40billion.com provides you, the entrepreneur, with the opportunity to set up your own fundraising machine. In it’s simplest form, it formalizes and makes scalable the process of raising funds through family and friends, making an often difficult task easy and comfortable. Once you have completed your business plan and determined how much money you need to fund your business, make a list of all your family and close friends. With the business plan uploaded to your newly-created, private profile on 40billion.com, you are ready to begin raising money through contributions (gifts, donations) and loans. Just follow the steps below and you are on your way to achieving "the American dream."

Step 1: Start a "Raise"

A "Raise" is a fundraising profile for your business. All entrepreneurs should start by creating a Raise. Determine how much funding you need (from $1,000 to $99,000), select at least one funding type (i.e., contributions and/or loans), and provide potential investors (i.e., donors and lenders) with insight into your vision for the business. You can upload a photo, video, and PowerPoint presentation, and even offer investors something in return for their generosity and support (e.g., a customer discount or free sample).

To start a new Raise, you must sign in, click on the RAISE tab at the top of the page, and then click START A NEW RAISE.

Step 2: Invite Your Friends & Family to Invest

Send email invitations to your friends, family, and others you trust to view your Raise. Ask them to invest, as a contribution or loan, and help fund your new business. Also, ask them to invite their friends and family to invest too!

Raises are private and invitation-only, so only people who are invited (by you or others you have invited) will be able to view your Raise. Anyone can send you an invitation request via email (through 40billion.com), asking you to allow her to view your Raise. Each invitation request that you receive will contain instructions regarding how to grant access to the requester. You are in control.

To invite people to view your Raise and to invest, you must sign in, go to MY ACCOUNT, and click INVITE FRIENDS AND FAMILY next to your Raise. The more people you invite, the better your chances of reaching your funding target.

Also, you may share your Raise on Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn! On your Raise profile page, click SHARE ON: FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, or LINKEDIN in order to post a link on your Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn page. This way your friends can easily access your Raise and help to spread the word.

If you'd like to spread the word about 40billion.com to other entrepreneurs, then add 40billion.com to your Facebook page or add 40billion.com to your website.

Step 3: Schedule a Live Presentation (Optional)

Schedule a live presentation to provide more information about your business to potential investors. This exclusive feature is free, and it allows you to schedule a date and time to pitch your business idea to the people you want to invest. You can upload your PowerPoint presentation and invite potential investors (friends, family, etc.) to watch, listen, and ask questions in real-time (via telephone conference call). While this step is optional, we highly recommend you give it a try because it is more effective than email alone. Let potential investors see your professional presentation and hear the passion in your voice to help them make the decision to invest.

If you don't have a business plan presentation yet, download the business plan presentation template, which guides you to create your business plan presentation (a.k.a., investor presentation) in just 13 simple slides.

To schedule a live presentation, you must sign in, go to MY ACCOUNT, and click SCHEDULE A LIVE PRESENTATION next to your Raise.

Step 4: Get Funding

People who view your Raise may invest from $50 to $10,000 each, as a contribution or loan towards starting your business. Investments can be made in various increments up to your funding target, but you set the funding target. 40billion.com does not facilitate equity investments or sales of stock or shares of companies.

For contributions, 40billion.com collects the funds from your investors, and after you have raised at least $1,000 (per Raise), you will receive a disbursement of the amount raised (minus a service fee of 5-7%) at the end of the month in which your Raise ends. The funds can be deposited to your PayPal account, or you can have a check mailed to your business address.

For loans, 40billion.com makes it easy for you to formalize a personal loan between friends or family members by customizing your loan and generating a promissory note (a.k.a., loan document or agreement) that defines the terms of the loan. You or the lender can purchase the customized promissory note for a fee (from $2.95 to $99.95, depending on the loan amount), then print it, sign it, and decide how you would like to transfer the funds offline (e.g., via mailed check or in person).

Be sure to thank all your investors and fulfill any promises or offers that you made in Step 1. Most importantly, keep them up-to-date on your progress by posting company updates on your Raise. This communication helps to keep investors happy because they can track your progress and see how their money is helping. Also, 40billion.com's communication tools help entrepreneurs and investors to stay in touch, which may come in handy if you need additional funding later.

To add a company update, you must sign in, go to MY ACCOUNT, click to view your Raise, and enter your update in the ADD AN UPDATE box on the left side of the page under COMPANY UPDATES. Only the entrepreneur will be able to add company updates; however, everyone who views the Raise will be able to read the company updates.

Step 5: Find Resources to Build Your Business

Once you receive funding, what's next? 40billion.com's business-to-business search engine helps entrepreneurs find the resources they need to build successful businesses. This feature comes in handy when you need a business attorney, business cards, web development, and other resources. You can even add resources for other entrepreneurs to use, and list your own business as a resource, if you provide services that other entrepreneurs could use.

To search available resources, click on the FIND tab at the top of the page, and then click SEARCH RESOURCES.

To add a new resource, you must sign in, click on the FIND tab at the top of the page, and then click ADD A NEW RESOURCE.

Good Luck! If you have any questions or want to provide feedback on the process, contact us to let us know what you think.