Where Did All the Money Go?

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Are you thinking of raising capital right now? Already in the process? We are. As a quick background, we've raised over $11.5 million since our company's inception and are raising another large chunk to fuel rapid growth. Luckily, its going great, but I have seen the entire venture market transform before my eyes.

VCs are either not investing and waiting "for the other shoe to drop" or are investing but demanding incredibly low valuations. I guess it's their right, since money is tighter now than it ever has. But it begs the question -- how do you raise capital in a down economy?

My thought is, if you can avoid it, don't do it. But if you have to raise some money, raise as little as possible and from a diverse group of investors versus just one larger investor.

Luckily, since TerraCycle is highly differentiated, we've been OK and have closed capital these past weeks. How about you? Are you trying to raise and if so how is it going?

Tom Szaky is the founder of TerraCycle, a New Jersey based company that makes fertilizer using worms and produces retail products from recycled goods. The firm was started while he was a student at Princeton University. Tom was named "The No. 1 CEO Under Thirty" by Inc. magazine in its July 2006 issue.