Where to Look to Raise Cash For Your BusinessWhen local options fail, it's time to cast a wider net. Here are ways to expand your funding search.

A visit to the South rarely leaves you hungry. I'm a Southern girl, so I know of what I write. But on a recent trip to meet with companies at Venture Atlanta, Georgia's largest investor showcase, I found plenty of companies left hungry--forfunding. And that's a hunger that a heap of barbecue, fried okra and collard greens--washed down with tea,swaaaitorunswaaait--can't satisfy.

"As a region, we're in a great position when it comes to innovation. We have more intriguing companies than capital, however," says Alan Taetle, general partner at Noro-Moseley Partners, one of Atlanta's oldest venture capital firms. "While we're actively working to attract more capital to the region, companies developing a business outside those areas are currently faced with a choice: Grow organically, which generally means slower, or go beyond our region to raise capital."