by their SCORE report. We all know that, when an entrepreneur applies to a VC for funding, the VC has little or no provision to fix any problems they discover. Thus, if the entrepreneur is not perfect, they simply pass on the deal without telling the entrepreneur why. TVA believes that system is flawed. By telling the entrepreneur (A) what issues are keeping them from getting funded and (B) what resources can help them address these issue, we believe we are giving the entrepreneur a better chance of getting funded sooner.  Another resouce we have created to help entrepreneurs is something called "a rookie mistake."  We have written several to show those interested what we feel are common mistakes and how to avoid them.

Click here for list of Rookie Mistakes

As for the cost, that is entirely between the entrepreneur and the consultant. TVA does not get involved in the negotiation as each consultant has their own contract and rates. The SCORE report provides exactly three recommendations so that the entrepreneur can interview each and choose the resource best suited for them. The costs vary widely and not all consultants will take stock. TVA simply suggests that you negotiate your best deal with the consultant you have the most confidence in.

With regards to using a TVA consultant or another, equally qualified consultant, the advantage is the TVA consultant (who carries the TVA logo on their card) has preferred access to TVA and its extensive network of funding sources. Comparable consultants outside our network do not. One of the strengths of the TVA process is what we call our “Second Look” opportunity. This is where a TVA consultant presents a company back into the system after they have worked with them to fix previously identified issues. ONLY TVA consultants can request a “second look” consideration. Thus, there is a great advantage is using only those consultants recommended in the SCORE report.

What happens if you determine we are ready for funding?

The funding process will be handled differently by each funding source depending on the level of capital needed by your company. Although the alliance allows investor groups to come together to screen companies each investor will use their individual methods for investing in companies. Typically, however, once your group has been identified as ready for funding you will be working with one or two funding groups within our alliance on a regular basis going through typical due diligence and acceleration.

How long does it take to get funded?

The time it takes to get funded is typically not predictable. A company seeking capital from the Alliance may also be asked to meet certain milestones in order to secure a funding round in which case the funding is dependent on the time it takes to accomplish this task. Each funding source can make its own requests of you before they part with capital and although it is always preferred to get several investment groups interested in your group there are also challenges involved in getting all funding sources arriving at the same conclusion at the same time.

In order to keep this moving along, the The Venture Alliance initially assigns you an analyst who may then become a “project manager” whose sole responsibility would be to keep all interested investors “on the same page”. Together with a TVA consultant that you may want to work with, the two individuals work in unison to move the process forward. At TVA we believe this process and the coordination of it is the significant part of the value you receive when you apply.

Do I have to Pay Anything Else?

The Fee you pay to apply to the Alliance covers the TVA SCORE report, all introductions to consultants who can help you remediate issues and set up TVA's "second look" program and any invitations to a TVA deal review.  If that is where it stops, there are no further fees involved.  However, in two remaining circumstances (if they occur), TVA may ask for an addidtional fee.  In the first instance, IF any Alliance member decides to fund your company, they are required to pay a small fee for TVA's introduction (The fee will be counted as part of the "Use of Funds" in your capital raise).  This fee is subtracted automatically but, technically, it is a fee to you. 

The second potential instance may occur IF TVA decides to offer the client access to their national network of potentially strategic introductions.  All such introductions are charged on a "fee for performance" basis and the client is in TOTAL control of accepting or not accepting these services.  IF AND ONLY IF you choose to utilize these resources would a fee EVER be charged.  And, such charges would only apply when the client, after full disclosure, has agreed to sign a TVA Finder's Agreement. TVA does not offer these services to ever client, but only those they feel they can truly help.