http://business.financialpost.com/2013/02/24/feathers-flying...
- Despite taking public money from government agencies such as ACOA (which gave FAN $1.1-million between 2006 and 2011), FAN charges $3,000 to present each startup to its investor network.
- Startups that present are also required to sign a consulting contract with a private company owned by Finlay and Lowe. These services normally include helping the company prepare its pitch, negotiate a deal, and ensure due diligence by legal experts.
- In return for these services, the companies normally pay Finlay and Lowe a percentage of the capital they raise. (Crow quotes a standard fee of 8%, although Finlay says the percentage varies, and has been as low as 4%.)
It also quotes responses from the FAN partners, which you can judge the validity of for yourself. Getting up to 8% of the investment raised is a sweet gig for them, I think. Too bad they don't let the startup know about their "consulting fees" till it's almost time to present to the investors.</s>