startup-costs, fundingAsides from the obvious few options with a quick google search.
How can a person find start up monies to get a business off the ground. under 100k is not to difficult however as soon as you pass that point it is much more difficult. Is there locations where investors can find about ideas and projects and get directly in touch with the individual.
First off, I'm a US citizen; the answer might be different in other countries.
If you're looking in the $50K to $2M range, you'd definitely be looking for angel investors. Between $2M and $5M, it depends but that's usually too low for most venture capital (VC) firms. $5M+ starts being VC territory.
Assuming you're looking below $2M then you're looking for angels. The first rule is to remember that soliciting investment brings you into security laws, so you need be careful about who you approach and how you approach them. If you already know the person, generally the risk is lower. If you know the person is an "accredited investor", which entails some detailed criteria (generally high enough income or high enough assets), your legal risk is also lower. The extreme form of what you cannot do is post an ad in the paper to look for people, but the usual way one can get into trouble is to openly make a pitch with people who one did not already know and who would not satisfy the accreditation rules.
The best place to find an angel is to look for the nearest city's angel groups, often referred to as angel funds. They are usually local accredited investors that are seeking startups or early stage companies to invest in. Be careful though, just because they have money and are accredited doesn't mean they necessarily are good to bring into your business. If you wouldn't hire them (i.e., you wouldn't like working with them or wouldn't bring value beyond the checkbook), then you shouldn't take their money even if they want you to -- the headaches aren't worth it. Also be cautious that many organized angel funds nowadays try to act like VC firms with fairly one-side terms that benefit them and not you.
A local university's business college can often direct you to area angel funds and are very happy to do so. They can also direct you to groups that like to advise new entrepreneurs but do not invest themselves. These people can be invaluable to help you find investors and so are sometimes worth networking with (a process though that can take some time).
The major startup hubs around the country (Silicon Valley is only one of several) can also be a good place to look. The problem of course is that if you're not local to them, they may not be as willing to invest with you. However, getting an opportunity to pitch to one of the angel funds in their area can be a very valuable learning experience and help you connect to others. Whenever you pitch, no matter their apparent receptivity, if they turn you down or just don't come back to you (more common), always ask them if they know of someone else who might be interested.
There are also several groups like the Kieretsu Forum that are essentially angel groups that you have to pay a small to substantial fee to pitch in front of. I personally am not much of a fan of these, but they do invest and can sometimes link you to local investors in a safe manner (i.e., accredited investors). Just don't think of that fee as an investment into getting an investor (it's not) and don't expect anything in return other than the opportunity to pitch.
If you do a Google search for angel investors, you will also find some groups on the Internet that show you various angel funds and sometimes can apply online directly to them.. Obviously be careful about getting involved with anyone you meet solely through the Internet (just like the rest of life), but it is a way to at least locate them and then seek them out offline. Some have a fairly large presence, but it's best to suss that out in person.
You can likely also find local incubator and various startup collectives in medium and larger cities. These will let you network and they may offer other benefits like free space. While incubators themselves are of dubious business value, they do represent a hub that is likely to help you find angel investors.
You can also consider crowdfunding, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. For these, you'll likely need to have a product (rather than service) in mind and usually these are for startup to early stage companies before you have much traction. Still, raising a few hundred thousand or more does happen with these and its a cheap way to test a wider interest in your product.
If you have traction and are primarily interested in scaling, consider looking more for a strategic partner that could benefit from your company's business model and could potentially consider acquiring your company later. These companies can offer immensely valuable advice and market exposure for reasonable terms. Start by thinking of what companies your product or service could be interesting to and how your firm could act as a collaborator with. Then you'll have to network into that company to find an actor there that could consider how your product or service could be good for them. Investment from a strategic partner is a fantastic way to grow as long as you'd like working with them and if the terms are reasonably fair. They often will help bring in others and set you up with a long term relationship that gives your firm more focus. However, there are likely to only be a few candidates in any market, so you'll only have so many tries and the process can be very lengthy. You will also find that your company's fate will be strongly to the success of this relationship, so depending on your personal motivations in starting the business, you might not find this as attractive.
Also realize that many businesses do not take on external investors, but end up funding themselves through revenues. For instance, only ~2% of firms ever take VC investment and the majority do not take angel investment. It's a slower road to be sure, but one that also has you making decisions based on what the market wants (since you depend on their revenue) and keeps you from being distracted by the always time-intensive and sometimes expensive process of attracting investors. If you depend on investor money to keep afloat, then you may not have a sustainable (at least as it is now) business; in that case you should focus on market adoption anyway. If you need an investor because your business is working and you want to scale it, then an investor might be a good bet. However, if you really are taking off, you have options other than equity investment that might work for you.
As an alternative, don't underestimate how taking on debt at the right time can be good for your business. If you have a steady and growing business, then debt may be a good way to fund an expansion over taking on an investor. Obviously you need to show that you can pay off the debt but really, you have to show an investor that you're a good bet anyway. Debt can be taken on in many forms, but convertible notes are a solution for some situations that do not depend on the more conservative bank loaning practices.
I hope this gives you some avenues to research for your local area to get you in touch with options that can move you along to your next step.
I'd like to leave you with one last thought. This is one of my favorite articles because it shows how you can think about focusing on a business's viability without needing much capital (it assumes you're interested in starting a software business, but the lesson is suitable for even capital-intensive ventures): http://theteacherpreneur.com/2015/03/24/my-new-156-startup/
Good luck!
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