Investors like to invest in their own backyard because it’s more familiar to them.

We’ll always want to rank those investors that are close to use geographically as our most likely targets for this reason. That said, there’s a good chance “local investors” either don’t exist locally or they aren’t a good fit for our deal. Still, we always want to mine that opportunity first.

We then radiate out in this order:

1. City / State. Anyone within driving distance is considered a “local” investor.
2. Region. Investors will often invest within a region such as “The Midwest” (in the U.S.) to get a greater reach while staying somewhat local.
3. Country. Investors often stick to their home country, especially in the U.S. but we’ll want to make sure we’ve exhausted the investors in our own country before going elsewhere.
4. Global. The moment we’re reaching across global barriers we begin creating a series of new issues ranging from cultural differences to local investing laws. That’s not to say we don’t consider it, but it’s often the hardest deal to facilitate.